Keeping Tabs on Sex Offenders

[Christina]

Efforts grow to keep tabs on sex offenders By Kris Axtman | Staff writer of The Christian Science MonitorHOUSTON Hundreds of cities and 15 states have laws that restrict where sex offenders can live. Now, private businesses are getting into the act of protecting residents from this group, too.A Texas developer, for instance, is building "sex offender free subdivisions" here and in Kansas, and a new national website, started by a Texan, lists homes for sale that have no registered sex offenders living within a half-mile radius.It's all part of a wide-ranging effort to address Americans' concerns about sex offenders living next door.Just Thursday, President Bush signed into law what child advocates are calling the most sweeping sex-offender legislation in 25 years: the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, named for the murdered son of "America's Most Wanted" host, John Walsh.By creating a national database that links the already federally mandated state registries, the new law - among other things - will make it harder for sex offenders to take advantage of varying state laws to avoid detection. It creates a new federal felony charge, punishable by 10 years in prison for failing to update their contact information, and categorizes them by tiers so that resources can be targeted at the most dangerous offenders, says Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which pushed the measure.More than 563,000 people in the US have been convicted of sexual offenses - and 100,000 are noncompliant, meaning they have failed to keep up with registry laws, says Mr. Allen. "That is just not acceptable," he adds. "Those who won't even comply with the simple minimum requirements of identifying where they are and what they're doing pose the greatest risks. This legislation is aimed at training the nation's resources on that group."However, his organization is not "wildly enthusiastic" about laws that restrict where sex offenders can live.One such ordinance was passed earlier this month in Humble, Texas, north of Houston, and punishes sex offenders for living within 1,000 feet of a school or day-care facility by fining them $2,000 a day until they move.South of Houston, so many municipalities have passed similar ordinances that surrounding communities worry that if they don't follow suit, they will become dumping grounds for sex offenders."The key is to know where they are and what they're doing, not to limit where they can live. Because, by doing so, you may be inadvertently pushing them into a situation where we no longer know where they are," says Allen.Others say databases that track convicted sex offenders and ordinances that restrict where they can live miss the point. "My concern is the misdirection by public officials and parents toward strangers and away from the real threat: the family and friends they know," says John LaFond, author of "Protecting Society from Sexually Dangerous Offenders: Law, Justice, and Therapy."Studies show that almost 80 percent of sexual-crime victims know their perpetrators, says Mr. LaFond. "These new monitoring laws are symbolic gestures by politicians to show that they are doing something. But in the long run, they do a disservice to the community."Buying a home that is somehow "free" from sex offenders - whether in a subdivision or a neighborhood that has been screened - is a marketing ploy that feeds on uninformed fears, he adds.But that has not stopped Texas-based I&S Investment Group from selling out all 150 lots in its "sex offender free subdivision" in Lubbock, Texas.It is also breaking ground on a similar subdivision outside Kansas City, Kan., in August, with plans for more elsewhere.The subdivisions' rules will ban sex offenders from moving in, and if residents become sex offenders while inside, they will be fined $1,500 a day until they move.Taylor Goodman of Dallas in June launched BlockWatcher.com, a website listing homes for sale across the country that have no sex offender living within a half-mile radius. "It's a pretty hard accomplishment," says Mr. Goodman, adding that only about 20 percent of all homes for sale qualify. "This issue knows no bounds. There was an $18 million home for sale in San Francisco that did not qualify."He also says about 90 percent of the realtors he talks to are not happy about the new website. Studies show that property values can decline if a sex offender moves into the neighborhood.This spring two Columbia University economists studied data in communities around Charlotte, N.C., and found that a home's value fell 4 percent when a registered sex offender moved in within a 1/10-mile radius. That added up to a loss of $4,500 to $5,000 per home and $59.5 million for the entire county, says Leigh Linden, who worked on the study.The two concluded that people may go to great lengths to avoid living near a sex offender. "This is definitely more than politicians trying to outdo each other by being tough on crime," says Dr. Linden. "People really care about these things."

 

[gibby]

One problem is that not all sex offenders register, or they do and move and don't re-register. I handle these cases all the time.

 

[Christina]

does the new law Bush signed the other day address that problem??

 

[BernieEOD]

To brand someone and make him a sub citizen is wrong. We like to talk about how merciful we are by releasing these people and then we force them to register, shun them, and treat them like lepers. We are better off to simply execute them. Either someone is rehabilitated and safe to relese or they are not. To tag tham and expect them to live an honoest life is unrealistic.

 

[Christina]

They can not be rehabilitated they should all be sent to the Lord to deal with.

 

[gibby]

Kriss is right, they usually can't be rehabilitated. Most sex offenders are treated and taught the skills to function in society without acting on their urges. That is why they are required to register because there is always the urge to re-offend. Of course, I believe they could be freed from their bondage by surrendering to Christ Jesus.

 

[Christina]

So right Gibby to not keep tabs on them or keep them locked away or send to God makes us as smart as the chicken farmer that lets the fox live in the hen house because we think we have trained him not to cross the line we drew

 

[servant_of_the_end]

Ir is true the reticent rate of sexual offenders is very high. That is they are like dogs who return to thier vomit over and over again in a cycle that is not easily broken.I am a peace officer at a county detention center that houses many federal criminals. We have one pod where child sexual predators are held and having them all in one place is distrubing once their files are read and one begins to understand how rebrobate their crimes are. Sin will change ones countenance and seeing these individuals all in one place one can see this is true. When one talks to them they are quick to confess that what they do is like a drug to them. Its the taboo and the horror of their crime that makes it appealing to them much in the same way adreneline junkies love the rush of doing something dangerous, or a crack addict loves the rush of the pipe. The child sexual predators deeds are a crime against innocence and as with all sin and bondage it can only be broken if one is truly repentant once one sees it as one of the most henious crimes and offences one can commit. The Lord said that those who offend one of these little one- referring to the children - it would be better if one put a rope around the neck and was thrown into the sea.