8-7-2011 Missouri:
Under a new Missouri law, teachers who "friend" a current or former student on Facebook could soon run afoul of state codes.
Senate Bill 54 first raised flags back in June when a teacher urged its veto after he used Facebook to help locate students missing following the devastating tornado in his hometown of Joplin. His protest, though, fell on deaf ears as Governor Jay Nixon sign the bill into law July 14.
Officially named the "Amy Hestir Student Protection Act" after a girl who was sexually violated by her teacher, most of SB 54 aims at culling sexual predators from school faculties. But it's the provision dealing with social media that's generating the most inquiries into the Missouri State Teachers Association.
"Ironically, we're getting a lot of questions about it on our Facebook page," MSTA's communications director, Todd Fuller, tells Daily RFT.
The new law states that teachers "cannot establish, maintain or use a work-related website unless it is available to school administrators and the child's legal custodian, physical custodian, or legal guardian." The legislation also bans teachers from using "a nonwork-related website that allows exclusive access with a current or former student."
That description would seem to make it illegal for teachers to interact with students via Twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media. But the new law also leaves it up to individual districts to set up a specific written policy regarding appropriate teacher-student communication in social networking circles. And therein lies the rub, with the MSTA concerned that standards for social-media interaction will vary widely between districts.
"The definitions in the bill are pretty vague," says Fuller. "Does it mean that a teacher from a small town who has nephews and nieces in a class, and is also friends with them on Facebook, is in violation? Or what about a teacher who has a group Facebook page for his or her class? Beyond Facebook, the law also seems to impact third-party sites like Blackboard or Virtual Classroom where teachers interact with students."
As a result, the teachers' association is now asking its 44,000 members to tell it how they use social media to interact with students and how they'd rewrite the law to provide for the safe use of the technology. MSTA then hopes to take that information to legislators in the fall.
"We didn't oppose the bill as a whole because there are good parts in it that protect children," says Fuller. "But by the same token, we're hoping state legislators will be open to hearing our concerns and allowing us a safe platform for communicating with students." ..Source.. by Chad Garrison
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Missouri Teachers Seek Clarity on New Law Prohibiting Them From "Friending"
Offenders must move from Vacaville complex
8-7-2011 California:
For years, Vacaville apartment landlord Darius Mohsenin has worked with state parole officials to place registered sex offenders in his units because it was one of the few local complexes that seemed to meet all the dozens of state compliance criteria.
Now the Leisure Town Road apartment complex has been ruled "out of compliance," because of a previously unknown school -- Heritage Peak Charter School on Orange Drive -- that moved into the area three years ago. Seven tenants have been given just one week to scramble to find other suitable housing before being found in violation of the terms of their parole, Mohsenin is left with vacant units, state parole officials say their hands are tied, and local law enforcement is questioning the wisdom of putting such offenders into transient status.
"The tenants are panicking," Mohsenin said.
"Now you got a bunch of guys who are going who knows where, all because (state) parole is not minding the store," he added, noting that one of his tenants is staying in a van in Napa, afraid of being arrested if he comes home.
"It has always been a very symbiotic relationship between parole and my complex. When they did their sweeps, they could come in and just go door to door and not have to go looking under bridges to find these guys," Mohsenin noted.
He added that the restrictions on where registered offenders and parolees can live are so tight that "it is a very narrow swath for where they can live."
While Mohsenin knows any sympathy at all for his tenants is not likely to be very strong, he insists "these people deserve better."
"I know that's hard for some to accept, but they have rights too," he said. "And this is not right."
One tenant, who agreed to talk on condition of anonymity out of fear of being retaliated against, agreed.
"There's nowhere to stay. I don't know where they expect us to go," the 27-year-old single dad said. He noted that the mandated hasty departure means he is unable to give management 30-day notice and must thereby forfeit his $900 deposit. Because he doesn't qualify for low-income assistance, without having his deposit returned, he said he doesn't know how he's going to make ends meet to come up with the funds for the deposit on a new residence.
Ironically, he is allowed custody of his 3-year-old daughter through the terms of his parole but is still required to keep the prescribed 2,000 feet from schools and parks. The move order has him at a loss over what to do.
"It's kind of hard to find a compliant place," he said before adding that a lot of places that are compliant won't rent to sex offenders because "they don't want that kind of reputation."
"Now we're going to be homeless and sleep in a car," he added. "How are they going to put a kid out on the street?"
State Parole officials note that the law is the law.
And Parole Agent Douglas Eckenrod, who supervises the Fairfield 2 Parole Unit responsible for monitoring gang members and sex offenders on GPS tracking, said it is not necessarily the case that no options are available.
"The issue of housing -- Prop 83 certainly complicates for the parolee -- but there are dozens of available housing options," Eckenrod said. "We're offering (the tenants) some assistance if they're not able to find housing by (the deadline)." He added that parole expects "that all of them are going to find compliant housing within the allotted period of time."
The crackdown on the Vacaville complex came as a result of a compliance reassessment of the complex a few weeks ago. That's when the presence of the charter school, which does not appear on the county's school board website, was brought to the attention of parole, resulting in the ruling.
According to Eckenrod, when the first registered sex offender moved to the complex, compliance checks were performed and it was found to be in compliance. However, since that time, building and general expansion throughout the city have closed in on the free space, bring with it the charter school.
"The landscape is continually changing in California all the time," he said.
Eckenrod said during the county-wide re-review, the Leisure Town apartment complex was the only one found to no longer be in compliance with distance requirements.
"Although it's small, it does meet the criteria of a school," he said of the independent study charter school that features students in grades K-12.
With public safety being the parole department's No. 1 concern, Eckenrod said "the bottom line is we have to enforce the law."
Eckenrod went on to say that all of the sex offender parolees are monitored using GPS tracking devices, which prevents parole agents from losing track of them -- homeless or otherwise.
However, according to Solano County Sheriff Gary Stanton, GPS tracking or not, the idea of having registered sex offenders out on the streets and in transient living situations is less than appealing.
"We prefer to have them avoid a transient situation," he said, noting that he thinks having them living out on the streets is of concern to the community. "I prefer to see parole avoid that in every situation."
He went on to say that his primary concern is the amount of time it requires for parole agents to monitor a computer screen to track the parolee -- time that could otherwise be spent "out in the field." Stanton has hopes that in the future the parole department will find ways to outsource GPS monitoring to free up the agents for more active patrolling.
In the meantime, the tenants have been in contact with an attorney in Martinez in pursuit of a Habeas motion to fight their ouster, though they don't expect any action could be taken in time to beat the state parole deadline for moving.
The issue isn't unique to Vacaville. Across the nation communities are dealing with restrictions that push sex offender parolees away without giving them somewhere to go.
The Sacramento Bee reported last week that a registered sex offender sued the city of Elk Grove for the right to live with his ailing parents. The suit, which was filed June 9 by Michael Steven Escobar who, according to the report, is acting as his own attorney, states that a city ordinance restricting the places he can live is in violation of both state and federal constitutions.
And this isn't the first time that someone has taken task with the issue. The ongoing discussion is being revisited by states across the country and, in 2009, an advisory panel urged lawmakers to reevaluate housing restrictions placed on sex offenders calling them costly and counterproductive. ..Source.. by Catherine Bowen/ CBowen@TheReporter.com
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Sex offender limits to stay as is
8-4-2011 Illinois:
BATAVIA — The city will not be toughening residency restrictions for convicted sex offenders living in the area of schools.
The City Council City Services Committee this week decided to end discussions of expanding on Illinois’ law that prohibits convicted child sex offenders from living within 500 feet of school property.
In June, the city began researching issues associated with toughening sex offender residency restrictions, after a parent alerted authorities of a registered sex offender living in front a school bus stop and near school property.
The registered sex offender was 204 feet outside of the exclusion zone, which makes him in compliance with the state statute, police officials said.
The Batavia School District subsequently changed an Alice Gustafson Elementary School bus stop for next year, but the parent had asked the city to consider an ordinance extending the distance for sex offenders to 1,000 feet.
Police Chief Gary Schira said literature on the subject didn’t convince him of a need to change Batavia’s residency requirements.
“The 500 feet (standard) has been working very well for the 10 sex offenders we have,” Schira told aldermen.
Schira said research on tougher residency requirements indicated that it can give a “false sense” of security and it is not the best way to ensure there won’t be repeated offenses.
“I am not sure what we would accomplish by moving the requirement beyond 500 feet,” Schira said.
Schira said if the city moves to a 1,000-foot requirement, nine out of 10 registered sex offenders living in the city would not be in compliance and would have to relocate. If the city were to move to a 2,000-foot minimum, all 10 would be in violation.
Schira said studies show increasing the exclusion area makes it more difficult for registered sex offenders to find places to live in a community to the point they are forced to live transient lifestyles and subsequently do not register their place of residency, making it more difficult for law enforcement to track them.
Under the existing 500-feet requirement, 30 percent of Batavia’s property is off limits to registered sex offenders, Schira said. He said 59 percent and 80 percent of property in Batavia would be off limits if the residency requirement is extended to 1,000 feet and 2,000 feet, respectively.
“I think we are trying to fix a problem that doesn’t need to be fixed,” the police chief said.
Alice Gustafson School parent Rodney Shiver expressed concern there is little supervision when children are let out of school and many of them must walk home, but Schira said officers cannot realistically police all school exits with the existing manpower. ..Source.. by Linda Girardi
Washington County mulls future of sex offender residency law
8-4-2011 New York:
FORT EDWARD -- Washington County officials want the public to sound off on whether to overturn a local law that regulates where sex offenders can live and work.
Members of the Public Safety Committee voted 5-2 in favor of pushing a resolution forward to have the full Board of Supervisors schedule a public hearing on the local law, which was adopted in January of 2009.
The county's sex offender law prohibits sex offenders from living or working within 1,000 feet of public or private elementary, middle or high schools, child care facilities, parks, playgrounds, public or private youth centers, public swimming areas and libraries. Facilities operated by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities or the Warren and Washington Counties Chapter of NYSARC are also on that list.
A number of other counties across the state have adopted similar laws.
Recently, however, many of those measures have faced litigation and were repealed in favor of the state law.
At Wednesday's Public Safety Committee meeting, County Attorney Roger Wickes recommended the supervisors revisit their local law. He said there is a potential for a costly legal battle if the law is not repealed.
"Seventeen counties have these things, and eight have been overturned," he said. "I find it very telling that none of these counties who lost have decided to appeal."
If any county covered by the 3rd Judicial Department of the Supreme Court Appellate Division appealed such rulings and won, Wickes said, Washington County's law would be upheld, too.
The 3rd Department covers Washington, Warren and Saratoga counties, among others.
Because the state residency requirements for sex offenders are more lax than the county's requirements, some supervisors questioned the constitutionality of the local law.
The state Sex Offender Registration Act does not restrict where a registered sex offender may live. If the offender is under parole or probation supervision, however, other state laws may limit the offender from living within 1,000 feet of a school or other facility that cares for children.
Argyle Supervisor Bob Henke said the county is being more strict that the courts.
"I think we're saying, ‘Here is a punishment that goes on forever,'" he said.
Hartford Supervisor Dana Haff said the county enacted the law because of the belief that sex offenders can't be rehabilitated.
"I'm not in favor of coddling them," Henke said in response to Haff. "I'm in favor of something else."
Social Services Commissioner Tammy DeLorme said the county law makes it more difficult for her department to find affordable housing for sex offenders, which forces the county to put offenders in motels for long periods of time.
The longest social services personnel had a sex offender stay in a motel was from October to July, and that was a Level 3 offender, DeLorme said.
"Currently, there are six sex offenders in (Washington County) motels," she said.
Probation Director Anthony White said the law has caused overtime issues for the probation officers in his department. Specifically, the law has a tendency to drive people underground, making it harder for probation officers to find offenders for routine checks, he said.
Many sex offenders, he said, are homeless, which creates stress for the offender.
"When they feel stressed, they are more likely to re-offend," he said.
Currently, Washington County Undersheriff Matthew Mabb said there are a total of 223 sex offenders in Washington County, including offenders who are incarcerated in other counties but who have residences in Washington County.
The Board of Supervisors will vote to schedule a public hearing on the local law at its next meeting on Aug. 19. ..Source.. by Lydia Wheeler
Dugard case prompts effort to improve sex offender supervision
8-4-2011 California:
With the Phillip Garrido fiasco as a backdrop, legislative and law enforcement leaders agreed Wednesday to work toward preventing a similar one.
In a meeting at the Capitol convened by state Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, and El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson, officials discussed the failures that led to Jaycee Lee Dugard remaining captive for 18 years and offered ideas on how to improve supervision of sex offenders. .......
Dugard was kidnapped at age 11 in 1991, and was found alive in August 2009.
Various investigations have determined that federal – and later state – parole agents failed in their supervision of Garrido, who had a lengthy criminal history and was on parole for a 1976 kidnapping and rape when he and his wife, Nancy, abducted Dugard.
Lee Seale, director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's internal oversight division, said that as soon as Dugard was discovered alive, his department launched two internal probes of how agents missed her presence on the Garridos' Antioch property.
Both probes found "serious shortcomings," Seale said, adding that the department is working to improve its supervision of sex offenders.
There was little dispute that there had been a massive series of failures to detect Dugard's presence as a captive. Pierson, who won guilty pleas from the Garridos in April, noted that the public may never know the full extent of his crimes.
He said Garrido told investigators earlier this year that he had committed other abductions, as well as dozens of date rapes.
Garrido claimed he had never killed anyone, but made it clear that he had no problem lying to authorities if he didn't want them to know about some crimes.
"He was fairly proud of that," Pierson said. ..Source.. by Sam Stanton
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
How to unlock a car with a text message
8-3-2011 National:
Las Vegas (CNN) -- Don Bailey says he can unlock thousands of cars across the United States simply by sending a few texts from his Android phone.
And that's not even the scary part.
Bailey, a senior security consultant with iSEC Partners, said in an interview with CNN at the Black Hat security conference here at Caesars Palace that the same hack he has used to demonstrate unlocking and even starting a car via text message also could be used to attack industrial systems, the power grid and the water system.
"I could care less if I could unlock a car door," he said. "It's cool. It's sexy. But the same system is used to control phone, power, traffic systems. I think that's the real threat."
Bailey would not share details about which cars or which auto systems are vulnerable to the hack that he showed off publicly at the event.
The hack affects many kinds of devices that connect to cellular GSM networks, like the one used by AT&T. As cars and plenty of other stuff -- from pill bottles to trees, he said -- start connecting to cell grids and the Internet, Bailey said they become more vulnerable.
Certain electronic components that accept wireless signals are vulnerable to the hack, he said. Those components are in the cars Bailey said he can unlock remotely.
Again, he would not name which cars have them.
Strangely enough, Oprah Winfrey kinda-sorta inspired this research.
Bailey said he was watching an "Oprah" show about a device called the Zoombak, which the TV host said could be used by parents to track the locations of their kids.
"I heard that and thought, 'Oh dear God no. Please Oprah, no, no no!' " he said in a presentation at Black Hat. "This was my thinking: That's dangerous. That can definitely be owned. Let's own that thing."
In hacker-speak, "own" means to take control of a device.
Once he figured out how to take control of the kid-tracker, Bailey moved on to cars, which he said was more difficult but still not impossible.
"I couldn't just straight-up text message it and be like, 'Gimme yo' datas!' " he said, referring to the car parts. "So it was a little more work."
It's not all doom-and-gloom, though.
Bailey said manufacturers could purchase more expensive parts that would keep these types of hacks from being possible. He thinks industry associations should put out recommendations suggesting this approach, even though cost increases would be "highly significant."
"We have to," he said. "We have to find elegant ways to find that sweet spot between cost and security."
Black Hat is an annual gathering of hackers and security professionals in Las Vegas. Researchers hope that by showing off how to hack certain systems, the computer industry will take steps to make infrastructure and consumers safer. ..Source.. by John D. Sutter, CNN
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Man Sentenced For Offering Bounty For Daughter's Beau
8-2-2011 California:
Domingos Oliveira Offered $3,000 For Sex Offender Sean Kirk 'Dead Or Alive'
EL CAJON, Calif. -- A Spring Valley man who put up posters offering a $3,000 "dead or alive" bounty on his daughter's boyfriend, a registered sex offender, was sentenced Monday to seven years and four months in state prison.
Domingos Jose Oliveira, 49, was convicted last month of solicitation of murder and making a criminal threat against 33-year-old Sean Kirk, along with a hate crime allegation. Jurors deadlocked on a threat charge against the defendant's 20-year-old daughter, Samantha.
"This is a self-controlling father," Deputy District Attorney Curtis Ross told Judge William McGrath.
The prosecutor said Oliveira showed no remorse and told a probation officer that others were to blame for the bounty and threats against Kirk, who is black.
"He's still concerned about his safety," Ross said of the victim. "This was an attempt to have Mr. Kirk killed."
Ross said Oliveira was more than just a concerned parent, having his daughter sign a death contract saying that if she dated a black man, she and that person would be killed.
Oliveira wasn't even aware that Kirk was a registered sex offender until several months into the threats, Ross said.
McGrath said Oliveira had been law-abiding since a domestic violence and drug conviction 21 years ago, but "reoffended in an extraordinary way."
The judge said the defendant's actions were motivated by a racial bias and an attempt to control his daughter.
A young black Marine who also dated Samantha Oliveira testified that the defendant also harassed him.
McGrath called the defendant's actions "completely wrong."
"It was not done on a whim," the judge said. "He (Oliveira) knew what he was doing was serious stuff."
Defense attorney Michael Earle told reporters that Oliveira was a concerned father who, in his own way, was trying to do what was best for his daughter.
The attorney said Oliveira was remorseful, but not as remorseful as the court wanted to see.
"I think in his mind he was doing what was best for his daughter," Earle told reporters. "From his standpoint, it's difficult to be remorseful when you're trying to do the best thing for your kid. Whether it's right or wrong, to him it was the correct call to protect his daughter."
Kirk told police he received numerous threatening emails and text messages while dating the defendant's daughter earlier this year.
The victim said he was in class at Grossmont College when a teacher told him there were posters all over campus marked "dead or alive" and pointing out that he was a sex offender. Kirk admitted to being a registered sex offender, saying he pleaded guilty to having sex with a girl he thought was 18.
Samantha Oliveira testified that her father was a racist and often made threats against her black boyfriends.
The defendant was arrested the morning of March 25 at his home, several hours after a search warrant was served at the Roadside Place residence. La Mesa police said they found the wanted poster on the defendant's computer. ..Source.. by 10News.com
Monday, August 1, 2011
Registered sex offender sues Elk Grove to win right to live with ailing parents
8-1-2011 California:
A registered sex offender on parole for child molestation has sued the city of Elk Grove, complaining that a city ordinance restricting where he is allowed to live violates state and federal constitutions.
The lawsuit by Michael Steven Escobar, who is acting as his own attorney, complains that Elk Grove's ordinance would prevent him from residing with his mother in Elk Grove and would leave him few choices other than homelessness.
Elk Grove's ordinance prohibits a registered sex offender from loitering within 300 feet of schools, day care centers, playgrounds, parks, amusement centers or youth sports facilities.
It bars offenders from residing within 2,000 feet of those places. About 130 registered sex offenders reside in Elk Grove, according to police spokesman Officer Chris Trim.
Elk Grove's ordinance, approved in 2010, is similar to Proposition 83, the 2006 initiative known as Jessica's Law. The measure barred offenders from living near schools and parks where children play.
Escobar's suit, filed June 9, names the city and Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully.
Albert Locher, assistant district attorney, said the county's position on the case "will be stated in whatever response we file with the court."
Elk Grove Police Chief Robert Lehner said the city ordinance is similar to those that are being increasingly challenged around the state.
The Elk Grove ordinance does provide exemptions.
When Elk Grove's ordinance was passed in 2010, most of the city's registered sex offenders resided within 2,000 feet of a park, school or other specified locale. Those offenders did not have to move.
Even so, Lehner said that when offenders have properly registered, enforcement has not been a problem.
"We have a very good compliance rate," Lehner said. "Everything comes from that. It makes it a lot easier to enforce."
He said the city has been monitoring court challenges filed in other urban areas to determine whether any could affect Elk Grove.
In San Diego County, for example, a Superior Court judge in February issued a ruling that described the 2,000-foot residency restriction in Jessica's Law as unreasonable and a constitutional infringement.
He gave the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation a mandate to stop imposing the residency requirement against four registered sex offenders as a condition of parole.
In Elk Grove, Councilman Gary Davis vowed that even as such court cases are decided, the city won't relent on its commitment to the public.
"From a general interest perspective, sure, we'll have to see how it's challenged in other jurisdictions," Davis said. "There are big challenges all around California."
But he added, "Our ordinance is intentionally strong, and we take seriously our obligation to protect our community members."
Escobar served nearly nine years in prison for molesting a child under age 14.
He was released in June 2010. Under a temporary court order while the case goes forward, he is allowed to live in his mother's home, less than 1,000 feet from a public park.
In his suit, Escobar complains that he faces an "unconscionable choice between leaving his home – where he cares for his aging and ill parents – and becoming homeless or facing prosecution from the district attorney for violating the ordinance.
"Most compliant housing, if any can be located in Elk Grove, is located in apartment complexes where high numbers of minors reside." the suit says.
Michael Risher, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, said there are many suits involving ordinances for cities and counties around the state that raise similar issues.
"You have to live in the county," Risher said, offering an example of an offender's dilemma, "but there's nowhere in the county left to live."
California is still vigilant.
The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website notes that California has more than 6,600 sex offenders wearing Global Positioning System technology, more than triple the total in Florida. ..Source.. by Loretta Kalb
Pols: Throw Net on offenders
Another lawmakers with his head stuck in a hole in the ground, if he would study who is committing sex crimes he would find its not people on the registry. Guess he wants to spawn more hysteria to get folks to vote for him. Facebook removed all known registered sex offenders, so who will his bill catch?8-1-2011 Massachusetts:
A lawman and lawmakers hoping to guard children against Facebook-friending sex fiends are pushing a bill that would force the state’s most dangerous predators to register their e-mail addresses, Twitter handles and other online aliases with the Sex Offender Registry Board.
“We’re just trying to protect young kids, give parents another tool and punish people who are preying upon our kids,” said Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey. “It’s that simple.”
Under the bill, Level 3 sex offenders would have to report all their electronic monikers — including Facebook names, blogs and message-board screen names — just as they do their home addresses. The legislation has 12 co-sponsors and could get a hearing after lawmakers return from their August break.
“The concern revolves around the fact that you have sex offenders using these identities to track people to commit a crime against ... and trying to solicit children into very bad situations,” said state Rep. Tackey Chan (D-Quincy). “We’re trying to bring the sex offender registry up to the 21st century.’
Failing to register the screen names would be a criminal offense, which could result in both jail time and fines, Morrissey said.
“It becomes self-policing,” said the district attorney. “People see the address, they’re going to report it. It doesn’t mean they can’t communicate on the Internet. . . . It’s just an attempt to add one more layer of protection to the public and the unsuspecting person.”
Other states have gone even further in trying to rein in Web-surfing sex offenders. Laws in North Carolina, Illinois and Louisiana make it illegal for convicted sex offenders to have social-networking accounts, including Facebook and MySpace [website]. California is considering a similar bill.
Facebook itself banished more than 5,000 sex offenders from its site two years ago.
“This is in many ways a reflection of the world we live in,” said Chan. ..Source.. by Chris Cassidy
After release from prison, Maine sex offenders rarely commit another sex crime, study reports
8-1-2011 Maine:
PORTLAND -- Contrary to popular belief, freed sex offenders in Maine commit additional sex crimes at a much lower rate than other former inmates carry out non-sex crimes, according to a new statewide study.
Less than 4 percent of sex offenders released between 2004 and 2006 were re-imprisoned for a sex crime in the three years after their release, according to the Maine analysis.
By contrast, about 21 percent of perpetrators of other crimes released during the same time period were re-imprisoned in the three years after their release.
Although these findings are similar to other studies around the country that have found relatively low recidivism rates for sex offenders, they still fly in the face of public perception, which suggests sex offenders go on to commit more sex crimes at stunningly high rates.
Mark Rubin, the study's co-author, said the findings didn't surprise him.
"There's a perception that sex offenders recidivate at a higher rate than other criminals, but there's really no data to support that theory," said Rubin, a research associate at the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School of Public Service.
"I've read and seen data that sex offenders across the country have very low recidivism rates."
The Maine study, conducted by the Muskie School with the help of the Maine Department of Corrections, is the first of its kind in the state.
It followed 18,295 prisoners released from prison between 2004 and 2008. About 900 of those, or slightly less than 5 percent, were sex offenders.
Dr. Joe Fitzpatrick, the clinical director for the Corrections Department, attributed the low recidivism rates for sex offenders to the department's proactive approach.
The department provides intense individual and group therapy programs for sex offenders during their incarceration, and then strict supervision and rules after they're sent home.
"Specialized probation officers are also partnering with family members, community members and employers, who can all lend a hand when it comes to supervising," Fitzpatrick said.
"Monitoring where offenders live, where they work and where they spend their time are all part of a wrap-around approach to ensuring no more victims."
The 4 percent recidivism rate found in Maine doesn't significantly differ from other state and national studies. The U.S. Department of Justice followed convicts released in 1994, and found that 5.4 percent of sex offenders were re-imprisoned for sex crimes in the three years after their release.
But that hasn't deterred the public from believing that sex offenders re-offend much more than other criminals.
One 2009 survey in Florida found that 68 percent of people believe sex criminals "re-offend at much higher rates" than other convicts.
And the public believes about 65 to 80 percent of sex offenders go on to commit more sex crimes, according to several other studies. The Maine study didn't analyze public perceptions.
Numerous factors contribute to these misconceptions, experts said. Part of it may be media portrayals of sex offenders. Part of it is mixed evidence about whether treatment for sex criminals is effective, or extreme fear of heinous sex crimes.
"It's completely understandable," Fitzpatrick said. "Sex offenders cause so much harm, the effect on the community and the risk to the community is always significant, even with a single offense."
But some experts said to take the new study's findings with a grain of salt. Sexual assaults are extremely underreported compared with other crimes, so some sex offenders may be committing new crimes without being detected, said Elizabeth Ward Saxl, the executive director of the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
"While that recidivism data tells us something, it doesn't give us a clear picture of what's going on," Saxl said.
It's also important to acknowledge the variety of sex offenders when looking at any data, Saxl said. Sex offenders can be child molesters, or someone who urinated in public, or a 19-year-old who had sex with a 16-year-old. Depending on what category of sex offender one studies, the recidivism rates could drastically differ.
Fitzpatrick said Maine acknowledges these differences, and provides different therapies and probation rules for different types of sex offenders.
"Some sex offenders may only commit one sex crime their entire life; others may commit hundreds of sex crimes," Saxl said. "You can't put them all into one box."
The Muskie School decided to study sex offenders because at the time research began, many Maine communities were deciding how to deal with sex offenders, Rubin said.
Under the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, all sex offenders must register their location at least once a year. But some cities and town have taken it a step further, by passing legislation that make it nearly impossible for sex offenders to live within their jurisdictions.
Some experts say the strict rules actually make sex offenders more dangerous. Because of the public ostracism, it becomes more difficult for sex offenders to get a job, find a place to live and re-assimilate into society after leaving prison.
This instability and alienation can make them more likely to commit another sex crime, Fitzpatrick and others said.
Rubin said he'd like to track these same convicts' recidivism rates five and 10 years after their release from prison. He'd also like to collect data on whether the often severe restrictions against sex offenders help or hurt recidivism rates.
"It's an emerging field of study," Rubin said. "The problem is dealing with public policy right now when there's not always enough data to make an informed decision." ..Source.. by Jason Singer
