VT- Editorial: Sex offender registry must be used properly

10-9-2009 Vermont:

Vermont's expanded sex offender registry offers one more tool in the effort to keep our communities safer, but the registry is effective only if the information is up-to-date and accurate, and people who turn to the registry use the information properly.
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Outdated information about a sex offender's whereabouts is less than useless. Inaccurate information could render a background check -- of a coach, baby sitter or a youth group leader, for instance -- meaningless. A wrong name, address or photo could have devastating consequences for a person misidentified in the registry.

The consequences of inaccuracies place an especially heavy burden on those charged with maintaining the registry.

People in the community who use the registry must avoid the trap of falling into a false sense of security by focusing on those who have a record. As Allen Gilbert of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont points out, 90 percent of sex crimes against children are committed by someone the child knows -- a friend, family or a trusted member of the community.

The registry must never become a tool for vigilantism, by individuals or by entire towns. Some communities have tried to run sex offenders out of town by enacting residency restrictions that placed much of the city off limits. The state Supreme Court ruled that one city, Barre, had no power to enact such an ordinance.

The people on the registry are there because they have been convicted of a crime. But in our society, even people who have committed a heinous crimes retain many of their rights, especially if they have served their time.

Karen Tronsgard-Scott, director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic Violence, warns that the registry hardly represents a complete accounting of predators: "Sex offenders are all around us," she said.

That means we must never be lulled into believing that simply focusing on those who have been convicted of a sex crime can keep us safe. Rather than stoking paranoia, Tronsgard-Scott's warning means taking reasonable precautions and never ignoring suspicious behavior or signs, even when they involve a trusted person. Unfortunately, we live in that kind of world. ..Source.. by Burlington Free Press