There is no uniform approach to how sex offenders should register from state to state. Although federal government has initiation several general requirements for registering sex offenders, many states don’t follow the requirements. Most states complain that it disrupts and clashes with their own policies for managing sex offenders.
Sex offender registry doesn’t take into account the likelihood of sex offenders to commit the same crime. Instead it combines all offenders together into one registry allowing worst offenders to blend in with less threatening ones. This creates an issue because these high risk offenders and being punished the same as the low level offenders.
The public can’t be protected if the registry is not up-to-date. In Washington, offenders are required to register their information with a sheriff of the county in which they live. The sheriff then passes the information along to local or public police who must verify the address. Unfortunately, the list of sex offenders keeps expanding why the numbers of officials who monitor sex offenders have grown at a much slower rate. In California, authorities cannot account for 44 percent of the state registered sex offenders2.
1http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/us/09offender.html?pagewanted=2&ref=sexcrimes
2http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Sex-offender-registry-failing-1104802.php
1http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/us/09offender.html?pagewanted=2&ref=sexcrimes
2http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Sex-offender-registry-failing-1104802.php
This does seem like a big issue. I knew all about "Megan's Law" stating sex offenders need to register to the county they reside in, but I was unaware of the severe lack of communication and knowledge of offenders real place of residency. It is disheartening to know that no one really knows where these registered offenders live, and if they are creeping in your neighborhood. Also, the system where lesser sex crimes and greater sex crimes are generalized in the same category is also unfair. I remember reading a newspaper article about children in middle school who had to register as sex offenders because they were hitting fellow girl classmates on the butt. I do not think they should be in the same classification as someone who sexually assaults little kids. These are all issues that need to be considered, looked at and discussed when looking at registered sex offenders and you did a great job of discussing them in your post.
ReplyDeleteThe statistics in your blog are very scary and alarming. This is an important topic that we might not think about on a daily basis, however it is important to know if someone is living next door is a registered sex offender. There should be a better system instilled that shows the seriousness of the offense so the public around these people know if they are safe or not. It definitely takes into bigger account when you have your own children; everyone wants to make sure their children are safe. This issue should not be overlooked as much as the government allows it to be.
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