OUR VIEW | Sex Offenders in the Neighborhood? Let Reason and Awareness Triumph Over Fear

11-16-2009 Washington:

It’s hard to feel pity or compassion for sex offenders. Their crimes harm society in a way burglary, property theft or even assault do not, because of the psychological damage done and the cycle of abuse that can begin when victims become perpetrators.

That’s why it’s easy to empathize with neighbors on a Washington Avenue block in Bremerton who live near a home that is housing eight Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders. But an answer that completely eases the fear they expressed to Bremerton police and Department of Corrections officials at a meeting last Tuesday isn’t as simple to find.

Sex offenders, after paying their debt to society behind bars, still need a place to live. Keeping them incarcerated indefinitely is unrealistic, and it’s naïve to think treatment completely eliminates all chances of relapse. Shuffling offenders out of neighborhoods that complain only shifts the problem. And the truth is that sex offenders are better off in a permanent home that allows for better monitoring by police and more stability in their lives.

That reasoning isn’t always enough when the released offender moves on to your street, however.

But continuing a conversation about how to deal with offenders in our neighborhoods is important, and timely. There are more than 19,000 sex offenders under DOC supervision statewide, including 210 in Bremerton. Locally, that number has been on the rise. Budget cuts to supervision programs are possible again in 2010, coming on the heels of a legislative session that already reduced monitoring of some offenders to save money.

Laws regarding release and monitoring of high-risk offenders have strengthened in recent years due to legislative action. That’s helped. It’s also encouraging when neighbors like those on Washington Avenue speak up, and demand an audience with local law enforcement and state officials to talk about their concerns.

The other component that will help, available to us all, is understanding the statistical reality of sex offenses.

According to the National Institute of Corrections, a majority of sex offenses are committed by persons known to the victim, and in the case of children that’s typically a person of trust. The recidivism rate for a sex offense is significantly lower than the rate for other violent crimes, according to a Department of Justice study, but those that do reoffend typically do so within the first year after release. And the majority of sexual assaults and crimes go unreported.

Notification of where released offenders live is vital, and communication with police in neighborhoods strengthens the fabric to prevent future assaults. The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office offers an email alert notification program and a database to check on your neighborhood. But knowing the facts about predators, as well as what threat truly exists for those released, may be just as important. Having that awareness more clearly dictates how law enforcement and lawmakers continue to assess the problem in the future, and helps us all handle the emotional dilemma present when offenders re-enter society.

The horror and deserved stigma of such crimes isn’t going away anytime soon, but awareness and preparation should trump fear. ..Source.. by Kitsap Sun