Sex Offender Registry reliability could be significantly improved

7-2-2010 Vermont:

From the Vermont State Auditor's Office:

MONTPELIER –“The last several years have been marked by the amplified legislative and public attention to the issues of strengthening the monitoring of sex offenders in Vermont,” said Tom Salmon, CPA, reporting today on the results of the audit of the Vermont Sex Offender Registry (SOR).

The Vermont Sex Offender Registry (SOR) and, in particular, that portion of the Registry that is posted to the Internet ___ were created to ensure that the general public and law enforcement agencies know about offenders convicted of sex crimes and who reside, work or go to school in the state. “The reliability and timeliness of the SOR information are critical to meet these goals”, said Tom Salmon, “and were the focus of our audit.”

This audit was conducted at the request of the legislature (Act 58 in 2009). Act 58 required the Auditor’s Office to provide a report to the senate and house committees on judiciary, the house committee on corrections and institutions, and the joint committee on corrections oversight prior to the posting of addresses on the Internet Registry for those offenders that meet the criteria set forth in the Act. Sen. Dick Sears, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the report reflected what the Legislature was seeking. “We’ll be spending time reviewing the findings and recommendations with an eye toward improving how the State manages the information on the Sex Offender Registry,” he said.

The work was performed at the Department of Public Safety’s Vermont Criminal Information Center (VCIC), which manages the Registry, and the Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Courts, which provide critical information to the Registry. As of mid-February 2010, the SOR had 2,633 records, of which 1,549 were of offenders that were residing, working, or going to school in Vermont (i.e., community-based offenders).

Overall, the audit found a sizeable number of errors in the registry. In a statistical sample of 57 offenders selected for in-depth analysis, the Auditor’s Office found that 16 and 29 offenders’ records contained critical and significant errors, respectively. In addition, the Auditor’s Office used an automated data analysis tool, IDEA, to review the entire SOR database of 2,633 offenders for data anomalies or logical inconsistencies. This analysis found an additional 165 critical and 30 significant errors.

The most serious errors were related to offenders who have been registered with the SOR in error or offenders who were registered with the SOR for longer than statutorily required or whose registration was terminated prematurely. For example, there was one offender who should have been registered for life but whose record had already been erroneously expired by VCIC—in other words he was no longer listed as a registered offender.

Among the causes for errors were data entry and calculation mistakes, incorrect or unclear information provided to VCIC, misapplication of the statutory requirements, SOR system anomalies and glitches, and incomplete backfilling of data elements required due to the changes in law. “As the law related to sex offender registration becomes more complex, it is critical that the SOR system and processes keep up with these changes,” Salmon said.

The audit also assessed whether controls were in place to prevent errors, omissions and outdated registry data. Overall the audit found that the established controls were largely manual and were not always documented or applied consistently.

The report’s recommendations emphasize that improving the SOR’s reliability will require the joint efforts of VCIC, DOC and the Courts. The Auditor’s Office also recommended that in the short-term VCIC review discharge dates, end registration dates, internet status, and risk assessment and lifetime registration flags of all registered offenders.

Public Safety Commissioner Tom Tremblay said: “Vermont has accomplished much in the last few years to strengthen its laws to hold sex offenders more accountable and to provide the public with an important information tool. It is imperative that the data in the registry is accurate and reliable. The audit has provided a roadmap to get there and I look forward to inviting the Auditor back for a review of the system improvements within the next three months.”

Commissioner Andrew Pallito of the DOC said “We appreciate the work of the State Auditor’s Office on this important project. The Department of Corrections is committed to working with our colleagues in the Department of Public Safety, with the Court Administrator’s Office and the Legislature to improve the reliability and timeliness of the registry. We have all made improvements, during the course of the audit, to how we manage the data and processes necessary to attain that common goal. I am confident we can implement the remaining report recommendations in the next few weeks and further improve the registry’s reliability.”

The State Auditor also noted that during the audit VCIC, DOC and the Courts demonstrated a high degree of understanding of the seriousness, importance and urgency of improving the SOR’s reliability and have already fixed errors identified during the audit and made some process and control improvements. The State Auditor expressed confidence that implementation of the report’s recommendations will improve coordination between the involved organizations necessary for the effective redesign of the sex offender registration process with the goal of enhancing the safety of the Vermont public. “It is clear that all parties have a common goal; a reliable system with controls in place to provide assistance to law enforcement and educate Vermonters about sex offenders in their communities, especially parents trying to keep children safe from sexual abuse,” Salmon reflected.