Legislators look to make more sex offender info public

1-23-2013 Massachusetts:

Legislators representing Malden, Melrose, and Wakefield have filed legislation calling for information on a wider range of sex offenders to be made public, and to give the state's Sex Offender Registry Board access to information beyond what is presented in court to determine sex offender status.

State Senator Katherine Clark and state Representative Paul Brodeur, both Democrats from Melrose, filed the bills in response to the child sexual assault charges brought against Wakefield's John Burbine in December. Burbine was previously classified a level 1 sex offender.

State law allows for information on level 3 sex offenders -- the highest level -- to be publicly posted, but law enforcement agencies are not allowed to provide information to the public on level 1 offenders, who are considered least likely to reoffend.

"There is no bulletproof system to guarantee safety," Brodeur said in a conference call Wednesday. "But this will give people a much higher degree of confidence."

The legislation would allow for local police to give out limited information on level 1 offenders, but only when members of the public asks ...continued... by Jarret Bencks