Let the Burden Fit the Crime: Extending Proportionality Review to Sex Offenders

Original Article (PDF)

03/2014

By Erin Miller

Draconian restrictions on the activities and privacy of convicted sex offenders are a new, and troublesome, trend. In 1994 and 2006, following a national dialogue about crimes against children sparked by several high-profile incidents, Congress passed two laws requiring states to register and regulate sex offenders residing within their borders. States and municipalities soon caught on, and deepened restrictions. In the last five years alone, local governments have forbidden sex offenders to live within 2,000 feet of schools; “be” within 500 feet of parks or movie theaters; enter public libraries; drive buses or taxis; photograph or film minors; and use social networking websites like Facebook. Others have required sex offenders to advertise their status on driver’s licenses or social networking profiles; wear GPS bracelets at their own expense; notify local police when present in any county within the state for longer than ten days; provide notice to all new neighbors within a roughly quarter-mile radius when they move; and pay up to $100 annually to maintain sex offender registries. These burdens typically last for a decade or for life, depending on the jurisdiction and the type of crime committed.

Read the entire story here

NY - Bill would tighten sex offender rules

Original Article

05/10/2014

Legislation introduced by state Sen. Patrick Gallivan concerning sex offenders makes sense and should be approved by lawmakers. The bill would require the state to notify local municipalities and schools when a sex offender is transferred from a state facility to a community residence or program. The commissioner of the Office of People With Developmental Disabilities would be required to make the notifications no later than 10 days before the transfer takes place.

“The relocation of dangerous individuals to a residential neighborhood is always cause for concern. Local officials have a right to know about the transfer of sex offenders into a community program or residence in their community, so that they have time to properly address public concerns and security issues,” Sen. Gallivan said in a news release.

The bill, S7064, is co-sponsored by state Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer, and has been referred to the committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Such notification would go a long way toward easing concerns such as were raised when several developmentally disabled sex offenders were placed in group homes after the state facility where they had been staying was closed. People living near the state-owned group homes, in West Seneca and Scottsville, were caught off guard.

Notification is important. People do need to know when a convicted sex offender is living in their neighborhood. They also need to assess the level of danger that sex offender poses. Each convicted sex offender is evaluated and assigned a level. Factors taken into consideration include use of force, weapons, alcohol or drugs, the victim’s age, number of victims, assault or injury of the victim and relationship to the victim. Then a judgment is made according to how likely the offender is to repeat the behavior. Those at low risk of repeating the offense are assigned to Level 1; Level 2 is for those with moderate risk; Level 3 are those at high risk of re-offending and who present a threat to public safety.

Knowledge goes a long way toward easing fears and helping people deal appropriately with the situation. A Level 1 offender in the neighborhood is reason for caution, not panic. Sen. Gallivan’s bill would make sure people get the knowledge they need to keep everyone safe.

People should remember, however, that not every sex offender has been caught and conveniently labeled. Children need to be protected from known offenders, but they also need to be protected from offenders who aren’t yet known. In the end, there is no substitute for good parenting and precaution.

TX - Midland Man (Joe Garza) Addresses City Council For New Sex Offender Ordinance

Joe Garza

Original Article

04/09/2014

By Justin Kree

MIDLAND - It's a story NewsWest 9 has been following since the beginning. A registered sex offender caught twice masturbating in a Midland neighborhood, in front of the same family.

"I want a law to pass, or something to pass for all these sexual predators to have a sign posted in front of their house, or if they live in an apartment complex to put in front of the door. We need to protect our children," Joe Garza said.

Joe Garza is on a mission to make sex offenders like _____, more visible in the community.

On March 10th, _____ was arrested for masturbating across the street from Garza's home, in plain sight of his 5 year old daughter.

NewsWest 9 has been following this story, we first spoke to Joe and his wife, Sandra a few weeks ago when this happened.

_____ was arrested again on April 3 committing the same act.

Mayor Jerry Morales addressed Garza's concerns at Tuesday's meeting.

"What will happen is legal will do the research on that and give us an opinion on if we have any jurisdiction on that, creating those types of ordinances. There still a lot of research to do on that law. We definitely want to take the seriousness of that issue and see what legal has to say about it." Mayor, Morales said.

"I'm glad that he recognized what was going on and that I brought it to their attention. Hopefully the city council can see that we need to change something for the children," Garza said.

So what are the restrictions placed on sex offenders living near a school zone?

"They cannot be within a 1000 feet. If they live within a 1000 feet of the time of their offense, they can live there but under severe restrictions," Sheriff, Painter said.

Midland County's Sheriff, Gary Painter says if sex offenders are allowed free they must fill out this pre-release notification form which goes into extensive detail.

Authorities keep an even closer eye on sex offenders when Halloween rolls around.

"If they are at home, their light cannot be on. We'll go around, we'll make contact with all of our offenders to make sure they are compliant with the law. Also make sure there are no kids at the residence or coming up to the residence," Painter said.

As far as Garza's idea for putting up signs in a sex offender's yard, Mayor Morales believes it's a good idea.

"Most definitely, if any constituents can speak their mind, we are definitely going to listen. We want to take a matter of that magnitude very seriously and so we will get some good definite answers," Morales said.

OH - Law would mandate sex-offender alerts at nursing homes

Original Article

04/06/2014

By Encarnacion Pyle

State lawmakers want to close a loophole that requires neighbors to be notified when a registered sex offender moves into a nursing home but not the people who live there or their families.

“As it stands now, if I live next to a nursing home, I’m going to be notified if a sex offender moves in. But if I’m in the room with a sex offender, I probably won’t know it,” said Beverley Laubert, the state’s long-term-care ombudsman with the Ohio Department of Aging.

Current law requires notification of anyone living within 1,000 feet of a sex offender. However, it does not require nursing-home administrators to notify residents, family members or guardians.

Legislation in Gov. John Kasich’s mid-biennium budget review would require administrators of nursing homes and assisted-living centers to check the names of all prospective residents against the state’s electronic sex-offender registry.

They also would be required to assess the potential risks of admitting that person and to create a plan if they do that includes information about how they would provide a safe environment for everyone, including the offender.

The administrators would then have to tell the other residents and their family members or guardians that a sex offender had moved in and describe the plan to protect them. They also would be required to help sex offenders change their addresses with the local sheriff’s office if they haven’t done so themselves.

“We’re simply trying to correct an unintended consequence of the original law. It’s that simple,” said Bonnie Burman, director of the Department of Aging.

The new requirements are part of a larger bill that could go to the House for a vote this week. Ohio lawmakers have tried several times to change state law so that nursing-home residents are notified when a registered sex offender moves in, but those efforts have failed.

Nationwide, 14 states have enacted laws related to sex offenders in long-term-care facilities, but only five of them require that other residents be notified.

“I think it would be a good first step,” state Sen. Capri Cafaro said. “Anything that promotes better protection of the frail and vulnerable older adults in our state is worth pursuing.”

In 2010, Cafaro, a Democrat from Hubbard in northeastern Ohio, introduced a provision aimed at identifying when the most-serious offenders intended to move into a facility. That bill included a measure to fine facilities $100 a day per violation if they didn’t comply.

A Dispatch investigation at the time found that 110 nursing-home residents and six employees statewide were registered sex offenders. Fifty-one were concentrated in four nursing homes, including 26 at Carlton Manor in Washington Court House. That one closed this year after the Ohio Department of Health revoked its license because of failed inspections and a history of problems.

While admirable in concept, the law might prove to be a difficult balancing act, said Jane Straker, a senior researcher at the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University.

“Who doesn’t want to take care of frail, older adults if we perceive that they might be in danger? But sex offenders can also be frail, older adults in need of help,” she said. “It’s a huge dilemma, and I don’t know the answer.”

Straker said research hasn't been able to show a link between resident abuse and registered sex offenders in long-term care. And predicting which residents are likely to abuse others has been problematic.

Some people worry that notification would create unnecessary fear among the other residents and their families.

“If you ship out a notice that you've just admitted a sex offender, a mass exodus will probably ensue, and no one wants that,” said Peter Van Runkle, the executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association, a nursing-home industry group.

To prevent that from happening, he predicts that most nursing homes would simply say they don’t have the staff and other resources to meet a sex offender’s needs.

And if a nursing home did accept a registered sex offender, “would it become a scarlet letter?” asked Steve Wermuth, interim president and CEO of LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit nursing homes.

But state officials said those fears are unfounded.

When it has been previously revealed that a sex offender has lived at a nursing home, “nothing awful has happened,” said Laubert, the state’s ombudsman.

CT - Bill would require state to notify mayors about sex offender placements

Original Article

Hmm, the state has an option to email people when a "sex offender" is placed into the community, or moves, this is yet another pointless law. And given the fact that "sex offenders" move so much, how quick will it become a pain in the butt to get an email every time one moves?

04/05/2014

By Adam Benson

If a measure before Connecticut legislators becomes law, when registered sex offenders leave prison and are placed into a Connecticut community, the chief executive officer of the town or city would be notified by the state.

On Wednesday, the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee voted 40-0 in favor of Senate Bill 432, which, if approved, would charge the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection with alerting mayors or first selectmen via email when a registered sex offender is provided with local housing. The measure is co-sponsored by state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague.

If legislators in both chambers approve the bill, it's up to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to sign it into law, which could take effect July 1.

Lawmakers said a controversy that flared up last year in Norwich was the impetus for the provision.

Former Mayor Peter Nystrom led a vocal group of city officials who assailed the state for placing offenders into city apartments upon their release from a treatment facility known as The January Center, on the grounds of Montville's Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center.

In early February, the influential lobbying group Connecticut Conference of Municipalities included the proposal in its list of legislative priorities.

“This bill is a direct reflection of the problem we ran into in Norwich. We're doing this for chief elected officials of cities and towns to get more information,” Osten said. “They need to know who is living in their community. When residents come to them with questions, they need to know what's going on.”

Norwich Mayor Deb Hinchey said she supports the legislation if it brings peace of mind to residents.

“It's about being responsive to the citizens, and if they feel it gives them an extra measure of comfort or protection to have the mayor notified, I think that's fine,” Hinchey said. “If the law passes, I would certainly sit down with (Police) Chief (Louis J.) Fusaro and the city manager and figure out the process that we would implement to make sure the information was put out where it needed to be.”

In a statement, spokeswoman Brenda Bergeron said the state department already sends information about the whereabouts of sex offenders to local law enforcement, and it will fully cooperate with any new provisions.

“The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection is committed to the continuing improvement of all facets of public safety and stands ready to comply with the notification process outlined in the bill. It may be noted that this information is already provided to municipalities through their local police departments or resident state troopers,” she said.

Eastern Connecticut officials aren't the only ones backing S.B. 432.

In March 12 testimony before the judiciary committee, state Sen. Joseph Crisco Jr., D-Woodbridge, said the prompt flow of information to local leaders regarding sex offenders living in their towns is “important.”

“I believe it is important for parents to be given the tools and information that would allow them to ensure the safety of their children. For this reasons, I urge support of this bill,” he said.
- This bill is NOT about parents having the info, that is already available, it's about notifying mayors, but they can also get notifications as well.  It just goes to show you that those in charge of passing unconstitutional laws have no clue what they are doing!

Norwich Alderman Mark Bettencourt, a former correctional officer and chairman of the City Council's Public Safety Committee, said S.B. 432 is good law.

“For us, it's just a matter of following it. If it's coming in to a chief elected official, they're going to have to make the push to follow through and make sure the job gets done,” he said.

MO - Des Peres neighbors vent concerns about sex offender

Mob Mentality

Original Article

03/26/2014

By Jesse Bogan

DES PERES - About 100 people showed up at a community meeting here Wednesday night to hear what can be done about registered sex offender _____ living in their upper-middle-class neighborhood.

But by the time it was over, many, including Bill England, 70, would leave with a sense of powerlessness.

“What’s very concerning to me is my grandson and his mother live next door to this guy. Next door,” England told a panel of law enforcement and city officials gathered before the crowd. “Obviously, we are scared. What advice would you give us?”
- The same info as if any other ex-felon lived next to you, tell you kid about the person, tell your kid about good touch / bad touch, etc, etc.

Kathi Alizadeh, chief of the sex crimes unit for the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney’s office, told him she couldn't give him advice and only encouraged him to contact lawmakers in Jefferson City.

“What I can tell you is that there is nothing in the law that prohibits him from living next door to a child,” she said. “There’s nothing in the law that prohibits him from walking up to a child in the street and talking to him.”

Emotions have been high, particularly in the Royal Acres Subdivision, since _____ was released from custody in February.

_____, 49, who lives with his 85-year-old mother, was first arrested at 18, when he was caught sticking his hands in the pants of 5-year-old girl playing outside in the neighborhood. He avoided incarceration for that offense, but in 1997 he went to prison for 10 years for molesting a 7-year-old girl whose parents he’d befriended.

When his prison sentence was nearly over, he was flagged for possibly meeting the criteria of a sexually violent predator. Some officials argued that he should be held indefinitely as a patient at what is now called Sex Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Services, a program run by the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

He was held in jail since late 2006, pending the outcome of the state’s civil commitment case against him in that matter. In February, a St. Louis County jury unanimously agreed that _____ was not a sexually violent predator, somebody with a mental abnormality that would make him more likely than not to re-offend if not held in a secure facility. Three previous trials resulted in hung juries.

Keith Krumm, director public safety in Des Peres, told the crowd Wednesday night that _____ checked in with local police the night he was released and had been in compliance ever since. But they've increased patrols around his house and at nearby bus stops.

Officials said _____ couldn't live within 1,000 feet of a school, go to a public swimming pool or give out Halloween candy. But they said laws don’t seem to forbid him from going to a pool in the subdivision because it’s privately run.

In response to questions, officials said _____ wasn’t required to have GPS monitoring or be subject to other rules such as taking polygraph tests because he was not on parole or probation.

There are hundreds of registered sex offenders in St. Louis County, an official said at the meeting. There are five in Des Peres.

Krumm said in an interview before the meeting that none of the other sex offenders in the area had raised the amount of concern that _____ has.

_____, who wasn’t at the meeting, has declined to comment since his release. His attorney said he wanted to move on with his life quietly.

But if the meeting Wednesday night was any indication, there will be a lot of eyes watching him in Des Peres.

WI - Bill to change sex offender law passes

Robb Kahl

Original Article

03/26/2014

Legislation authored by State Representative Robb Kahl (D-Monona) to close a loophole in sex offender law has passed both houses of the legislature and can now be signed into law by the Governor.

The change in law is the direct result of the placement of a sex offender in McFarland under the terms of an interstate compact.

“I want to thank members of each party in each house for their help in moving this legislation through,” Kahl said. “When I shared the concerns of McFarland of Police Chief Craig Sherven, members listened and realized that current law was flawed and needed to be changed.”

The offender placed in McFarland committed his offenses in Illinois and served time in the Illinois Correctional System. Had the individual in question committed his crimes in Wisconsin and been sentenced to serve time in a Wisconsin correctional facility, the Department of Corrections would have issued a Special Bulletin Notice (SBN) to the police chief of the community and the county sheriff to alert them that the offender in question poses a significant risk to the community.

However, current law does not apply to offenders placed in state under terms of a compact – even if they pose a significant risk.

A law enforcement agency’s receipt of an SBN serves as a mechanism to initiate a local decisionmaking process to determine the level, scope, and method of community notification, if determined necessary. In instances in which an SBN is not issued, local law enforcement generally does not issue a community notification.

“Legislators understand that the Department of Corrections worked well with the McFarland Police Department to address community concerns to the greatest extent possible in this case,” Kahl stated.

“The change in law simply ensures that when sex offenders are placed in a community – whether from a Wisconsin correctional facility or under the terms of a compact – that the chief of police and sheriff will receive the SBN that is necessary to protect the public by initiating the local decision making process and providing appropriate community notification.”

The Senate version of the bill, Senate Bill 668, was passed on March 18 by the Senate on a voice vote and was taken up and passed by the Assembly March 20 on a voice vote.

TN - Sex offender bill to be heard this week

Rep. Billy Spivey

Original Article

03/25/2014

By Billy Spivey

Excerpt:
HB1860 (Video), the “community notification of sexual offenders” bill, will be heard this week before the Calendar and Rules Committee. If all goes well there, it will be scheduled for a vote on the House floor.

This important bit of legislation will allow for local communities to choose, if they desire, to adopt a notification program for residents with regard to the arrival or presence of certain sexual offenders. The bill gives full authority to the locals to decide whether or not they want to pursue a notification program, so it is not forcing anything on anyone while allowing for communities who are concerned about the safety of residents (and particularly children) to do this sort of thing if it is what they deem best. Please call your Representatives and Senators and urge them to NOT support HB1860 in the House, and SB2398 in the Senate.

Sheriff Blackwelder and Sandra Metcalf of Lincoln County have been incredibly helpful throughout the process of crafting and advancing this bill. There are also a great many good folks in Lincoln County who have been absolutely critical in getting this proposal “off the launchpad”, so to speak.

HB1860 is an excellent example of local participation and activity at the grassroots level being pursued to the point of making a real difference on a state level. Folks throughout the 92nd District have been very supportive of HB1860, but it has been the passionate participation of Lincoln County residents in particular that has been most responsible for getting HB1860 to where it is now. I am so thankful and honored to serve the people of Lincoln County and have the opportunity to champion this cause alongside them.

Read the rest of the article

TN - Sex Offender Notification Bill Advances In Tennessee Legislature

Original Article

03/18/2014

By Nick Banaszak

FAYETTEVILLE (WHNT) - A push for tougher sex offender notification laws in Tennessee came one step closer to reality Tuesday, part of an ongoing effort that originated in Lincoln County several months ago.

A committee in the Tennessee Legislature approved HB 1860 (Video), a bill that would allow municipal and county governments to mail written notices and post flyers in communities that convicted sex offenders move to.

Tennessee lists all of its registered sex offenders on a state website, the only legal method of notification the Volunteer State currently has. But Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder said residents who don’t know about the site, or those who don’t have internet access, are vulnerable to potential danger. Blackwelder said issues with the current system came to a head at a community meeting in a rural part of the county last year.

“They [residents] were concerned because they weren’t notified that sex offenders were living in their communities,” said Blackwelder. “When we discussed the TBI website, it became evident that a lot of these people did not have access to the TBI website nor access to the internet.”

Sheriff Blackwelder decided to contact state legislators about the dilemma, a brainstorming session that gave birth to the Tennessee Community Notification Act. Blackwelder said it guarantees awareness for parents, and is cost-effective.

“This gives parents the knowledge of who is in their community,” said Blackwelder. “It doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime…In this bill there is an additional 50 dollar fee assessed to the sex offender. That 50 dollars will be earmarked for community notification.”

Alabama and several other neighboring states already have similar laws in place. Lincoln County officials said it’s one reason why several sex offenders have recently moved north of the state line.

Both bodies of the Tennessee Legislature are expected to formally vote on HB 1860 in the next few weeks.

WI - Oshkosh Police Dept. Sex Offender Public Meeting March 5, 2014

Experts? They are all law enforcement. Where are the sex offender treatment providers / therapists?

You say reintegation into the community, but residency restrictions and the online hit-list doesn't help!

And the public has harsh reactions because you, the media and others continue to make them all look like child molesting, predator pedophiles, which they are not!

Education in schools and by the parents is the key to putting a dent in sexual abuse not hysteria and disinformation.

VT - Law would mandate that state notify communities of nearby sex offenders

Sen. Dick Sears

Original Article

02/22/2014

Several senators want to inform communities about where registered sex offenders live.

Introduced by a pair of Democratic lawmakers from the Northeast Kingdom, S.80, requires that the state’s public safety or corrections department notify communities of the presence of a sex offender within five days.

Under the proposal, if the offender becomes a Vermont resident or changes his or her address, the Vermont Department of Public Safety will tell communities. If the offender is released from prison or supervision, the corrections department will give public notice.

Currently local law enforcement bodies, and the two departments, can choose whether to tell communities about nearby sex offenders. This legislation would leave them no choice.

Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who chairs the Senate Judiciary committee, told VTDigger that he isn't sure the mandate is necessary, since local law enforcement already regularly informs the public when particularly dangerous convicts are around.

“The current law provides the ability for law enforcement to notify when they think such notification would be beneficial,” said Sears. “And I think that’s a judgment call that both departments need to make.”

A person’s sex offender status is public information, which can be looked up online at the state’s Sex Offender Registry, maintained by the Vermont Criminal Information Center.

According to the center’s director Jeffrey Wallin, there are about 1,436 registered sex offenders in the state, with 1,008 listed online. The number of sexual offenders in recent years hasn't risen or dropped sharply, Wallin told lawmakers.

But the database the state maintains has also faced sharp criticism in past years, with a June 2010 report from the state auditor noting: “With respect to the reliability of the SOR [Sex Offender Registry] data, we found a sizeable number of serious errors.”

As a result, a law passed in 2009 won’t take effect until there’s a favorable review of the registry, done by the state auditor and approved by a joint legislative committee.

The 2009 law, Act 58, would post an offender’s street address online, if the offender is high risk, hasn't complied with treatment, is wanted for arrest, has abused a child under 13-years-old, and has had his address listed online in another jurisdiction.

Sears says the solution is to wait for a favorable audit from the state auditor, which he argues would make this legislation unnecessary. The center has revamped and improved the registry over several months since that critical report, with new state auditor Doug Hoffer planning to start an audit of the new system in late spring 2013.

“I think the problem that S.80 asks us to address would be solved once the addresses are on the internet,” said Sears. “I think our number one goal right now ought to be get a positive performance review…and then let the 2009 law take effect.”

“Once that takes effect, I’m not sure that we have a problem in terms of notification. And people who might have a specific problem should probably contact the state police or their local police about why they weren't notified of a particularly high-risk offender moving into their neighborhood.”

But advocates and committee members also want to do justice to former convicts trying to reintegrate into society, and those wrongfully listed on the registry.

Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, raised questions about how difficult it is for offenders to remove themselves from the database. Currently, those listed have to go through the courts or the corrections department to scrub themselves from the registry.

Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, added that she’d heard complaints from constituents who believe they’re on the database for “things that are just ludicrous.”

Right now, only those convicted of a sexual crime show up on the database, which was established in 1996. Their name, photo, town of residence, probation status and detailed criminal record are all listed, with an indication of whether they’re considered a “high risk” offender.

Advocate Gordon Bock, chair of the prisoner’s rights group CURE Vermont (Facebook, National), said that one danger here is worsening an already harmful social stigma about former sex offenders.

He said there needs to be a balance between a public need and desire for safety, and “turning a particular type of former prisoner into what essentially amounts to being a pariah.”

He hopes that lawmakers will be “careful and circumspect before they make it even more difficult for people who have committed crimes of a sexual nature — and I’m talking about those who have rehabilitated, and want to stay on the right track — to make it even harder for them to secure a place to live, to get a job, to exist in the community.”

NY - Gallivan Pledges Review of Sex Offender Laws

Original Article

02/13/2014

By Dave McKinley

Local officials concerned over state relocating sex offenders in their towns.

WEST SENECA - After our story that aired Wednesday regarding the state's surprise placement of seven-convicted sex offenders in a West Seneca neighborhood, officials in other towns are expressing concerns about whether similar situations will crop up in their municipalities.

At least one state lawmaker is pledging to look into their concerns.

"There are three or four places where it's just happened," New York State Sen. Patrick Gallivan (R-59th District) told several town supervisors and mayors in his district. He meets with the local leaders regularly to discuss a variety of issues.

At such a meeting held Thursday, West Seneca Town Supervisor Sheila Meegan issued a warning for her colleagues.

"I want you to know, it's coming to your neighborhood, too," Meegan said.

The state, in an effort to save money, continues to shut down secure facilities, de-institutionalizing those with severe developmental disabilities by placing them in group homes instead.

This resulted in the recent placement of seven men, previously housed in a secure facility near Rochester, into two homes recently acquired by the state on Leydecker Road.

However, besides being developmentally disabled, the men are also convicted sex offenders ... now living near concerned neighbors with children.

"This is something, now that it's called to our attention, that I think we have an obligation to take up", said Gallivan, who chairs the Senate Committee on Crime and Corrections.

One thing he would like his committee to take up is notification laws.

Records show the state dutifully notified West Seneca police when the sex offenders were placed in the community, but, under current law, it did not have to tell anyone else, like town officials or neighbors.

"My God …how can the state say, 'that's okay, we followed the law and that's good enough'? Well, it's not good enough," said Gallivan. "If there's not that legal (notification) requirement now, I would suggest that there should be, and that's one of the things we will be looking into, to effect what I would think is a necessary change."

Gallivan also pledged to look into another concern expressed by local officials: the fact that any local laws they may have created, governing where registered sex offenders can live, do not apply to state facilities, including group homes.

"You could understand why there could be some exemption for an institutional type setting, where there are obvious signs such as fences and other security measures," said Gallivan, explaining that anyone would be able to easily deduce that there people living there, under the care and custody of the state, who may pose a danger to others.

"But when they are being housed in a residential area, in homes appearing no different than surrounding neighbors, it makes absolutely no sense that an exemption like that should exist," he said.

See Also:

• Town boards of Newstead, West Seneca hear concerns about sex offenders at group homes

OR - Sex offender registry to see changes

Original Article

02/11/2014

By Chris Holmstrom

PORTLAND (KOIN) - When a convicted sex offender is ready for parole, the state makes a risk assessment to determine if he’s likely to once again commit a sexual crime.

_____, who served his sentence for sexually abusing four children at a 24-Hour Fitness in Hillsboro, was released from parole and is unsupervised because officials determined he was not a predatory risk.

The father of one of his victim’s — who became an advocate for sexual abuse victims in 2005 — is not happy.

“He’s not going to be watched, he’s not going to be supervised,” the father said. “The community does not need to be notified because he’s not rated as a predator, which I believe is false.”

“Certain sex offenders are rated as predatory or non-predatory,” he said. “I’d love to see and have that become a much stricter ratings assessment.”

Changes are coming to the way Oregon classifies sex offenders.

Last summer, Oregon lawmakers passed a bill that mandates all sex offenders be classified by their risk level in society. It also establishes rules for community notification. Now, only the predatory offenders are on the state’s public sex offender website.

Starting on December 1, 2016 the state will be on a three-tier sex offender registry, similar to Washington.

All sex offenders will be given a risk assessment, which will rate whether they are level 1, 2 or 3. Currently, the state only publishes public information for offenders that are considered predatory — only about 2.5% of them.

The new law will put the more at-risk offenders on the public site, but not the low level ones. It will even give people on level 1 and 2 a chance to be reclassified and possibly off the list completely.