Find sex-offenders in your neighborhood
We linked to this a long time ago, but after seeing a sex offender from my neighborhood in the public library Saturday I thought I would post it up front.
Mapsexoffenders.com allows you to punch in your zip code, and the little red baloons represent the locations of all registered sex offenders in your neighborhood. You can see their mugshots, and clicking the link takes you to a short description of their offense.
Of course the information is provided to help you keep kids safe and not harass the sex offenders.
To use the map, you first have to check the “I agree” box, then double-click on southeast Idaho to center the map. Enter your zip code in the box above the map, and hit the “Go” button. Zoom in by clicking the “+” sign above the slider, or somewhere higher on the slider than where the current mark is. Be aware that as you zoom in, you may have to double-click the map to recenter it in the Idaho Falls area. When you’ve gotten down to neighborhood level and see the red baloons, simply click once on each and you will see the sex offender’s picture popup in the little talk baloon. To exit that balloon and see others, simply click the little “x” in the upper right corner of the balloon.
Not only is it informative to see how close some sex offenders are living to your home, it is good to study their pictures and keep watch for these guys showing up at parks or kid events. I wonder if the library was off-limits for that sex offender?
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Comments
Tonight I saw a story on our local KIDK channel 3’s website about a new website that helps parents keep track of sex offenders in their area. I wondered if they got it from our site, since we just published this a few days ago (and that’s fine if they did).
Count on our local media to publish press releases and fail to take 5 minutes to investigate 3 clicks deep. They published the site URL in the following manner: Family watchdog.us is a site that has a big bark and an even bigger bite. Cute soundbite, but erroneous.
Maybe I’m dumb, but I see the space between the two words and so just copied the watchdog.us into a new browser tab. Nope, that’s a link farm. Rereading the sentence, I realized it’s actually famiywatchdog.us. I get to the site, it is similar to the Mapsexoffenders.com, but not as easily maneuverable. It does use different color codes for child molesters vs. rape vs batter, but I see little difference.
It portends to tell you where these offenders work, which the mapsexoffenders.com does not, however examining the entire city reveals NOT A SINGLE work location of any of these offenders.
So unfortunatley Kidk’s website they gave to viewers is not as good as the one we reported. For an easier to use tool to find local sex offenders, use mapsexoffenders.com
Sheesh, you’d think they could have spent the time it took to write that cute phrase about bark and bite and instead gone to the site to see it does not offer what they press release may say it does.
Post Register ran a good story last Sunday about juvenile sex offenders. Not many, but hey keep an eye on them also. The link is http://isp.state.id.us/so_viewer/search.jsp, click on ‘Juvenile’ and search in your county
I saw Twin Falls started their own sex offender website.
It cost them several thousand dollars to build, and will cost them several thousand dollars annually to maintain.
The only real advantage they seemed to identify was that it might be a little more up to date than the state registry.
To me, it seems a redundant waste.
I hope Idaho Falls does not try the same thing.
The site posted in the original post refers back to the Idaho State Police site for pictures and further info on a person. I like the ISP site to use from the get go - it seems to be the most complete. It also has info on Idaho missing kids, adults, etc.
http://www.isp.state.id.us/identification/sex_offender/index.html
I think that child molesters should be shot. All of them deserve a sudden or fatal death.
Casteration isnt enough for the child predator. They need to be delt with by the public. Lynch mobs would be the best way to deal with them.
Some 13 year old kid molested my 4 year old daughter and I couldnt get the police to do anything.
That punk will get his real soon. Keep an eye on the news. 13 year old boy gets raped by several large black males. That would be real funny.
Mandatory Minimums are the way to go here. Our good judges in the Upper Valley are not doing enough to keep these predators off the streets. Take it out of their hands and impose minimum 10 yr. sentences for child molesters and rapists. Keep them on for lifetime supervision. 2nd offense is life in prison. No parole.
I always have to roll my eyes at the knee jerk idiocy that is suggested by folks like the poster in post #7.
There are many people each year freed from prison because its found out they didn’t actually molest anyone. Ooops, so sorry we castrated you. Or ooops so sorry we killed your innocent family member.
Depending on what study you want to believe its also been suggested that as much as 20-40% of child molestation allegations are found to be false or unfounded. Especially when there is a custody battle going on.
I would fully support much longer PRISON sentences and closer supervision on release. Those things can be largely undone if its found later a mistake was made. Death and castration cannot.
I agree with post #12! My Dad was accussed by his granddaughter (my niece) of molesting her and after a year of humiliation, lie detection tests, counseling of the child, etc, it was later found out that it was in fact her own father that had done the molesting! Not only to her, but her two sister, and a couple of cousins! He is currently in prison serving 30 years. To this day my Dad refuses to be alone with any of my brothers children because of this crazy sceniario!
People are falsely accused all the time!
Those that are truly guilty should indeed pay for their crimes, but all to often innocent people have had their lives turned upside down by an accusation alone.
To post #11…Idaho has a Sexual Offender Classification Board that currently gives input to the Parole Board for inmates that present less or more risk to reoffend. At the front end of sentencing, mandatory minimums can be used for offenders that molest kids under 16. We are not talking about Statutory Rape cases…we are talking about pedophiles and hebophiles that prey on very young children. Idaho Code requires sex offenders undergo a psychosexual evaluation prior to sentencing. Right now, in Idaho Falls we have a small group of counselors like Meyers Counseling, New Beginnings Mental Health, Center for Human Relations and a only 1-2 other that do these evals for around $1000 each. Now, the county (you and me)is paying for some of these because guys can’t afford them. Some of these ‘professionals’ ethics and abilities are suspect to begin with…that is another story…what do you think they recommend alot of the time….?
Well, of course the criminal is treatable in the community of course! Guess who does the treatment of sexual offenders? The same agencies that evaluate these offenders!!! MAJOR CONLICT OF INTEREST. MAJOR THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY LEAVING THESE GUYS IN THE COMMUNITY. Probation & Parole is strapped…they have not been given the money to watch these guys 24/7. They do what they can but it is not enough that we would expect and/or want to have happen. WE NEED TO PUT THESE OFFENDERS AWAY before they have a chance to reoffend.
Reoffense or “Recidivism” Rates of Sex Offenders
According to a recent report by the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Of the 9,691 released sex offenders, 3.5% (339 of the 9,691) were reconvicted for a sex crime within the 3-year follow-up period.” It also states, “Within the first 3 years following their release from prison in 1994, 5.3% (517 of the 9,691) of released sex offenders were rearrested for a sex crime.”
In United States v. Mound, 157 F.3d 1153, 1154, (8th Cir. 1998) (en banc), four dissenting Judges cite Law Review articles citing statistics finding the recidivism rate of released sex offenders is the second lowest rate of recidivism of all convicted felons. In State v. Krueger, Case No. 76624 (December 19, 2000, Eighth Judicial District of Ohio, unreported), two female Judges reversed a Sexual Predator adjudication, finding the statute is based on a false assumption and in essence, an “old wives tale” of popular beliefs contradicted by empirical data.
By writing the National Criminal Justice Reference Center, P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, Maryland 20849-6000, you can obtain the following reports.
NCJ-163392 (February 7, 1997), Sex Offenses and Offenders: An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault, finds the recidivism rate of 2,214 convicted rapists released from prison was 7.7% after three years. The only category of crimes with a lower recidivism rate are those persons convicted of murder (6.8%).
NCJ-193427 (June, 2002), Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994, finds the recidivism rate of 3,138 convicted rapists released from prison was 2.5% after three years. The only category of crimes with a lower recidivism rate are those persons convicted of murder (1.2%).
In April, 2001, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) released a report also on the recidivism rate of released sex offenders. In Ten-Year Recidivism Follow-Up of 1989 Sex Offender Releases, Office of Policy, Bureau of Planning and Evaluation, Paul Konicek, Principle Researcher, (available at http://www.drc.state.oh.us), the recidivism rate of 879 sex offenders released from Ohio’s prisons in 1989, after ten (10) years, was found to be 8% for new sex offenses.
The ODRC study finds its results as typical, citing to:
1) Gibbons, Soothill, and Way, found in Furby, Weinrott & Blackshaw, 1989. (Twelve year study finding sex offender recidivism rate of 4%).
2) Gibbons, Soothill, and Way 1980, found in Furby, Weinrott & Blackshaw, 1989. (Thirteen year study finding sex offenders recidivism rate of 12%).
3) Hanson & Bussiere, 1996. (Mega-analysis of sixty-one sex offender studies with a total of 28,972 sex offenders finding recidivism rate for new sex offenses five years after release was 13.4%).
4) New York Department of Corrections, nine year follow-up study. Finding a 6% rate of recidivism for new sex offenses.
These studies are cited on page 11 of the ODRC report.
At page 15 of the report, the overall findings are summarized. The ODRC finds, “Contrary to the popular idea that sex offenders are repeatedly returning to prison for further sex crimes, in this population a sex offender recidivating for a new sex offense within 10 years of release was a relatively rare occurrence.” Id. at page 15, ¶ 4.
( Love 2002 )
This is in stark contrast to what is presented by politicians and the mainstream media. The amount of occurrences of violent, brutal rape and murder of children is minute. Unfortunately, the public pays the price for this massive and ongoing campaign of misinformation in multiple ways:
Firstly, the public funds the registry (staff to keep up with the registrants, etc.), secondly, the public is subject to loss of property values (due to proximity of a registered sex offender) and thirdly, an increased level of anxiety with little benefit from the knowledge.
SOhopeful International seeks to strengthen Megan’s Law by excluding low risk former sex offenders, and only register and track those deemed qualified under the original stated legislative intent. It does the public no real good to have to wade through 95 lowest risk former offenders to find the 3.5 who are considered a risk to reoffend.
Civil Commitment
With the advent of ‘Civil Commitment’ the most violent and predatory (habitual) sex offenders are never released into society, therefore rendering the registration requirement for those deemed low risk counter to the legislative intent of Megan’s Law. It is illogical to present a system that tracks non-violent, one-crime one-victim, lowest-risk sex offenders as a benefit to public safety. Some politicians have presented the sex offender registry as a tool to aid law enforcement and a means for which the public may check up on neighbors or others in their community, indeed as necessary to keep children safe. The reasoning that was originally given for this and continues to be quoted is not based in fact, but based on imaginary figures and hysteria.
I appreciate your researched comment, khan.
I may not interpret it correctly, but I read the studies varying in the recidivism rates, from 2.5% to 13.4%.
If the rates are due to time studied after jail release, there is still a problem. One study claims 4% recidivism in a 12-year study, and another claims a 12% recidivism in a 13-year study. Do 8% of sex offenders suddenly devolve in that thirteenth year?
To my mind, 10% recidivism of 1,000 sex offenders means 100 more kids or adults will be sexually violated, and it could have been prevented with stronger treatment or punishments of the offenders. 100 more people is too many in my mind.
I can appreciate the arguments about the costs of running the registry, and the problems of statutory rape.
I think the state should quit prosecuting and registering people if they are guilty of statutory rape if the ‘victim’ is within 2 or 3 years age, unless the victim is 14 or under. For example, my neighbor convicted of statutory rape with a 16 year old when he was 26 would still be rape.
We could cut consensual teen sex partners out of the equation and focus on the real problems.
In fact, I wonder how many of these recidivism rate studies included or excluded people convicted of statutory rape with someone within 2 or 3 years of their own age? I imagine the people in this category are not major sex offenders and probably would not repeat offend.
So I agree and disagree with you. I disagree in that I see the studies as inconclusive, albeit I will agree recidivism is probably not higher than 20%. I disagree that it is all hype and fear, because the few victims of recidivism are the few too many.
I will agree that we could purge the list of those most unlikely to offend again (statutory rape offenders within 2 or 3 years of their victim’s age), then we could focus on the real potential re-offenders.
Statistics are nice if you are buying a car or some other object. They don’t seem to matter a whole heck of alot when you realize that we are talking about more human victims with lifes and emotions that are ruined forever. It also matters how you measure recidivism. Some jurisdictions, like our lovely Bonneville County Drug Court measure recidivism on new felony arrests for certain crimes, and only for a short period. So, all misdemeanors as well as probation/parole violations don’t count…and if you commit a felony forgery it may not count either…but we all know that drug abusers commit theft and forge checks and/or fradulently use credit cards that are stolen to support their habit. What Burt Butler and his crew in Bonneville County Drug Court do is manipulate the stats to get more money to keep their power. Many of the studies cited by Khan do the same thing….it’s all a shell game to be able to claim that treatment of offenders is working…all in the name of the dollar! Is it worth it if your child is a mere statistic of a repeat offender. Not in my humble opinion. Lock em up and throw away the key for a very long while. Statistically speaking…this will definitely have a favorable effect and prevent many needless victims.
I’ve often wondered why there’s not more external, objective investigation going on w/ the Drug Court situation here in IF/Bonneville County. Their recidivism rates as is are dismal, their costs per client are outrageous, they use “canned” programs delivered to relatively huge groups, yet they get more and more money while legitimate and needed programs, such as ARA, struggle month to month. You’d think the PR would be all over this…
The Post Register will not be all over Drug Court or Sex Offender Treatment because they love Drug Court and think it is the neatest thing since sliced bread. They also are soft on sex offenders and believe in treating this population before incarcerating them. This is exactly why Mandatory Minimums for sex offenders are needed…we can’t count on judges or the media to protect our kids. It is really amazing to see how people just stand by and let these creeps stay in our community.
I’ve often wondered why there’s not more external, objective investigation going on w/ the Drug Court
Perhaps if you expanded on the problem it would lead to more action. I’m a fan of ARA, and more importantly, for whatever works.
Are you talking about both Felony and Family Drug Courts? Are you comparing programs like ARA, which are voluntary, with compulsory programs? One would hope that the voluntary programs would be more effective, at least due to motivation. As far as recidivism, however one defines it (and the statistics I’ve seen are all over the place), it would also not be surprising that programs dealing with people earlier in the recovery process would show a higher recidivism.
In 2005, ARA got $360K from government fees/contracts, which was more than 60% of its income.
While not directly comparable, the state in FY2006 spent $1.8M for Drug, Mental Health, and Family Courts state-wide, and $950K came in from Federal grants to support Drug Courts.
Your point about “relatively huge groups” getting more money is well-taken. I suspect that the cost would go up on a per-person basis if more people were put in an ARA-type program (assuming that such a program would even be appropriate for most of them).
Another perspective on Drug Courts is that they save huge amounts of money beyond the treatment costs - in 2004 the program cost about $3,500 per Felony Drug Court participant, compared to $16K per year to incarcerate them in prison (more, if one has to ship them out of state).
The PR has had several features on drug courts and drug programs. For them to investigate further, I’d think that they’d need a hook that showed that there was something specific to investigate. Do you have more info?
Hokay…PR: 6.18.06:
Since Felony Drug Court began in June of 2000, it has graduated twenty-eight people, nine of whom reoffended. Fifty were terminated, but I know as a fact that very few of these individuals were actually referred back to prison. Most were referred to other community-sourced treatment programs so the argument about their drug court stays being cheaper than prison isn’t really applicable.
Seems to me that the cost for twenty-eight graduates over seven years at your stated budget allocation (assuming similar amounts per year) is, uh, extraordinary….
JMO
Truthfully, it is time for those who really know what is going on (therapists and law enforcement officials who don’t have an ax to grind) to work together with politicians to inject some common sense into this issue.
One of the first things would be to remove community notification and instead upping the probation, parole and therapist aspect of this. Is community notification really doing anything other than generating a whole bunch of hysteria and fear? What about requiring when someone is convicted and has done their sentence to do all the work: the therapy, the lie detectors, and whatever else is required? That way if the guy or woman re-offends, it will immediately go back to the criminal justice system.
One of the posters above said they lived across the street from a guy who molested his step daughter. It’s really heartbreaking for the girl who was sent back to her real father, but what does this have to do with the neighbors? Is having him on some registry (if he was convicted) going t help? Or is it going to make everyone feel paranoid?
Society needs to put the onus back on the offender and the professionals, instead of worrying the community. After all, what does the government expect the community to do? The government knows full well that naming and shaming and demonizing is just making the situation worse and some of these guys are going to re-offend.
After what I have been able to determine, not offering real counseling and real accountability from the offender is just saving the government money. What is more expensive after all: Parole, probation and therapists, or a computer registry system?
Plus, it has also targeted a whole bunch of people who are low risk, having committed one time offenses and are extremely unlikely to do so again. So society has the spectre of law enforcement spending all their time chasing down low risk offenders, while the high risk offenders (the ones society is really afraid of) get away with it because they aren’t monitored as they should be.
It’s odd that society treats all sex offenders alike (brushes them with a single brush stroke), yet the criminal justice system makes distinctions among offenders in all other criminal statutes.
Something really odd is going on, and I haven’t really determined the motivations, except that government can say it’s doing something while actually not doing anything.
The point is that the community does have a right to know and protect themselves because the government has demonstrated that it cannot and does not protect us from predators in the community.
Second, society does treat most sex offenders as just that…they have offended sexually! There are differences in registration requirements for violent sexual predators vs. the ‘regular’ predators. There are also provisions in place for offenders to petition the courts after 10 years of good conduct to remove themselves from the registration requirement.
The community has a right to know and both actual offenders and potential predators know that if you do the crime that you do the time and have to have your picture plastered everywhere. It’s an old scarlet letter version of shaming those that offended against the community.
Frankly, we got too far away from this…it’s high time that we got back to more community involvement and knowledge of what is going on and who the criminals are. It is problematic to rely on the government for our safety. Notification is a good thing….throwing some ’sunshine’ on the dark deeds done by predators helps more than it harms anything. Mica, the motivation is simple: We don’t fully trust the government to protect us and want to take more of the responsibility on ourselves!
I agree that we are worrying ourselves needlessly over many offenders that are not a real threat. I would like to see the law changed to exempt statutory rape in cases where the “victim” is within 12 months age of the perpetrator.
However, we’ve seen too many cases nationwide where sex offenders re-offended again in their neighborhoods, and nobody had a clue about the offender’s past.
I agree with Mike and the guest.
I think we should start a new sex offender requirement, whereby once a month in each zip code an “open house” is held say at the courthouse or wherenot, where all sex offenders in a zip code have to show up for public display.
Maybe display isn’t the right word, perhaps inspection is. People can change their appearance dramatically from their mugshots, and being able to see these perps monthly gives us a better idea of what they look like currently, so we can watch for them in our parks.
I see this event also providing information on the offenses of each offender, ordered by severity. This way we can see all the statutory rapers in one area and probably ignore them. We can focus on the lewd and lascivious and rapers in one area and make sure we can recognize them in public.
Require the offenders to go to these public inspections once per month, mandatory with one absence allowed per year.
What do you think?
You know I believe we do have the right to know. 3 years ago a young man just 18 years old had gotten out of juvenile center up north for sex offenses was put on probation with knowlegdge that he wasn’t to be around girls under 18, his probation officer placed him in a friends home cause him and his mom had a fight, the probation officer didn’t inform anyone why he was on probation. This young man was supervised very little, unfortunately the kids around the area liked to go to this persons house to hang out cause the mother of the house had young kids that went to school with all the other kids. And because know one knew about the man in the house on probation, he raped a young girl in the house. This wouldn’t have happened if everyone knew about what the young man was about. I believe that we should know who is living by us, cause noone wants to go through the ups and downs of what this little girl has had to go through for the last few years. The worst part is the ones that were assigned to baby sit him don’t think they are responsible.
I am sorry I didn’t know that we had to have specific names and I wasn’t trying to imitate someone. I just signed with my name in the format and I have nothing to hide on my comment about the sex offender comment. My email is Paulas968@yahoo.com, if anyone wants to email me
You better belive we have every right to know where these sexual predators live. I have a little girl and I’ll be damned if some sick bastard is going to harm her in any way. Then you’ll be reading about ME in the papers. It’s not about hysteria or fear or trying to ostrosize (sp?)them from the community. But 9 out of 10 times these type of people continue to commit these crimes over and over again. They get thrown in jail and don’t get any help for their problem. Just like the drug addict. All it does is allow them to sit in an 8×10 ft cell and think about it over and over for 23 hours a day, until they get out and do it again. Why do you think child molestors don’t last long in general population?
It’s about knowledge and being aware of your surroundings. It’s about knowing who your neighbors are and having a right to live and raise your children in a safe enviroment. I’m not about condeming anybody for past actions, but you better believe I’ll be keeping an eye out for these people. You can call me paranoid if you want, but in my opinion sex offenders are the lowest form of life on this planet. And I’m not talking about the 17 y/o boy whos having consensual “relations” with his 15 y/o girlfriend. I’m talking about the 40-50 y/o pervert who likes little boys and girls. All you have to do is look at the people in that registry and read their crimes. As far as I’m concerned, making the community aware of these sick individuals is what its all about so we as parents can look out for our neighbors. After all…isn’t that what “community” is all about?
These people know what they did is wrong and if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. And to that 17 y/o boy who’s “in love” with that 15 y/o girl, keep your hormones in check and wait a year. You’ll survive, I promise. And we’ll all be alot better off.
Thats my 2cents worth
I agree with CR67. I didn’t know that this young man that did this to my daughter was one, nor did anyone else. The probation officer didn’t even inform anyone. So whose fault should be blamed there. If anyone knew about the man that did this my daughter, I can guarantee he wouldn’t have been dropped off at someones house because he had a family fight and couldn’t stay at his home he would have been back in jail and my daughter would still be my little girl. Always ask if you have any doubts, if I would have known any kind of information that he wasn’t to be around any minor girls I would have asked and thrown a fit until someone answered and found somewhere else for him to go.
The really sick ones do it again, statistics or not. Remember, statistics represent the REPORTED facts, not what is kept secret. There are men and women out there who fantasize, plan, etc. even while they are in prison or therapy! Take it from a counselor on this one.
I agree, look at their offenses and be the judge. Pull the record for details if you wish. The 17 year old boy and his 15 year old girlfriend are not the ones to worry about. It’s the guy who is 50 with stat rape or whatever on his list.
Better to over-react and be watchful of our children than under-react and take a blaise attitude. Then you’ll surely find your little girl or boy violated or worse, forever.
Yes, I’ve always considered the hanging of an innocent man or two worth the potential victimizing of another.
Sheesh….
For those TRULY interested in public safety and sex offending, the facts are out there. Megan’s Law, and others like it, have had no appreciable effect on reducing recidivism, already low to begin with.
The TRULY sick ones? I’d like someone to identify the criteria for me, please.
More important that running around shouting statistics is to look at the real crimes these people commit. Usually it is not just one victim. There are scores of victims that have been perpetrated before an arrest. Whether it is one, three, five, or fifty victims, the point is that each “statistical” point represents a child being abused. It could be mine, yours, or a close friends child. US Dept. of Justice studies on the topic show that most recidivism rates for known pedophiles interested in 0 to 14 age range recidivate at greater than 28%. Hebophiles, interested in pre-pubescent 14 to 18, recidivate at slightly lower rate of 22%. If you consider these statistics to be acceptable and not as great as 90% bravo! You have just accepted the fact children are continually abused by persons who don’t deserve a jail cell…they deserve a grave!
The other statement that Anonymous made was: “Megan’s Law, and others like it, have had no appreciable effect on reducing recidivism, already low to begin with.”
…this statement is laughable because of one little critical fact…most laws set up were named for Megan Kanka…sexually assaulted and murdered, I believe, within the last 5 years. There have not been any appreciable studies done in this area to measure the effects of Megan’s Laws because they are relatively new and evolving. This is pure hot air being bellowed by this fellow. What a slap in the face to victims and their families to say recidivism is low enough already. You should be ashamed of yourself…Mr./Ms. Anonymous…wake up and smell the coffee….any kind of sexual abuse is intolerable. Society must take even stronger steps to put these jerks away before they can hurt anyone else.
Governor Otter and the Legislature have not done everything that they can possibly do to strengthen Idaho’s Laws. A good start would be to impose mandatory minimums on pedophiles and certain hebophiles.
It’s obvious that Mr Anonymous is either a convicted sex offender or knows somebody that is, otherwise he wouldn’t have such a blaise attitude towards this issue by telling everyone we’re paranoid.
What do YOU think we should do about these people Mr Anonymous? Just ignore them and let them continue to hurt our children?
Obviously the sick things they do with children doesn’t bother you and its clear that you don’t have a child yourself.
I’m with CR67 & the others on this. These sick individuals better watch their back in MY neighborhood because I can promise you I’ll be watching their every move.
“Obviously”? Interesting into what you are reading my posts to state. Particularly in light of the concurrence re- the dangerousness of “hysteria” re- this issue.
Also, loved the debate technique of accusing the opponent of the topical behavior; a technique used far and wide by people without much else upon which to support their opinion.
BTW3, your method of watching the convicted and registered is, as shown by research, pointless, given that most offenses are not perpetrated by recidivators.
Good job w/ that critical thought process, though!
What exactly is your point anonymous….that we need to use some stats to legitimize our actions towards evil sex offenders (yes, evil)? Or maybe if the numbers aren’t high enough we should have no notification or monitoring?
Answer Slim’s question: What would you do? How much recidivism are you willing to take?
Your own critical thought process tells us what? “BTW3, your method of watching the convicted and registered is, as shown by research, pointless, given that most offenses are not perpetrated by recidivators”….so what? Even if this is true, which it is not (show me the study please)…obviously sex offenders reoffend: Look at the case in Bonneville County of James Bray….hundereds of victims. How about Gerardo Sanchez? Reoffended last year. 2nd strike conviction got 10 years for it. How about it? How much recidivism is too much? Does it have to be at 90%?
Seriously, you talk about wanting to have informed commentary…how much more ‘informed’ does the community have to be? Does it take a study pointing to the fact that sex offenders offend, therefore we should do something about it? If you think my numbers before are out of date…then help all of us out and post the most current numbers. Me thinks thou does protest too much Mr./Ms. Anonymous. This rightfully raises a concern about your attachment to the issue either from a loved one or the possibility that you are an apologist for sick and evil behavior that you support … Don’t forget…we have to look at the messenger too. But in fairness, cite your studies…I am willing to listen.
Thank you Mike. Excellent reply! I had given up on trying to explain myself or my opinions regarding this subject to Mr Anonymous as clearly he’s only out to push our buttons and start confrontation.
Anyone that has children would agree with me in that it is very important that we have and keep this registry active so our community is aware of these offenders. This isn’t just some misdemeanor theft charge we’re talking about. It’s a serious crime and one I feel strongly about. This type of crime ruins lives and should not be taken lightly. And I for one will stand strong in my convictions and beliefs and will not be swayed by someone elses callous attitude towards these predators! Our children deserve better!
I didn’t call anybody names….except for the sick perverts that do these types of things to children. So unless you’re one of these individuals….then I guess I am at fault and thats just something you’ll have to live with because I make no apologies for my statement.
And what I stated is neither inflammatory or a stereotype. Its fact as I see it, and if that bothers you then I guess you need to stop sticking up for these sick individuals. The comments you make tell me that you’re on the side of the perverts. So you can either answer mine and others questions in telling us what YOU would do, or what you propose our city and/or community does, or just deal with mine and others comments. I could care less if I come off as “prejudice” to you. I’m not out to make any friends here, just state my opinion and point of view. Nobody said you had to like it. Either answer the questions or stop whining and go find a nice fluffy feel good story about kittens to comment about.
We know Jer has no children so he does not have the feeling most of us have for innocents. His defense of sexual perverts is astonishing. I don’t care if a pervert does get treatment, he will offend again it’s just a matter of time. Kill them or lock them up with each other for life, but keep them off my streets.
They most often do reoffend, the kid that I have mentioned above has done this since he was 15 and nothing was ever done cause noone pushed it till I finally stood up and pushed hard enough, it destroys the victims lives, I have seen it first hand and let me tell you it is one of the worst experiences for the victim and those that love them. They don’t deserve anything but 24 hour supervision that way they can’t destroy anyone elses lives.
That’s an interesting question! And one that would make perfect sense, especially for those of us that know his personal views on many of the topics posted on this site. Although his post #9 would contradict that.
Very interesting question though. It’s just ashame he feels like he has to post “anonymous” these days.
Oh well.
Man, what a mess made of such a simple issue. Anonymous is too busy trying to show the world he bought that new “Word Power” CD to even apply any of that brain power to the subject at hand. Its as simple an issue as it gets. Do they (child molesters) re-offend or do they not? Are treatments and therapy 100% effective or are they not? Will we as a society tolerate these perverts victimizing our innocent young or will we not? Any person who commits what I will call a “lower level sex crime” — like an 18 or 19 year old having consentual sex with his 17 year old girlfriend should have a much lesser sentance and no mandatory registration for life in my opinion. However, any person who is convicted of a serious sex crime against a child (and the courts or the people should decide where the breaking points will be) should never walk on our streets again — PERIOD. End of story. I don’t care about therapy, and cure rates and your statistics or your fancy words. If there is even the SLIGHTEST chance that a person will re-offend (or “recidivate” for the brain surgeons out there) then that person should NEVER get out of prison. Not ever! even after one offense. It is not worth the risk to our children. Unless a Doctor can guarantee that a given criminal has been cured without any doubt, why should we take the risk? Can he live next door to your kids? I don’t want him anywhere near mine! Its just that simple. And as far as the mandatory registrations go — whatever it takes. They shouldn’t have their freedom anyway, so i don’t want to hear them cry about registration. if they were convicted of hurting a child it is not out of line to have some life long reprocussions. Its a pretty small price to pay for having done what they did — and still being allowed to walk our streets, near our chilrdren.
Excellent post Feelinlucky. And once again Mr Anonymous hides behind his anonymity while still dodging the questions everyone has asked him. Which just makes you wonder why he’s so concerned about these perverts feelings and their freedoms.
Personally I could care less if these perverts never “recidivate” again….once is enough in my book and I don’t want them anywhere near my kids!
I think our PR Editor Kortney put it really well in stating, most people don’t take too much stock in posters that hide behind their anonymity anyways.
As for myself and the other concerned parents see it, we’ll continue to keep any eye on this registry while keeping both eyes out for our childrens wellbeing.
If you have been on this site long enough to have read many of my posts, you’ll find my email address in a couple of them. I have nothing to hide. Regular posters here know my name and where I come from, how long I’ve lived here and whatnot. Plus I speak my mind here without any regrets and don’t dance around the issues like you do. (which you’ve managed to do yet again!)
I have, in my experience, found that arguing with individuals who really have no inclination to change their opinions (as evidenced by your string of “open-minded” vitriol, snide asides, accusations, pretzel logic reasoning, and delusional projections) is a bit like teaching a pig to dance.
Enjoy the music.
Once again….you continue to dodge the questions, but that’s ok….its obvious you’re only out to start arguments and bash other posters for their beliefs.
WHY would I change my opinion towards a pervert that likes to molest little boys and girls?? It’ll never happen so you might as well get used to it.
Good day to you, and I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for you on the registry.
Rather than grandstanding about one’s superior knowledge and avoidance tactics, let’s get back on topic.
Fact is, no one can predict 100% exactly who will re-offend. But, there are some pretty good tests and measures one can use while treating a sex offender, in therapy or in prison.
As I said earlier, unless you have personally tried to treat or counsel a victim or an offender, you really can’t speak to their mindset. I can tell you for a fact a lot of offenders are infatuated with the idea of sex with children, even during therapy. It’s an addiction to them, a physical and mental need, like gambling or nicotine.
And the poor kids, geez, their family is threatened, they are violated or physically hurt, and pretty messed up for a long time. Come on, who deserves more rights here?
There are a lot of parents out there who don’t take the time to go over (and over) with their children the subject of good touches and bad touches. And it never ceases to amaze me the weirdos moms and dads trust to take care of their kids, even for an hour. Some parents really need to wise up as to who is watching their kids. Other times, you have no idea.
In some states you have to register as a sex offender if you are convicted of urinating in public! I also worked with a 16 year old boy who had to stay registered until he was in his mid 20’s, all for having concensual sex with a 14 year old girl, who admitted she led him on and did everything she could to get him in bed. I think the laws need to be written and punishment doled out differently for this type of crime versus the 30 year old who loves little grade school boys and girls.
Sheesh I don’t know where to edit where to begin, the put downs kind of gradually built up over the course of comments today here. Please let’s do get back on the topic. If there’s a difference of opinion, let it be on the topic not on putting down each other.
I cannot recall the exact numbers, but I’ve seen recidivism rates that were not as high as you might think but they were still significant.
Beyond the recidivism rates, those are just the reported recidivism, not counting the build-up of these pervs as they scout out kids, who know what they’re doing online, etc.
Should convicted pedophiles be denied Internet access? Or should they be encouraged to get online access, with restrictions and monitoring to keep them away from kid sites?
That’s all I wanted to know in the first place: Why anonymous feels the way he does regarding his opinion and/or feelings on the issue. But instead of giving us that information, he’d rather bash mine and others views.
The point I and other parents were trying to make is, it doesn’t matter if a sexual predator is going to recidivate again or not, if they did it once I personally don’t want them around my child. I wasn’t trying to dictate what they could or couldn’t do, or where they could or couldn’t live, just so long as they continue to enforce this registry so I’m aware of where they ARE living. I believe its our right as tax paying ciizens be informed of the whereabouts of these criminals.
I know first hand how it affects the victim and their families and for someone to stand up for these sick individuals just blows my mind! And those who don’t know, all you have to do is watch a few episodes of “Datelines, To Catch a Predator” to see the extent of this problem, and to what lengths these sickos will go to in order to fuel their addiction.
I think its a real shame that some people oppose the registration process these people have to go through every time they move to a new town or residence, but really…who’s fault is that? Just don’t expect me to apologize for my feelings on this issue. And don’t do the crime if you aren’t ready to deal with the consequences. And if someone is getting help with their problem than that’s great and I commend their efforts. But I still want to know where their living and if its anywhere near my neighborhood. I’m willing to bet if we took a poll, the majority of the parents on this site would back me on this issue.
I have read a lot of posts here, and you all are pretty much in agreement that sex offenders should be harshly punished. I say we should go one step further and establish sex offender colonies for the offenders ONCE they are let out of prison, or if they’ve been out of prison but are required to register. They must stay in the colony for the length of their registration period (including life).
Although I’ve posted to several sex offender blogs, I still feel it’s very important to get this message through. Our children and families are under a greater threat of domestic terrorism than at any point in our country. We should consider not only restriction the length of distance a child molester lives from our schools and parks, but consider a concentrated place to intern registered sex offenders AWAY from ALL children and vulnerable citizens.
It is time we seriously consider building sex offender colonies throughout the western United States and Alaska.
It is obvious. Nobody wants sex offenders to live in their neighborhoods, or even their cities. I’m a parent, and I would fight tooth and nail to prevent sex offenders from living anywhere that children may live, even if their victims were people they knew. It means NOTHING to me; what means EVERYTHING to me is they committed an atrocious crime against children. That’s enough for me.
Unfortunately, these sex offenders have rights. If they are not in prison, they will probably get the ACLU to sue the city and we will have to spend thousands of dollars defending the restrictions.
The ONLY thing, therefore, is to create an amendment to the US Constitution, creating sex offender colonies to restrict where these convicted sex offenders live in the first place. How to do this?
The first thing that needs to be done is to create an outline of such an amendment. I looked at the process for how an amendment is created. Here is the process:
Under Article V, there are two ways to propose amendments to the Constitution and two ways to ratify them.
To propose an amendment
1. Two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to propose an amendment, or
2. Two-thirds of the state legislatures ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments.
To ratify an amendment
1. Three-fourths of the state legislatures approve it, or
2. Ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states approve it.
I would submit that the state legislature route would probably be more effective, but the congressional method can be tried first. It can effectively be used as a litmus test for voting, i.e., if someone doesn’t want to vote for proposing the amendment in congress, their 2008 opponent can have a field day in saying that the incumbent protects sex offenders at the expense of children’s safety, etc.
Such an amendment would solve many problems. First of all, the registry would not exist in its current form. Parents don’t have to worry where the sex offenders live, as they all would, by law, have to live in the colony. This also eliminates the need for GPS, as the sex offenders would be restricted to the colony in the first place. No worries about convicted child molesters stalking your children’s school or favorite park, or trolling on the Internet.
Next, registrants would constitutionally have to be subjected to non-court ordered search of their premises within the zone. In addition, all their mail and phone calls would constitutionally be authorized to be monitored for illicit activities. Internet usage would also be strictly regulated, with all file storage for every computer actually done at the server-level. In addition, emails would be assigned by the administration, no Instant messaging or accessing MySpace or other children sites allowed, and all keystrokes and sites visited will be recorded 100%. All costs for such usage would be borne out by the offender, incidentally.
All registrants would be required to work, with their paychecks being handled by the administrators. Deductions for medical, rent, all services, and everything else would be done automatically, and any credit the registrant have be used for discretionary income ONLY from the colony store. Also, EVERY registrant will be required to go through treatment appropriate to his crime, and be certified as cured; otherwise, he can be subject to a felony charge and returned to prison.
Now, please keep in mind one thing: The sex offender colony is NOT…repeat…NOT a replacement for tough, appropriately long, non-paroleable sentencing guidelines in the first place! THAT IS PARAMOUNT. The colony would exist because society cannot handle the large amounts of offenders in their neighborhoods, with the inherent terror parents have with the knowledge that offenders are around their children. Therefore, the colony is SPECIFICALLY for offenders to spend their entire registration periods in a constitutionally-approved manner, eliminating the need for registries as they exist now.
Keep in mind, many offenders also are able to leave the registry for certain crimes after a specified amount of time has passed. Therefore, once a registrant’s time period has expired, he can petition the administration to be relieved of the duty to register and live in the SORERA zone. A panel of professionals, law enforcement individuals, and the offender’s victim representatives, will go over the request. If they feel the offender is ready to join society, then he can leave the zone and live anywhere he wants, although he will have to permanently register with law enforcement wherever he goes for the rest of his life. Bear in mind, also, that any registrant who has to register for life will NEVER get the opportunity to leave the zone. Only the most benign of the registrants will ever be allowed to leave.
So there you have it. With a constitutional amendment, we can control where they live, where they work, and how they communicate, with confidence that they won’t have a “relapse” when our own children are in striking distance.
All interested people are encouraged to write to me at man4theages@hotmail.com to further this just cause.
Ah, once again, Peter V. pops up to offer his sex offender colony. A pure nut case! For those of you who would deny registered sex offenders any rights, re-read your U.S. Constitution and U.S. Bill of Rights and perhaps the Federalist Papers. The Bill of Rights was not written to give the majority rights. By definition,the majority rules in a democracy. The Bill of Rights was written to give the MINORITY rights, otherwise, they would be abridged and stomped on by the tyranny of the majority.
So all this talk of putting registered sex offenders in colonies is just window dressing - they’re really concentration camps. And then when they’re up and running (assuming the majority of politicians are willing to subvert the Constitution), who’s next? (If you have ever studied Nazi Germany or visited a concentration camp, you would know that Hitler picked unpopular groups of people to imprison and kill first before working on Jews.)
I also wanted to respond to some of the previous commenters. I don’t know about Idaho, but in California where I live, many of the people required to register are not child molesters, or at least not what society thinks of when it thinks of child molesters - an adult molesting a child. So this state’s list incorporates many who are low or no risk or those who do not pose risks to women and children. But they’re listed, alongside the dangerous child molesters. And the public, looking at the list, has no idea. The state hasn’t shown any interest in classifying them, probably because it would cost too much money and it’s unwilling to spend the money. There is a law which requires it to do so (by 2010), but my guess is it will get pushed back.
Secondly, someone noted that registered sex offenders have committed a lot of crimes, as reported by the national media. I think I have seen fewer than 10 in 5 years. That’s compared to the hundreds and thousands committed by those close to the child: parents, step parents, family friends, Scout leaders, teachers, youth pastors, babysitters, older brothers, etc. Women also are much more at risk of rape from those they know (dates and friends) than the proverbial “stranger in the alley.”
The recidivism rate for sex offenders is also MUCH lower than reported in the media. For example, the media will report on one high profile case (John Couey or Joseph Duncan), and since they were already registered, society will think that all registered sex offenders are like them. This is clearly not the case. An analogy would be to say that all convicted shoplifters are like serial bank robbers, and we should just lock them up in case these shoplifters become bank robbers. I am not offering this analogy because I equate property theft with molestation. My point is that in society’s view, all sex offenders are considered the “worst of the worst” and we need to protect ourselves because sooner or later they will also behave like Couey or Duncan.
If that were the case, this country would be bombarded with stories like the victims in these two criminals’ cases. Both occurred two or three years ago, and the media is still talking about it.
I liked the metaphor a Skeptical Inquirer writer used last fall in describing this issue. When is society going to stop paying attention to the burning match in front of it (registered sex offenders) and turn around and address the blazing forest behind it(the real danger - people who are not identified who pose the real risk.)
It’s almost as if society REFUSES to deal with the issue, preferring to think that strangers commit all these heinous crimes. It’s a head in the sand approach that refuses to address reality - that familiar adults are committing these molestations and rapes.
Maybe we don’t want to recognize that people we think are trustworthy are the real monsters.
I’ve been thinking lately a colony or compound for sex offenders might actually work well for them. I see it as a voluntary thing, almost like the Aryan Nations compound, ehhh but actually not like that. Not forced, but voluntary.
Basically a place they can create their own community, their own little town, homes, businesses, little movie house, etc. They would be more accepting of each other I imagine, and they would also be able to facilitate centralized counseling resources.
Families would know what the community is and could steer clear of settling there. This idea would give them a little space to breathe and grow and hopefully improve themselves, without the current pressures of our sex-offender hysterical society (i admit i contribute to it also).
Joe, this guy is obviously minimizing the problems sex offenders have caused, and do cause in the future. Don’t apologize for being rabid in protecting our children. People can still have certain rights enforced. I don’t agree with colonizing these people. It is unworkable. However, registration lists are important. This guy would have us all believe that registered offenders are not the real problem. Well, we know they have been a problem and we have to keep an eye on them.
As for his suggestion to look at the other persons who are not registered offenders…how do we keep an eye on them? Better education of parents and others of what to watch for in typical grooming behavior exercised by perverts in the making. We don’t have to shoot one idea down, i.e. registration to have the other. People forget, we had to fight for years to get the public access to registrations. It was a long road filled by repeat offenders victimizing kids. Idaho does classify offenders in it’s prisons. These classifications are used by the parole board and are also used to designate Violent Sexual Predator Status that requires more frequent registration and newspaper notification.
So, do we want to go back to the dark times where we had our heads buried in the sand and didn’t know about offenders in our midst? I don’t think this helps parents or children. While Mica is correct that many offenders are known to their victims this does not equate registration lists are a bad thing.
“I’ve been thinking lately a colony or compound for sex offenders might actually work well for them. I see it as a voluntary thing, almost like the Aryan Nations compound, ehhh but actually not like that. Not forced, but voluntary.”
Let’s put it in Jerome County, right next door to the Minidoka Internment Camp. . .
Why is protecting our children always about these extreme possibilities? If I suggested mandatory bicycle helmets for kids, there’d be a lot more people crying here about personal freedoms. Or mandatory seat belt use laws. Or keeping a parent (doesn’t necessarily have to be mom, but mom is the best) home with the kids, rather than putting them in daycare?
I have three kids. I work damn hard to keep them safe, and not just from other people. But I’mnot ready to tar and feather a guy who happens to be a sex offender in the neighborhood, or suggest he “voluntarily” get shipped off to some kind of ghetto. And that’s what it would be, no matter the terminology you use. I have a father who survived WWII as a citizen and saw first-hand the results of Nazi Germany’s camps.
For those of you who advocate such camps — what’s going to happen wehn someone proposes a camp for a category YOU fit in? Are you going to go in voluntarily, or be forced, and have people freak out when they find out you live there — or not be allowed to leave at all, because you’ve got your own little community and counseling? Get real.
Good idea but you only get part of the picture from this. What many don’t realize is that a lot of the times the molestors are able to get plea bargains to avoid the sex offender registry - and thats not always the fault of the police / prosecutor. The guy who lives across the street from me molested his step daughter and was arrested for it. In the meantime the stepdaughter went to live across country with her real father who wouldn’t bring her back for a trial. So the molestor got the charges reduced from a felony lewd and lacivious charge to a misdemeanor battery charge- no different than if he had punched someone. He is a child molestor and he shows up on no lists. There are many more just like him.