February 18, 2010

Newberry's sex offender bill moving forward

Here we have a lawmaker who is not dealing with reality. First, every GPS vendor will tell you that, GPS DOES NOT PREVENT CRIME! Gps merely keeps track of where the wearer goes, and either -real time- or -at the end of the day- tells the state where the wearer has gone.

Secondly he says, 80% are employed, however that doesn't mean they can afford -what amounts to- another rent for the month, most registrants are barely paying their bills. If the state wants it, the state is going to pay its that simple. Face reality, and what about the 20% (his figure) that already we know cannot pay? (6,300 X 20% = $302,400 a month -OR- $3.6 million a year) Where will that come from?

Finally, with the above known what are the benefits of having them wear GPS units, the lawmaker is silent on this point. Folks, its time to face reality, lawmakers are not dealing straight up on many of these sex offender issues, they seem to have some other personal agenda, public safety is a pretext for it. Where have analytical skills gone? Folks need to contact him and ask for some fiscal responsibility here.

UPDATE:
Apparently Rep. Richard Morrissette is opposed to this bill. What folks need to do is to e-mail him with a few SHORT paragraphs as to why this is absurd (see a few reasons above). His e-mail address and phone numbers are found in the link to his office above. This is an ACTION ALERT issue!
2-18-2010 Oklahoma:

A proposal by state Sen. Dan Newberry (R-Tulsa) to track all level 2 and 3 sex offenders is making progress.

The bill, first reported in the Jenks Journal, would require all level 2 and 3 sex offenders to wear a monitoring bracelet with a GPS tracker.

Newberry, speaking at the monthly Eggs over Issues meeting in Jenks, said the measure has been tweaked to require that all level 2 sex offenders wear the bracelet for 10 years and level 3 offenders for 15 years. If the offender follows the parameters of their probation, the bracelet will be removed after 10 years.

Newberry said there are approximately 6,300 level 2 and 3 sex offenders currently living in Oklahoma.

In the face of a tough budget, many in attendance at the meeting questioned the financing of the bracelets.

Newberry said the sex offender would be required to pay for the tracker at a cost of $6 to $8 a day. He said studies have shown 80 percent of sex offenders in the state are employed.

The second-year senator also updated the dozen people in attendance on other legislation in the Senate.

He said a senate subcommittee passed a measure that would allow cities and counties to work together on road projects. ..Source.. Josh Driskell, News Editor

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