Police begin checking on sex offenders

This is the kind of story that blows my mind. Officers from 10 (TEN) official agencies go out to check addresses. In this a time of need, the pocketbooks of taxpayers are being bled dry with stupidity like this. This is nothing more than "Police Sensationalism" no different than when Lawmakers enact a new sex offender law because it "Sounds Good" without an ounce of proof that it will make anyone safer. Have we lost our minds, we should make all officials justify -financially- what they do BEFORE allowing them to do it.

BTW: There isn't a study yet that proves -address verifications- make anyone safer, but there are studies showing such checks make the community, more paranoid. Knowing where these folks sleep for a few hours of the day, is a total waste of time, and there is no relationship between knowing where they sleep and reduced crime rates; zero! This is likened to a bowling tournament, to find out whose best at -compliance-, frankly I don't care who has the best compliance rate. It makes more sense to me that police should fight crime, and not babysit, esp. at their salaries.

6-21-2010 Michigan:

Visit 'to verify they are where they say they are'

For the next two weeks, police officers in Calhoun County and across Michigan will visit many of the state's 46,000 registered sex offenders.

Twice each year, police conduct a sex offender registry sweep to verify that offenders are living where they are registered.

"We want to check and verify and deal with any noncompliant offenders," said Trooper Jim Gochanour of the Michigan State Police at Battle Creek.

He said troopers from the post -- along with officers from Battle Creek, Emmett Township, Marshall, Albion, Springfield, Homer, the Calhoun County Sheriff Department, the Huron Potawatomi Police Department and the prosecutor's office -- will be visiting the listed residences for nearly 300 registered sex offenders in the county.

"We go to the door to verify they are where they say they are," Gochanour said.

Calhoun County has 726 registered sex offenders, a number that is constantly changing as people move and new names are placed on the list. About 70 of them are incarcerated and nearly 300 are known to be compliant, the trooper said.

Officers throughout the year update and verify the registry for Calhoun County, but Gochanour said the semi-annual sweep is executed to collect data throughout the state.

Calhoun County has a 94 percent compliance rate, compared to 92 percent statewide.

While Calhoun County is 14th in the state in compliance rate, Gochanour said many counties with prisons or large jails have higher rates because many offenders on the registry are locked up.

Sex offenders on the registry must verify their addresses with police four times a year, or whenever they move.

Gochanour said some offenders give police an address but then live with a girlfriend, as an example, in an apartment that prohibits felons as residents, or with someone who lives too close to a school or playground, which is prohibited. He said sometimes offenders list one address but live somewhere else to avoid harassment from neighbors.

He said family and friends often try to hide information that the offender is not living at the reported address.

Police who visit residences also will be looking for any other offenses, and Gochanour expects some of those being checked will be arrested on new charges, perhaps unrelated to their original convictions.

"We are not just narrowly focused," Gochanour said. "We are looking for other things." ..Source.. Trace Christenson