7-13-2009 Washington:
OLYMPIA -- Thousands of convicted sex offenders who must now tell authorities where they live also could be required to share the names and addresses they use when hanging out online.
A statewide panel is considering whether high-risk juvenile and adult sex offenders should be required to register e-mail addresses, blogs and usernames on social networking sites such as Facebook.
Some argue the information will help law enforcement keep better track of these criminals. Others worry it will create a false sense of safety if the public believes every mouse click by these offenders will be monitored when it won't.
The Sex Offender Policy Board will sort through the arguments and make recommendations to the Legislature in November. They'll be part of the panel's broader review of the state's system of registration and public notification of sex offenders.
Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, hopes the panel backs the change.
In 2008, Pearson unsuccessfully pushed a bill requiring sex offender e-mail and Web addresses be registered. This year's version, authored by Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Sunnyside, passed after it was revised into a study by the policy board.
"It's not a bad idea for law enforcement to have that information on file," said Pearson, the ranking Republican on the House public safety committee. "I do think it can help when they're doing their investigations."
Brad Meryhew, a criminal defense lawyer on the policy board, sees more negatives than benefits.
It will be costly to implement, difficult to enforce and those convicted of serious sex offenses can already be barred as a condition of their sentence from using the Internet, said Meryhew, a Seattle attorney whose practice is exclusively representing sex offenders.
He foresees rashes of offenders charged with failure to register if they don't inform authorities quickly enough of a new e-mail or revised Facebook account.
"It doesn't make sense. I don't see how community safety is improved by having someone's e-mail addresses," he said. "I don't think its a practical way to get at Internet-related offenses."
Today, 21 states mandate that sex offenders provide data about their online identities at the time they register their home address, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The number likely will grow in the next year because a federal law requires states enact rules for collection of the data by July 2010. Those that don't comply could lose out on thousands or even millions of federal dollars for law enforcement.
Washington's Sex Offender Policy Board is a 16-member panel with representatives of courts, prisons, crime victims, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Created two years ago, it's been analyzing treatment, supervision and housing of sex offenders as well as prevention of sex offenses.
It's been measuring the state's guidelines against the federal statute. In the coming weeks it will focus on tracking the online habits of registered sex offenders, which now number about 4,370 statewide.
Anmarie Aylward of the Department of Corrections isn't sure which path to go.
Research is limited. Yet, she said, "It may be good public policy."
If an offender is prevented from using a false identity on a site like MySpace then it's worth trying, said Aylward, a board member.
On the other hand, she said, "We don't want to set up something that gives people the impression that if they are Twittering somebody, that person is not a sex offender. We won't know that for certain."
Kecia Rongen, a program administrator in the state's Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration and a policy board member, said different juvenile and adult offenders need to be treated differently.
Juveniles convicted of sex offenses are, for the most part, not using the Internet to facilitate their crime, she said.
For many, going online will help them re-engage in society, she said. Any gains could be blunted by overly restrictive registration mandates.
Like Meryhew, she worried about juveniles getting sent back to jail for failing to promptly inform authorities of a new user account.
"Being selective about whom we apply the rules to makes the most sense," she said.
Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick said his detectives could certainly benefit as they use the Internet to track and contact the offenders.
Officers could send e-mails informing sex offenders of changes in law or simply to get in touch with them for some unresolved matter, he said.
Attorney General Rob McKenna, whose office is represented on the policy board, avoided an absolute stance.
"I think it is definitely worth considering. If the goal is to monitor what the sex offender is doing, it probably makes sense to check their use of social networks," he said.
It won't be effective without follow-up and law enforcement's lack of resources makes that difficult, he said.
McKenna's office makes wide use of existing social media from Facebook to Twitter and everything in between. He said he does it to go to where the public hangs out.
That's what makes it alluring to sex offenders.
"They go where the prey is," he said. ..Source.. by Jerry Cornfield, Herald Writer
July 13, 2009
WA- Sex offenders' online social activities may soon be monitored
May 5, 2009
TX- Texas Attorney General Abbott, Senator Shapiro, Representative Pena Mark Texas Senate’s Passage of E-mail Registration Bill
State Attorney General again goes after the wrong persons committing online crimes against minors. The AG refuses to review the actual crimes, if he did he would find it is NEW offenders and not PRIOR offenders. These new requirements waste law enforcement resources and violate the rights of registrants; where are the lawyers willing to fight these senseless feel-good sounds-good laws?
5-5-2009 Texas:
Bills would require sex offenders to register their online information with law enforcement
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, state Sen. Florence Shapiro and Rep. Aaron Pena today marked the Texas Senate’s passage of legislation that would require convicted sex offenders to provide their online and cellular telephone account information to the state’s Sex Offender Registry. Senate Bill 689 passed the Senate on Monday and is now pending in the Texas House of Representatives.
“This legislation will help protect children by ensuring that state law keeps up with modern technology,” Attorney General Abbott said. “By requiring sexual predators to provide their electronic identities, the Legislature is simply improving existing registration requirements – which require convicted sex offenders to provide their addresses to the Department of Public Safety. As Attorney General, I am grateful to Sen. Shapiro and Rep. Pena for their innovative approach and commitment to Texas children.”
Sen. Shapiro added: “I have spent my career protecting the innocent against predatory sexual offenders, beginning with Ashley's Laws in 1995. With today’s new Internet sites, it is now time to take this fight into the virtual world and target those who target our children through social networking sites, chat rooms and live video gaming systems. I commend General Abbott for his work against these most heinous criminals as well, and am grateful to his Cyber Crimes Unit for the strides it has made to bring these offenders to justice.”
Rep. Pena said: “We are closer today to preventing sex offenders from using social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to prey upon our children. SB689 is an important progression in making the Internet safer from online predators. This legislation will provide law enforcement with new tools, resources and information to track sex offenders online.”
The bills – Senate Bill 689 by Sen. Shapiro and its companion House Bill 1239 by Rep. Pena – include four key provisions that strengthen state sex offender registration laws:
• Registration of Internet accounts and e-mail addresses. If enacted, the legislation would require all sex offenders to register their Internet account and online identifiers, including e-mail addresses and designations used for online chatting, instant messaging, social networking or other similar Internet communication. The law would require that sex offenders notify their primary registration authority or the Department of Public Safety, which manages the state’s Sex Offender Registry, any time offenders change their Internet service providers or other online identifiers.
• Registration of mobile telephone numbers. Dramatic growth within the mobile communications sector has increased children’s access to cellular telephones. As a result, young Texans now frequently send text messages, transfer photographs, and use their mobile telephones to chat online. To help prevent sexual predators from using mobile phones to prey upon children, the law would require registered sex offenders to register their cell phone numbers with the DPS.
• Sharing information with law enforcement. Authorizes DPS to release state sex offender Internet identifiers to the OAG and social networking sites (i.e., MySpace.com, Facebook.com).
• Internet prohibitions for certain sex offenders. Requires sentencing courts and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to prohibit certain sex offenders (e.g., those who committed a sex offense against a minor; are designated a level 3 sex offender; or used the Internet to facilitate the commission of the crime), as a condition of parole or probation, from using the Internet to access obscene material; access a commercial social networking Web site; communicate with other individuals or groups for the purpose of promoting sexual relations with persons under 17; or communicate with a person under 17 when such offender is over 17.
In 2003, Attorney General Abbott established the Cyber Crimes Unit to crackdown on child pornographers and sexual predators who use the Internet to prey upon children. The Cyber Crimes Unit has arrested 105 predators in 25 Texas counties and Indonesia. These defendants were caught trying to arrange sexual encounters online with victims they acknowledged were young children. The “children” actually were undercover investigators. Cyber Crimes Unit investigators have also obtained convictions against 96 individuals on child pornography charges.
Since taking office, Attorney General Abbott has earned a national reputation for aggressively arresting and prosecuting child sexual predators. In addition to arrest roundups, Abbott also launched a series of town hall meetings statewide to educate parents and teenagers about the kind of criminal activity that goes on in connection with Internet diaries, chat rooms and social networking sites. Thousands of concerned Texans turned out at venues across the state to participate in the interactive presentation about the risks of online predators and the steps parents can take to protect their children online. ..News Source.. by Texas AG
