November 23, 2011

Paroled Level 3 sex offenders should be photographed every three months, Schumer says

This is plain dumb, a person can change their appearance in minutes, glasses, fake hair or beards, and dozens of other ways. This does nothing but waste money and cause extra work and more ways for the registry to become even more useless. Police will have to set aside time to take the pictures, including further updating of registry records. "Time is money."
11-23-2011 New York:

Utica, NY – The U.S. Justice Department should require states to take mug shots of paroled Level 3 sex offenders every three months to make sure offenders who miss parole meetings or break other sex registry rules can be quickly found, New York’s senior U.S. senator said this morning.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, called for the change at a news conference this afternoon in Utica, where law enforcement officials are holding a Level 3 offender who is suspected of raping and killing a Utica motel keeper while authorities, publicizing an old picture, sought him for skipping a parole meeting.

Schumer also announced his support of two bills now before Senate committees that would beef up the U.S. Marshals Service’s ability to help local authorities seek missing Level 3 offenders.

The push came a little more than two weeks after authorities caught up with Robert Blainey. A Level 3 sex offender on parole from prison, Blainey missed a meeting in October with his parole officer. Officials, seeking the public’s help in finding him, released a dated photo of Blainey showing him with a shaved head and face and wearing glasses.

Blainey was taken into custody Nov. 7 by Pennsylvania state police after he was stopped while driving a car owned by Linda Turner, a Utica motel keeper founder murdered in late October. A mug shot taken after the arrest showed him with a full head of hair and a goatee.

Blainey is being held on a parole violation charge while the Oneida County district attorney’s office prepares to ask a grand jury to indict him on murder, robbery, burglary and rape charges in the Turner case, District Attorney Scott McNamara said.

Under Schumer’s proposal, Level 3 sex offenders would have to be photographed every three months at their required meetings with their parole officers and the photos shared with law enforcement agencies. Doing so would ensure that recent pictures would be available to help search for a paroled Level 3 offender who goes missing, Schumer said.

“It’s common sense and would be a big help in making sure we track criminals down before they strike again,” Schumer said.

The Justice Department already has the authority to require the photos as a condition of the Justice Assistance Grant funding that it distributes. States that do not comply with JAG rules risk losing 10 percent of their JAG funding, Schumer’s office said.

Schumer sent a letter this morning to the Office of Justice Programs requesting the change.

The additional authority sought for the Marshals Service would require new laws and Schumer this afternoon endorsed two bills being studied in the Senate.

One, introduced by Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, would give the service the authority to help local law enforcers who seek its assistance in finding sex offenders. The other, sponsored by Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., would let marshals subpoena documents and family members that could help locate missing sex offenders. ..Source.. by John Mariani / The Post-Standard

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