Sex Offender Sweep Kicks Off

Amazing, sever years they have done this, and all that has been accomplished is to incarcerate those who failed to update the address of where they sleep for a few hours of the day/night. Not only do taxpayers foot the bill for the time spent by the officers to do the address checks, taxpayers will also pay for the costs of jailing those who failed to update addresses. The registry is nothing but a failed theory, and in the process has ruined many lives.

The saddest fact is, that police (see below) truly believe that by knowing an address, they then know where the registrant is. Yes, when s/he is sleeping, but for the rest of the day, they have no idea where the registrant is. Unbelievable! I guess they are trying to protect their jobs by bamboozling the public.

10-19-2010 Michigan:

Law enforcement across the state are going door to door in a statewide crack down on sex offenders. The effort kicked off Monday and it means that sex offenders who failed to register their current address can expect a knock on their door from authorities.

The Michigan State Police says 46,533 registered sex offenders are listed in the Great Lakes state. And each offender is required to tell authorities where they live every three months.

They've had two weeks to make contact. Police say those who haven't, can expect a knock on the door.

"We're gonna check there last registered address to see if they're still residing there. And if they are not residing there then we'll submit a warrant request to the prosecutors office requesting charges," said Trooper Timothy Burchell.

Burchell says offenders who fail to verify their address face 93 days in jail and up to a four year felony charge. Burchell says 92% of sex offenders in the state are accounted for. 93% are accounted for in Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties.

As for the other 7%, Burchell says they may or may not live at their last verified address. Either way, he says society has the right to know and the offenders are obligated to comply.

"For every offender that's on the list, there's a victim and the victim's family that's out there that would like peace of mind knowing where that offender is. Some of these guys are predatorial offenders and if we don't monitor them, there is a chance of recidivism. And we want to make sure that we can keep track of them as prescribed by the law," says Burchell.

This is the seventh year for "Operation Verify." ..Source.. WLNS.com


State police commence statewide sex offender sweep

SAGINAW — Beginning Monday and concluding Oct. 29, state police will perform a sweep of convicted sex offenders throughout the state who failed to verify their addresses as required by law.

Known as “Operation Verify,” this is the seventh compliance check of its kind that the state law enforcement agency has conducted.

“This sweep will take place directly following the Oct. 1st through 15th quarterly verification period, which will allow for a more accurate list of true non-compliant offenders,” said State Police Director Col. Eddie L. Washington Jr. “This also means that felony-listed offenders who want to spare themselves a visit from a police officer should be sure to verify their address with law enforcement during the first 15 days of October.”

Of 1,512 offenders checked during a similar sweep that concluded in February, there were 179 arrests and 248 requests for arrest warrants.

Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor sex offense must verify their address with an area law enforcement agency once per year in January, while felony offenders must verify in January, April, July and October.

A change of address must be reported within 10 days of the change.

As of August there were 46,400 offenders on the state Sex Offender Registry, 42,945 of whom were in compliance with verification requirements. ..Source.. by Gus Burns | The Saginaw News