MORE
INFORMATION
Note:
The
amount of information available to the public varies from state
to state, and by the danger the sexual offender poses to the
community. To see the details of the availability and
requirements/regulations for the state that you may be
interested in, click HERE.
Introduction
There are three important federal
laws concerning criminal registration. The requirement to have
all persons who commit sex crimes register with the police after
release from prison is known as The
Jacob Wetterling Act, passed in 1994. The related act of
release of the sex offender information to the community is
known as Megan's Law. The project of the Federal Bureau of
Investiation to create a national database is known as the Pam
Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act.
Almost all states have passed a
Megan's Law implementing the federal statute. Almost half of the
states place the identity information of the sex offenders on
the Internet. In some states, the court has interpreted the
state law to not permit Internet publication of the data. Law
enforcement officials have made the full databases available in
16 states: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida,
Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
In addition to the 16 states with
official publication of the full registries, there are 4 states
that can be considered to have full sex offender registries
online: Illinois, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington. The
coverage in these 4 states either is provided by private groups,
or covers specific communities that make up the bulk of the
state's population. In all, 20 states currently have complete,
or almost complete, registries available.
In every state with a Megan's
Law, the state provides the data of all registered sex offenders
to law enforcement. In California, the state estimates the cost
at $233,000 annually for the database on CD-ROM and
fee-for-information service with a 900 telephone number for
public inquiries. Limits placed on what local law enforcement
can do with the data varies. In some states, such as Washington,
local law enforcement is free to place the registry online. The
City of Bellevue, Washington, has online the name, photograph,
criminal history and block address (but not the street address).
The City of Bellingham has the name, history and photo online.
The City of Everett has no data online, but has a Web site
telling the public to contact the police to obtain the data. The
offenders online are Level 3, or the most serious category, who
are deemed a high risk to re-offend. The names of Level 1 and 2
offenders are not easily available to the public.
Why have some states hesitated to
make the sex offender registry publicly available ? In February
2000, a New Jersey court ruled that the registration statute did
not allow public online access. Where the statute would allow
Web publication, but the state withholds it, the concern law
enforcement has is that vigilante groups would drive the
offenders out of the community. At the Bellevue, Washington,
police site listing sex offenders, there is a warning that
police will not allow harassment of the offender. A Kansas
newspaper editorial criticized that state's registry as
inaccurate and unhelpful. The ACLU has widely criticized the
practice, as well.
The ease of publishing online,
and the public nature of the sex offender data, means law
enforcement is not the only group that posts the information. In
some states, after law enforcement decided not to place the data
online, private groups have. In California, an individual posted
the sex offender list on the Web after law enforcement decided
not to (though the site's data was taken down in August 1999 and
has not yet been reposted (as of Feb. 23, 2000). A spirited
debate ensued over the propriety of the Web site. The Attorney
General ultimately decided that the registry was public
information and the site was legally protected free speech. In
Michigan, a state legislator posts the data on his personal
page. In Michigan a newspaper posted photographs of 51 convicted
rapists. Illinois and Louisiana both have private groups that
place at Web sites names of released offenders.
When sex offender data is
available through law enforcement agency, there are varying
requirements for citizens to access the information. In some
states only approved groups, such as schools, can make an
inquiry. Usually, the citizen requesting information needs
specific information about an individual to find out if he is on
the registry. In Massachusetts, where the registry is at the
police department but not on the Internet, citizens can make an
inquiry in three ways, as follows:
1.By identifying a specific person
or by providing sufficient identifying information;
2.By asking whether any sex offenders live or work within a
one mile radius of a specific address;
3.By asking whether any sex offenders live or work on a
specific street.
Example, see below:
Kentucky State Police: |
|
Levels
of Community Notification - Kentucky. The Sheriff shall notify
in the case of:
High
Risk Sexual Offender:
-
Law
enforcement agencies currently having jurisdiction;
-
The
law enforcement agency having had jurisdiction at the time
of the offender's conviction;
-
Victims
( defined in KRS 421.500 ) who have requested notification;
-
The
Kentucky State Police;
-
Any
agency, organization or group serving individuals who have
similar characterisitics to the previous victims of the
offender, if the agency, organization or group has
filed a request of notification with the Sheriff;
-
The
general public through statewide media outlets and by any
other means as technology becomes available.
Moderate
Risk Sexual Offender:
-
Law
enforcement agencies currently having jurisdiction;
-
The
law enforcement agency having had jurisdiction at the time
of the offender's conviction;
-
Victims
who have requested notification;
-
The
Kentucky State Police;
-
Any
agency, organization or group serving individuals who have
similar characterisitics to the previous victims of the
offender, if the agency, organization or group has
filed a request of notification with the Sheriff.
Low
Risk Sexual Offender:
-
Law
enforcement agencies currently having jurisdiction;
-
The
law enforcement agency having had jurisdiction at the time
of the offender's conviction;
-
Victims
who have requested notification;
-
The
Kentucky State Police
|
Definitions:
Sexual
Offender is a person who
has been convicted of a sex crime, who suffers from a mental or
behavioral abnormality or personality disorder characterized by
a pattern or repetitive, compulsive behavior that makes the
offender a threat to public safety,
High
Risk Sexual Offender: A
sex offender who meets the criteria established by the Sex
Offender Risk Assessment Board that correlates with a high
risk of recommitting a sex crime. ( Criteria in the
process of being established by the Board )
Moderate
Risk Sexual Offender:
( Criteria in the process of being established by the Board
)
Low
Risk Sexual Offender: (
Criteria in the process of being established by the Board
)
|
