I find it amazing that because of the Garrido case (who was properly registered while committing crimes, and monitored by many agents from different jurisdictions) that law enforcement still wants folks to believe that, knowing where registrants sleep -a few hours of the day- is MOST IMPORTANT to preventing new sex crimes.
The amount of time, money and resources that go into keeping a list of places where former offenders sleep -a few hours of the day- and ZIP into REAL PREVENTION proves this efforts real purpose is JOB SECURITY and nothing more; a stimulus program for employment of law enforcement officers.
All the justifications mentioned are nothing more than -sounds good pretexts- and will not prevent new sex offenses. In fact, non sex offenders released from prison commit 6 new sex crimes to every one committed by a previously convicted sex offender in the same time period following release. Non sex offenders released from prison are NOT MONITORED by law enforcement like sex offenders are. Source: Department of Justice. Lawmakers IGNORE this truth which proves PREVENTION is not their goal!
11-28-2009 California:
Not long ago, more than a quarter of San Bernardino County's sex offenders weren't meeting the terms of their registration.
Whether an offender's listed address was simply out of date, or he had gone completely underground, officials often lacked the time or resources to keep up.
Then came Jim Black.
Almost two years ago, the Sheriff's Department created a position for the retired San Bernardino police officer that focuses only on ensuring the area's offenders are in full compliance with their registration.
Since then, the county has trimmed its out-of-compliance registrants -- those off authorities' radar -- to well under 10 percent. That beats the state average and equals the success of Riverside County, which has an entire task force devoted to the issue.
"It's a never-ending battle," Black said. "It can be difficult to find these guys."
An up-to-date registry is important because law enforcement often makes the list one of its first stops when investigating child abductions and sexual assaults.
Working with deputies in the sheriff's Crimes Against Children detail, Black searches state and federal databases daily and coordinates collaborative sweeps and random home visits to stay ahead of a historically transient population.
The roughly 6 percent rate of sex offenders now out of compliance at any given time in either Inland county is less than half of the state average and a small fraction of those who have eluded officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
"They know they cannot rest on their haunches," said Ron Garcia, director of Riverside County's multi-agency Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement team. "We will show up at their houses to make sure they're residing where they're supposed to."
Creative adaptations
While Riverside County's team continues to be aggressive in its compliance efforts, Black and San Bernardino County's staff have adopted creative ways to bolster their effectiveness.
On days when state courts are closed because of furloughs, bailiffs have been asked to conduct sex offender checks. Black has posted fliers of the most wanted out-of-compliance sex offenders on the sheriff's Web site.
And next month, the department is expected to unveil a more detailed database for tracking the population.
Soon, Black hopes to be able to coordinate multi-agency operations that can identify sex offenders who slip through the cracks in smaller jurisdictions, such as Redlands, where detectives responsible for monitoring have many other duties.
"That way, we can make 100 or more checks at once and not have a Jaycee Dugard living in someone's backyard," Black said.
The case of Dugard, kidnapped when she was 11 and forced to live in captivity with a convicted rapist for almost 20 years, has heightened attention on the ways registered sex offenders are tracked once they are released from prison.
California's version of Jessica's Law, passed in 2006, allows local jurisdictions to enact ordinances greatly limiting where a sex offender can reside, restricting areas near parks, schools, day-care centers and bus stops.
Long-Term EFFECT
Last week, Black went over the issue with a class of deputies and officers from other departments, noting the many ways that offenders can violate their registration terms.
They include not listing every address where property is owned or not checking in every 30 days if an offender's address is listed as "transient."
The state-appointed Sex Offender Management Board issued a report last year stating the number of registrants listed as transients increased 60 percent from June 2007 to August 2008.
Jay Adams, a psychotherapist and advocate for more mental health treatment for sex offenders, said that the increased residency restrictions can result in more homelessness among offenders, and feared it would lead to increased recidivism.
"If you destroy all their contact with the community, their family relationships and their ability to get work, you're actually making them more dangerous," said Adams, a former Patton State Hospital therapist and contributor to the California Coalition on Sexual Offending.
Black, however, said that his unit has not seen any negative effects in the communities that have passed ordinances based on Jessica's Law.
"They still find places to live," he said. "I haven't seen a drastic increase in transient registrations in our county."
No Harassment
Black said that when he teaches deputies how to conduct compliance checks, and counsels citizens on how to deal with the public information available about sex offenders, he stresses that harassment is not part of the equation.
"If a sex offender gets harassed, threatened or terrorized, they're going to go underground and we're not going to know where they're at," he said. "And knowing where they're at is paramount."
Most San Bernardino County sex offenders found to be out of compliance have simply moved out of the area without notifying authorities, although some are found to have recently died.
Only a small fraction of the less than 10 percent not accounted for have disappeared.
When that occurs, prosecutors will issue felony arrest warrants that typically lead to more prison time. Black said he doesn't understand why anyone would take the risk.
"It's filling out a piece of paper, and it's a crime not to do so," he said. "It doesn't make sense to me." ..Source.. PAUL LAROCCO, The Press-Enterprise
No comments:
Post a Comment