Changes to Michigan's sex offender registry tying up law enforcement

Hummm, and while all the police are in the station-house doing administrative things, who is out catching criminals and protecting the public? Great planning Michigan, typical lawmaker blunder, continued failures to look at the consequences of laws enacted.

7-6-2011 Michigan:

Michigan's new sex offender registry requirements are in effect. Offenders now have to provide more information to police and some who had been on the registry will be taken off.

However, implementing the new requirements is tying up law enforcement agencies.

The new offender verification period started on July 1st, and local law enforcement says they are using two to three times more staff than in a normal verification period.

The effort is taxing administrative staff, their computer networks and even the online sex offender registry.

With the new requirements in place all of the roughly 47,000 registered sex offenders in Michigan need to register again in person and provide much more information than they have in years past.

“The new information is telephone numbers, cell phone numbers, employment information, vehicle information,” said Trooper Rich Bell, Michigan State Police.

All social media accounts, screen names and passwords must also be provided. Trooper Rich Bell says it's a cumbersome process.

“We've had some complications with the dependability of the system that we're using just due to the burden of additional information we're inputting,” said Bell.

With tens of thousands of sex offenders needing to re-register by July 15th, city, county and state police are all swamped.

“Friday I was in the Grand Rapids Police Department,” said Bell, “we did more than 130.”

However, for many juvenile and minor sex offenders, Public Acts 17, 18 and 19 means they will no longer have to register.

In May, Newschannel 3 spoke to Pearling Dunning about her son Khirhy, who was under 14 when he was convicted.

“He's supposed to be on the registry until 2033 for something he did when he was nine years old,” said Dunning.

However, when we tried to check to see if Dunning's son was still on the registry, it was down.

“It could be the result of all the information we're inputting,” said Bell.

But Bell says, between the additional information now required and the new focus on more dangerous sex offenders, all the efforts will pay off.

Sex offenders who fell off the public registry on July 1st are still on a database that police can track, but they can petition to be removed. Level two and three sex offenders have until July 15th to re-register, level one offenders have until January 15th. ..Source.. by MICHIGAN (NEWSCHANNEL 3)

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Editorial: Murder-registry bill doesn’t help society

7-5-2011 Illinois:

When someone with a violent past moves in next door, his neighbors have a right to know. As do the co-workers at his new job, his classmates at school and anyone else with a computer and a few minutes to spare.

So goes the argument in favor of a bill that would require people convicted of first-degree murder to register with the state for at least 10 years after their prison sentence ends.

The registry, which would feature such details as the ex-offender’s address and physical description, also would apply retroactively to inmates released after 2002.

The bill sailed through the General Assembly and now sits on Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk.

We urge him not to sign it.

No governor wants to look soft on criminals. Heck, we don’t like looking soft on criminals. And we sympathize with family members of murder victims who want violent offenders to pay for their crimes long after they leave prison.

But this bill would make it all but impossible for ex-offenders to make a fresh start, while offering only the illusion of greater public safety.

The logic of sex offender registries is that at least some small percentage of sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated; released from prison, they will repeat the same crimes. Society must know who they are to protect itself.

There is no compelling evidence, however, that people who kill once tend to do so again, especially after serving a 20- to 30-year prison term.

What we do know is that making it harder for ex-offenders to fully integrate into society after prison — with friends, family and a job — increases the likelihood that they’ll return to crime.

In a cash-strapped state that already has public registries for sex offenders, child murderers and arsonists, we also question whether Illinois has the resources to keep track of the thousands of convicted murderers who would be required to register.

The people of Illinois have a legitimate interest in knowing when someone with a violent criminal past moves into their community.

But this bill does nothing for anybody. It simply piles new punishment on people who already have done their time. ...Opinion.. of SunTimes

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Three of 'Norfolk Four' appeal to Va. high court

7-5-2011 Virginia:

Three men convicted for the rape of a Navy wife more than a decade ago have appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court for exoneration.

The three former Navy sailors could have hearings from a three-judge panel as early as this summer, according to lawyers involved in the case.

A Norfolk judge rejected appeals from Danial Williams, Joseph Dick and Eric C. Wilson in February, saying their petitions came too late to be considered. The men want the case reopened because of misconduct by a former Norfolk police detective.

Williams, Dick and another sailor, Derek Tice, were convicted in the 1997 rape and murder of Navy wife Michelle Moore-Bosko, 18, in her Ocean View apartment. Wilson was convicted only of rape. A fifth man, Omar Ballard, confessed to committing the crime alone and is serving a life term in prison.

Although the men confessed to the crimes, they have been trying to clear their names almost since their convictions. Former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine granted partial pardons to three of the men known as the Norfolk Four in 2009, and they have been released from prison.

Stephen Northup, a Richmond-based attorney representing Wilson, said successful appeals would free the men from the legal restrictions of being registered sex offenders and allow them to live productive lives. "These guys are innocent," said Northup, one of a team of attorneys representing the men. "We all believe that very fervently."

Moore-Bosko's family has strongly opposed the appeals. A spokesman for the state attorney general's office declined to comment because the cases remain active.

The appeals are based on misconduct by former Norfolk police detective Robert Glenn Ford discovered during his federal trial for corruption. Ford, a lead investigator in Moore-Bosko's murder, was convicted of corruption charges and sentenced to 12-1/2 years in prison. The conviction was unrelated to the Moore-Bosko investigation.

Norfolk Circuit Chief Judge Everett Martin found the petitions did not include substantial new evidence and rejected the appeals. Martin wrote that the decision was not a ruling on the men's guilt or innocence but rather on the timeliness of their petition.

The issues will be addressed by a three-judge panel of the Virginia Supreme Court. A date has not been set for the hearings, which could be scheduled for the summer or fall.

Williams and Dick also have federal appeals pending, while Wilson's appeal was denied by the same court. A federal court in April granted Tice's petition to clear his criminal record. ..Source.. by Louis Hansen, The Virginian-Pilot

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Many sex offenders unemployed, increasing risk of re-offending

7-5-2011 Oklahoma:

On a list of more than 330 registered sex offenders in Tulsa, nearly 40 percent are listed as unemployed, disabled or retired, records show.

Authorities say that it can be difficult for sex offenders to find a job. And with residency restrictions that make a majority of the city off limits, such instability can increase the risk of re-offending for some offenders.

"It is difficult to find employment just because of the misconceptions that every sex offender is a child molester or that every sex offender is a rapist and that is not the case," Tulsa Police Sgt. John Adams said.

"If they don't find employment and don't find housing there is not a lot else for them to do besides just hang out. If they can't find a job, they can't pay for counseling."

Law officers and legislators alike would like to see a study on Oklahoma's laws governing sex offenders to ensure that they are working as intended.

Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, D-Tulsa, has requested an interim study on the issue at the request of law officers and members of the Oklahoma Coalition for Sex Offender Management.

Randy Lopp, a licensed professional counselor who is a member of the group, said the study was requested in the interest of public safety in Oklahoma.

He said that most people agree that there are definitely some sex offenders who require the strictest monitoring regarding where they live and work. However, not all of the offenders required to register fall into that category.

The law states that sex offenders cannot "work with or provide services to children or to work on school premises, or for any person or business who offers or provides services to children or contracts for work to be performed on school premises." It also prevents sex offenders from working on ice cream trucks.

Tulsa's list of sex offenders shows that many get jobs in the food industry. Lopp said that many of them also do landscaping, mowing and day labor.

"It is difficult for folks to find a job. We encourage people to keep trying and tell them that looking for a job is a full-time job. They are also often underemployed. Employers are just fearful of hiring any offenders, not only sex offenders," Lopp said.

"Obviously, the whole problem with the sex offender issue is trying to find a place to stay and a place to work is very hard. There is research out there that shows this creates a lifestyle instability," Lopp said. "That makes it difficult to maintain any kind of standard of living. If they can't be near family or support it increases the risks re-offending, rather than decreasing the risks."

Study urged on effects of federal law

Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, D-Tulsa, has requested a study on the effects of the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act and its impact on Oklahoma's public safety.

Passed in 2006, the Act organizes sex offenders into three tiers, creates a national sex offender registry and instructs each state and territory to apply the same criteria for posting offender data on the Internet. That data includes the offender's name, address, date of birth, place of employment and photograph.

The request for an interim study was made to address these concerns, a letter from McDaniel shows:

The act requires that states have a tier system placing registered sex offenders in tiers. High-risk offenders must register for life, moderate-risk offenders for 25 years and low-risk offenders for 15 years. The act requires that the tiers be based on the offense of record, rather than risk of re-offense.

The act requires the registry to include the offender's place of employment. This could have an impact on the offender's ability to find stable employment. A lack of stable employment may increase the offender's risk to the community.

The act requires states include children as young as 14 on registries, often for the rest of their lives.

Failure to comply with the act would prevent Oklahoma from obtaining Byrne Justice Assistant Grant funding. However, The Justice Policy Institute finds that the first-year cost of implementing the act outweighs the cost of losing the grant.

The interim study may also address other issues such as residency restrictions, which has some unintended consequences.

..Source.. by Nicole Marshall

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Happy Birthday AMERICA

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Bill To End Child Exploitation Nears Finish Line

7-3-2011 Massachusetts:

Child-sex laws increase penalties to pimps and clients; Spilka adds labor-protection to all children.

The state Senate this week unanimously passed legislation, including an amendment proposed by state Sen. Karen Spilka, whose district includes Framingham, that cracks down on human trafficking and forced child labor in Massachusetts.

The bill establishes protection for victims and criminal penalties for forced labor and sexual servitude, Spilka’s office said in a press release. The amendment proposed by Spilka gives victims of forced labor access to the same help and services as the sexually exploited.

“We will work to ensure that all children are protected,” Spilka said.

The Senate bill was sponsored by Sen. Mark Montigny of New Bedford six years ago. “I truly believe this bill is going to save lives,” Montigny said.

Attorney General Martha Coakley said Massachusetts is one of only three states with no law against human trafficking.

The bill now returns to the House for reconsideration.

Several provisions in the bill target “Johns,” with prison and fines, especially those who seek sex with children under 18.

It also provides heavy monetary and criminal fines to those found guilty of forcing children to work, removes any statute of limitations for trafficking crimes, and creates criminal penalties for trafficking human organs.

The Senate bill updates sex-offender registration laws to include human trafficking. It creates a “Victims of Human Trafficking Trust Fund” from fines and convicted human traffickers’ forfeited assets. The Victims Fund would pay for counseling and protective services and related work by police and district attorneys.

Items used in the commission of crimes such as buildings, cars or boats would be subject to forfeit with proceeds split between the Victims Fund and law enforcement.

The bill would:

Establish an Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force;

Increase the penalty for soliciting a prostitute, and increase the penalty for soliciting sex from a person under 18;

Allow children charged with prostitution could use servitude as a defense.

Provide a “safe harbor" allowing a child arrested for prostitution to instead receive protection services.

Require the Department of Children and Families to provide services and report suspicion of sexually exploited children to police.

Require doctors, social workers, teachers and probation officers to report to DCF when they think a child is sexually exploited.

Establish a process for victims of trafficking to bring civil actions. ..Source.. by Susan Petroni

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New state sex offender laws in place

Again we see another state violating the rights of registrants in the name of AWA, the law which is but a end-run around constitutional protections, and crafted behind closed doors by a few persons in Congress and passed under suspension of the rules which is not allowed for such legislation. Michigan succumbs while over 40 other states hold back.

7-2-2011 Michigan:

GAYLORD, MI -- New reporting rules are in place for Michigan’s 35,000 sex offenders.

Police will gather more information and they explain why it’s important.

Starting July 1st, Michigan sex offenders will have to tell police more info, like what kind of car they drive, where they work, and even what their IP address is and what internet provider they use. It’s all part of the Adam Walsh Act.

"It’s something that needs to be done, and again, it's for the general public, it's the security aspect for the public, the public wants to know, so they have the right to know," explained Sgt. Jeff Gorno with the Gaylord Michigan State Police.

The new system will classify sex offenders by tiers.

Offenders with lesser sex offenses, like indecent exposure and 4th degree criminal sexual conduct crimes, will be classified by the first tier. These individuals won't be listed on the public registry, but must check in once a year with police for the next 15 years.

Second tier offenders who commit more serious crimes, like date rape, 2nd and 3rd degree CSC, or internet and child porn offenses, will be on the public registry, and must register with police twice a year for 25 years.

The third tier is reserved for the most serious crimes, like first degree CSC and molesting a child under 13. You’ll find them on the sex offender site and they have to register four times a year with police.

"Most families, if their child or their relative is a victim, they want them to register, they want them to be accountable, they want people to know what this person is capable of," said Libby Mikulski, Crime Victim Rights Advocate with the Charlevoix County Prosecuting Office.

Most of the collected information will be put on the state's Sex Offender Registry public database. Mikulski thinks having information about where they work, what kind of car they drive, and internet activity is important.

“We're looking at all of these things very seriously, and if you're not complying, you need to be arrested," said Mikulski.

If the sex offender doesn't register within the 15 days, a warrant will be set out for their arrest, and if they lie on the forms they fill out, that's a four year felony.

Police say Friday, because of the amount of sex offenders registering throughout the state, the data base system crashed several times and they had to tell some people to come back.

But they say by the end of the month, the Michigan Sex Offender Registry site should be updated with all the new information. ..Source.. by Andrew Keller

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Officers stop in on Vandy Co. offenders

Yup, again we see confusion, mixing sex offenders with violent offenders, two totally different registries each under separate laws! So how many sex offenders were actually checked? Never let it be said that states can report something right..

7-1-2011 Indiana:

VANDERBURGH CO., IN (WFIE) - Authorities make surprise home visits to convicted sex offenders and other violent offenders.

Vanderburgh County Deputies, along with U.S. Marshals, made the unannounced visits to verify the addresses of more than 300 registered offenders over three days.

Arrests were made for five people violating the sex offender registry.

Deputies say 253 sex offenders, or 82 percent, were living at the address matching the one in registry. But, 38 participants were not verified, and will have to be rechecked.

For years, detectives at the Vanderburgh Country Sheriff's Office thought they were only allowed to do check-ins on sex offenders once a year, but have since learned, according to state law, they can check as much as necessary.

"We definitely want our records to be accurate. We want to check the truthfulness of the those records and we want them to be reflected to the best of ability," Det. Mike Robinson says.

For the records to be accurate, detectives say they needed to know if they were living at the registered address. One way to do that is the element of surprise.

"Two hundred and fifty three of the sex or violent offenders were verified meaning they were at their address. We knocked on the door. They were compliant and cordial," Det. Robinson says.

"We did this to be a truthful reflection of what the sex offender registry is doing and how the website works," Det. Robinson says.

The sheriff's office say they need your help in locating a offender that has failed to register.

His name is Stephen Hester. They say Hester was convicted in of four counts of child molestation.

If you know where Hester is, you're asked to call the sheriff's office. ..Source.. by Becky Graham

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1 of 4 Montana sex offender addresses unverified

Yup, you can rely on what the State Publishes, NOT!

7-1-2011 Montana:

HELENA - The addresses for one out of every four offenders in Montana's sexual and violent offender registry are unverified and possibly unreliable, casting doubt on the credibility of the registry used by everyone from concerned parents checking out new neighbors to house hunters in search of a safe neighborhood.

A new audit found that 26 percent of the offenders in the state's database have not returned a required address verification letter even though not doing so puts them at risk of going back to prison. The report found that the state never notified members of the public or local police checking the list that many of the addresses are not verified.

The backers of the advocacy group that pushed Congress to adopt Megan's Law in the mid-1990s, which requires states to make information on sex offenders available to the public, said the biggest problem all along with the registries has been maintaining accurate data.

Most states notify the public with websites like Montana uses, and many have struggled over the years to keep the information current, said Maureen Kanka, whose daughter Megan was killed in 1994 by a sex offender - a crime that helped launch the push for public registries.

"Unfortunately if law enforcement drops the ball you are going to run into problems like this. That is one of the biggest problems, the lack of following through," said Kanka. "That is probably the most common problem they have with the registries is making sure they are kept up to date. That is not unheard of."

Montana officials pointed out that an unverified address in its system does not necessarily mean the offender has moved elsewhere and could be a threat to unsuspecting neighbors. The Montana Department of Justice, which tracks roughly 5,000 offenders in the state, said some have simply failed to return the address verification letter required by law.

In nearly a third of the cases, the offenders are back in jail and the managers of the database were never notified. And the auditors found seven cases where dead offenders were still listed as active in the registry.

"When members of the public access the Web site or law enforcement queries data, thy will not be aware of the offender's failure to verify their registration," the auditors wrote in a new report. "Therefore, they may not be aware of the offender's actual location."

But in many instances, the legislative audit revealed, authorities aren't sure where the offenders are living.

The Department of Justice said that it is making some changes.

The agency plans to flag unverified offenders so those looking at the website are aware of the situation. Additionally, it plans to send local police frequent reports on unverified offenders so officers can check on unverified offenders, and track them down in need be.

Auditors reported that agency managers initially resisted flagging unverified offenders because it "would lead the public and law enforcement to question the data in the registry since such a large number have not verified their registration."

Mike Batista, a Department of Justice administrator, said the improvements will be made. But overall, he said "by and large" the public can rely on the website that provides a map of offender locations.

"I think they can rely on a lot of the information," Batista said. "It's a challenging program in terms of being able to constantly know on any given day where an offender resides."

Kanka said the public should help police, noting it is impossible for authorities to constantly monitor the offenders.

"There is nothing wrong with being diligent and being watchful and making police aware if you notice an offender has moved and is not living where they are supposed to anymore," Kanka said. "The registries are only as good as what we put into them." ..Source.. by Billings Gazette

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Lawmaker wants more action on sex offender residency

Is there any possibility that, Lawmakers and prior laws, caused this situation? Yup, but thats sure proof Lawmakers cannot think ahead!

7-1-2011 New York:

Cairo’s Lawrence says state lapse raises issue of homelessness

CATSKILL — After raising pertinent questions regarding sex offenders seeking county residency, legislators have continued to study the highly charged issue.

Legislator William Lawrence, R-Cairo, first raised the issue during a public safety meeting. Officials are still determining how to address the 10 day delay when convicted offenders first register upon moving into a community.

Legislators had previously raised the possibility that any newly drafted law risked being struck down in court.

“At this point, I have sent every member of the legislature a copy of the law used in Saugerties, which is still in effect and a copy of the law that was used in Albany, which has now been overturned by the courts,” said Lawrence.

Lawrence had previously confirmed it takes the state eight months to give an offender a status.

Greene County Legislature Chairman Wayne Speenburgh, R-Coxsackie, had taken issue with the lapse in registration, previously saying

“We’ll do whatever it takes, I have a problem with the state taking that long for classification.”

In a status report provided by Lawrence, “It takes months for the state to determine level and these ‘case pending’ sexual offenders cannot be identified by the sheriff’s office to the public, only to other police agencies.”

According to Lawrence, if anyone is deemed homeless it is mandated that social services find them temporary living quarters, if such a condition exists for a sexual offender, the department does not deliberately place them next to families or children oriented facilities.

Lawrence’s previous meeting with Greene County Department of Social Services Commissioner Kira Pospesel noted 23 homeless residents, only one was a sex offender.

Deputy Travis Richards confirmed there are eight-four registered sexual offenders in Greene County.

Lawrence said he has begun the process of drafting a law to protect the community.

“I am working on the outline of this now and will send it to our county attorney for review and structure,” he said.

Among the proposals is a new, full-time law enforcement position to properly monitor sex offenders.

“We can probe the possibility of having a deputy being designated as a sexual offender officer on a full-time basis,” Lawrence said in his status report. ..Source.. by Jeff Alexander, Hudson-Catskill Newspapers

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Sunnyside residents want limit on number of sex offenders in area

Guess the only way this can happen, is, to close down the available housing, but then they are homeless and cannot be monitored (i.e., know where they sleep for a few hours of the day/night).

7-1-2011 Texas:

HOUSTON—The president of the Sunnyside Civic Association is calling on lawmakers to adopt rules that would limit the number of sex offenders who can live in a neighborhood.

Sunnyside is a community with more registered sex offenders than almost any other in Harris County.

Recently, a registered sex offender was arrested after exposing himself to small children in the neighborhood.

“Our kids can’t even walk to the corner store without someone having to be with them,” said Prenise Howard, a lifelong Sunnyside resident.

Howard said the neighborhood has changed from the way it was when she grew up.

“I’m very concerned because it’s not safe anymore,” she said.

According to the National Sex Offender Registry, Sunnyside has more than 200 registered sex offenders.

Many of them reside in halfway houses that have sprouted up on quiet streets where children play.

“They need to do something now before it gets too late,” said Travis McGhee, another resident.

A number of Houston neighborhoods are home to large numbers of sex offenders, but few have as many as Sunnyside. ..Source.. by Rucks Russell/KHOU 11 News

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