Arrests up, monitoring down

11-28-2009 Nevada:

Number of freed sex offenders overwhelming agencies that supervise them

The August rescue of Jaycee Dugard from the California property of a registered sex offender is among a number of recent cases nationwide that are demonstrating the difficulties faced by parole and probation officers. Included in the recent cases is the arrest of a registered sex offender in Cleveland after a woman accused him of rape. Police found the bodies of 11 women at his home.

The Washington Post reported that both Phillip Garrido, the alleged kidnapper of Dugard, and Anthony Sowell, the Cleveland man now accused of homicide, were supervised by parole officers. Nevertheless, both suspects went years before raising suspicions. Garrido allegedly kidnapped Dugard in 1991, 18 years before being arrested.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says there are more than 716,000 registered sex offenders in the country. The Post reported this week that the number represents a 78 percent increase since 2001, when the Bush administration began a crackdown on child pornography and sex offenses — a crackdown that is continuing under the Obama administration.

Here we go again with that 716,000 factoid, find the truth here.

We fully support this initiative, but we believe it should accompany an equivalent increase in parole and probation officers. Law enforcement agencies charged with tracking the increasing number of offenders who are paroled or sentenced to probation are severely understaffed.

The Post reported that the Justice Department is hiring 81 more prosecutors for sex cases, and that federal funding for task forces that bring sexual assault charges in state courts rose this year from $16 million to $75 million.

At the same time, funding for parole and probation officers is being cut by nearly every state, including Nevada, even though the monitoring of freed sex offenders is required by law. Ernie Allen, president of the missing children’s center, told the Post: “The burden on probation and parole officers is going to explode.”

Before that happens, Congress and the states should devise new funding plans so parole and probation officers are proportionate to the number of offenders they must supervise. ..Editorial.. by The LawVegas Sun