Sex Offenders: In my neighborhood?
by Annette M. Hall
Updated: January 28, 2006
Posted: August 18, 2005
Yesterday the afternoon traffic was crazy, then it dawned on me that school was
back in session. With school comes many concerns; school supplies, school clothes
but probably the most important is
child safety.
Taking a few precautions can help
insure your child's safety
as they make their way to and from school. For those children who still walk to school,
safety is an important factor
to keep in mind.
Sex Offender Registry
Few things create panic in a parents heart as the prospect of a sex offender
living in their midst. MapSexOffenders.com recently launched a new beta
program, which uses Google maps combined with the available public state
sex-offender registries to provide a powerful search tool for parents.
42 States are currently mapped with others being added from states which allow public
access to their databases. Megan's Law
allows the states discretion to establish criteria for disclosure, but compels them to
make private and personal information on registered
sex offenders available
to the public.
Users can type in their address and pull up a map that pinpoints the exact location
of the homes of registered sex offenders in their neighborhood. Users can then zoom in
on the maps for a clearer view. To access the site, your browser must be compatible with
Google Maps.
Clicking on a flag displays a new window with the predator's name, address, photo and
offense.
Last month the Justice Department unveiled their version of an online
National Sex Offender Public Registry,
which links directly to individual state databases. It appears that 42 states have now
been added so far however, the site is not very user friendly.
Each state writes it's own laws governing how this information is used or made available
to the public. Many states such as California
provide direct online access to their databases. While parents may find the information
included in these databases useful, critics believe that providing this type of information
to the general public may give parents a false sense of security.
Megan's Law
Though Megan's law requires sex offenders
to register their address at least yearly, those who do not comply are not a high
priority for police follow-up due to heavy caseloads. Further exacerbating the
problem, many who's names are included in these state databases are not by a strict
definition "sex offenders".
Public notification has been in place as a national law for several years. In 1994, the
Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act
was enacted. The Jacob Wetterling Act required all states to establish stringent registration
programs for sex offenders by September 1997, including the identification and lifetime
registration of "sexual predators." The Jacob Wetterling Act is a National law
that is designed to protect children and was named after Jacob Wetterling, an eleven year
old boy who was kidnapped in October 1989. Jacob is still missing.
Megan's Law, the first amendment to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and
Sexually Violent Offenders Act, was passed in October 1996.
Megan's Law mandated that all
states develop a notification protocol that would allow public access to information about sex
offenders within the community. Megan's Law
was named after Megan Kanka, a
seven-year-old girl who was
sexually assaulted and murdered by a
twice-convicted child molester
in her New Jersey neighborhood.
While these laws are seen by most as a step in the right direction, toward providing
the necessary tools to assist parents in protecting their children from
sexual predators,
that may not be the case at all.
In fact, search locations that show an area free of sex offenders may lead parents
to have a false sense of security, cause them to less diligent than they might otherwise
be. Alternatively, families who live near those listed in state databases may instill
unnecessary fear in their children, causing them needless additional stress, leading
to serious emotional disorders.
Having personally been interested in privacy issues, not necessarily for the guilty
but for those innocent
individuals who find themselves listed more through bad circumstances than due to any
real public threat, I find these current trends disturbing to say the least.
For Example:
I know of several young men around the age of 19 or 20, who have had younger girl-friends,
say... aged 16 or 17, who's parents were upset because of their dating relationship and
decided to charge the young men with statutory rape. Those young men are now required, by
law, in many states, to register yearly as sex offenders and are not allow to come into
contact with children, though in fact they present no threat to young children.
I am familiar with six or seven such instances of type of scenerio happening and I
really don't know that many young people, so I believe this practice is a growing trend
nationwide.
Many parents who have been falsely accused
of child abuse by CPS agents, have found their names added to this list of
sex offenders, without
due process of law, even if the allegations have been found to be false and the case
dismissed. To make matters worse, it's nearly impossible to get ones name removed
from these national registers.
Protect Your Child
The best way to protect our children as they travel to and from school each day, is
to know where they are and make certain they know what to do if they are approached by
a stranger. However, keep in mind that strangers aren't the only threat to our children's
safety.
While many schools do screen teachers and other school personnel, we still hear
of daily news reports where teachers are involved in sex rings,
online porn rings
and other such nefarious activities. Aside from removing
your child from the
public school system,
my best advice is to keep the lines of communication open with your child, visit
the school often and know the people who spend hours daily with them.
Parents should also be aware
that a child is statistically more apt to be sexually molested by a family member or
friend than they are by a total stranger because those known by the family are
considered trusted individuals, making it more difficult for a child to refuse
their advances.
Parents should take time to
calmly talk with their children
about their bodies in a non-threatening way, letting their child know they can talk
about any concerns they may have. Nothing helps to
protect our children
more than knowing they have parents they can trust and talk to. Communication is
key to a loving trusting relationship with our children.
While these state sex offender registries may prove over time to be beneficial,
the jury is still out and we won't know for many years if they have done more harm
than good. You would do well to keep in mind that they are unreliable tools at best
and at worst can stigmatize someone who possess no harm to your family. Try to keep
things in perspective.
Give your child a hug from me and do your best to keep them safe from harm. It's
a growing challenge that won't get any easier anytime soon.
