CA- Deputies union apologizes for sex offender mailer

UPDATE of earlier story: A war between two police agencies over the misuse of sex offender registrant statistics in a police mailer, one agency, wrongfully claiming, the other does not properly monitor them and many are missing, when in reality most were in jail and other died or were deported. This type of fear-mongering places ALL registrants and their families at risk in the community.

10-24-2009 California:

Dyer upset after mailer contends Sheriff's Department tracks offenders better.

The head of a union for Fresno County sheriff’s deputies has apologized for a hard-hitting mailer that claims Fresno police are failing to keep track of registered sex offenders.

But Police Chief Jerry Dyer isn’t soothed, saying the mailer is misleading and “a slap in the face” to his department and its officers.

The mailer, titled “Sexual Offenders — Serpents Among Us?”, was sent by the Fresno Deputy Sheriff’s Association to the homes of about 40,000 people living in islands of unincorporated land within Fresno.

Using data from the Megan’s Law Web site, the mailer contends that the Sheriff’s Department does a better job at keeping track of registered sex offenders than does the police department.

Eric Schmidt, president of the deputy sheriff’s union, said Friday the mailer was meant to generate public support to keep the sheriff’s department patrolling county islands. Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin has said police, who patrol surrounding areas, could do the work more efficiently.

About 60 deputies could lose their jobs if the city took over patrols in county islands, Schmidt said. “This is an issue with the mayor,” Schmidt said. “This is not an issue with the chief and this is not an issue with the officers.”

But Schmidt acknowledged that the mailer required some fence-mending with police.

In a letter e-mailed Thursday to the union representing Fresno police officers, Schmidt told the officers that they were not targets of the mailer.

“I want to make it very clear, the message is NOT an attack on any one of you,” Schmidt wrote. “You all work for a very professional law enforcement agency. I want to apologize to all who may have been offended in any way by the information detailed in this piece.”

Dyer on Friday was in no mood to forgive. The mailer “served to do nothing more than spread fear in our community and create a potential divide in our two agencies,” Dyer said.

Jacky Parks, president of the Fresno Police Officers Association, said he understands the intent of the deputy sheriff’s union.

Parks said it was “unfortunate” that the deputies’ mailer focused on an issue of vital importance to both agencies. But, Parks added, he has no sense that officers are angry or offended. “They’re not letting one little phrase or statement get them fired up,” Parks said.

Schmidt said he and his staff designed and wrote the mailer.

It features a photo of an empty tricycle and, in the background, the blurred images of a young girl walking with a young boy.

“The City of Fresno has lost track of a large number of sex offenders!” the mailer claims. It alleges that about 14% of registered sex offenders within the city limits — 215 of 1,565 — are out of compliance with requirements to provide current addresses.

“This means the City has lost track of them,” the mailer alleges.

In contrast, the mailer alleges, the sheriff’s department knows the whereabouts of all but 6% — 31 of 497 — of sex offenders in the unincorporated areas of Fresno County.

“Contact the Fresno Deputy Sheriffs’ Association to help stop the grab by the City of Fresno and end their attempt to annex county pockets within Metropolitan Fresno,” the mailer concludes.

Dyer acknowledged that more than 200 registered sex offenders listed with Fresno addresses are out of compliance. But the number is deceiving, he said.

For example, Dyer said, 32 are in jail, prison or a state hospital, 16 have been deported, four are dead and four have moved out of state.

Video from SexOffenderIssues


He said more than 50 have outstanding arrest warrants or police are seeking warrants.

Dyer said police are trying to find the whereabouts of about 40 of the more than 1,500 registered sex offenders in Fresno — about 3%, rather than the 14% alleged in the mailer. ..Source.. by George Hostetter / The Fresno Bee