12-1-2009 West Virginia:
CHARLESTON, W.Va.--The numbers are startling.
Startling, that is, unless you're one of the 2,000 to 4,000 persons a day who check the online sex offender registry maintained by the West Virginia State Police.
If so, you may realize that 3,163 registered sex offenders live or work in the state and that 19 of those offenders are sexually violent predators.
State Police say 395 of the registered sex offenders live or work in Kanawha County, and five are unaccounted for.
State police have maintained a registry of sex offenders living in the state for more than 10 years.
Troopers first distributed quarterly, hard-copy lists of names and photographs but eventually moved to an online format updated regularly on the state police Web site.
The registry accounts for 80 percent of the site's traffic.
Sgt. Michael Baylous said the registry receives 2,000 to 4,000 visits per day. He cited the month of July, when it received 109,993, as an example.
"Citizens want to protect themselves and their families from becoming victims," he said.
Citizens use the registry in a voyeuristic manner, its better than going to the movies on a slow TV night. The claimed hits -for safety reasons- is a joke. Nationally there are thousands of secondary lists of sex offenders, those lists use the state registry to keep updated (which they never are), and secondary dissemination lists are hitting the state registries (in some cases illegally) driving up the hits.
Law enforcement wants to claim -safety- but the registry does not provide safety to anyone. It merely tells a reader where a RSO sleeps for a few hours of the day. Further, even though the public knows where (MAYBE where) the RSO is during his/her sleeping hours, no one knows where they are the rest of the day; so how does the registry make anyone safe? The public is being brainwashed into thinking the registry provides safety!
Finally, as to law enforcement using the registry as a "suspect list" in solving new sex offenses, that too is a misleading law enforcement claim. Department of Justice FACTS: 1)Over 90% of new sex offenses are by persons not on the registry; 2) Only 5% of sex offenders are arrested within 3 years of release as a suspect in a new sex offense, and ultimately 3.5% are convicted. BUT, that recidivism rearrest rate drops off dramatically as the sex offender matures, older sex offenders have a very low rate.
DOJ also found that, released non sex offenders commit 6 (SIX) new sex offenses to every 1(ONE) committed by a released sex offender. Non sex offenders released are NOT TRACKED and law enforcement has no list of them to use as a "suspect list" when they are more dangerous to the community.
The registry also keeps track of offenders who are unaccounted for. It displays the names, photographs and last known information.
There are currently 26 wanted offenders, including one who was last registered as living in Kanawha County and is considered to be a sexually violent predator.
That man was identified as Rickey Simmons, 52, who served about 12 years in an Ohio prison for the attempted rape of a female family member said to be between the ages of 6 and 12. Simmons was last registered to be in Charleston.
Baylous said keeping an eye on registered sex offenders scattered across the state is a difficult task that police officers couldn't do without the help of community members.
He said troopers' greatest tools when searching for wanted sex offenders are tips from the public.
Baylous said state police receive many tips on wanted sex offenders and troopers investigate them all.
"There's a great interest from the public to make sure that the offenders are compliant with the law," Baylous said. "I can't emphasize enough how important it is for the public to keep providing tips on offenders."
Terri Swecker, who helps coordinate the registry, said the numbers change daily as information becomes available. She said offenders who move out of state, are re-incarcerated or die are taken off the registry.
Baylous pointed out that people listed are only those who have been convicted and required to register.
He said once a sex offender registers, troopers verify the information the offender provides, by home visit or other means.
When troopers find offenders have become "non-compliant" and have not updated their registrations, they investigate. An arrest warrant usually results, he said.
Baylous said the registry is useful but shouldn't take the place of residents getting to know their surroundings and their neighbors and keeping an eye on who is hanging around their neighborhood.
"We've become such a technologically advanced society - we use e-mail and this online registry among other things - but that shouldn't take the place of getting to know your neighbors and knowing what's going on in our communities," he said.
"People need to be aware of their surroundings and get to know people instead of just using the registry."
People with information on any wanted offender should not approach the individual but instead contact the nearest State Police detachment or local law enforcement agency. ..Source.. Ashley B. Craig, Daily Mail staff
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