Reminder: Scams targeting registrants continue
Every so often we like to refresh our reminder that there are scammers out there using the sex offender registry to target people.
Today the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Hinds County (Mississippi) Sheriffs Office posted warnings that scammers impersonating law enforcement officers are calling people on the registry and demanding money in order to remove warrants against them.
Be aware of these scams and know that if someone claiming to be with law enforcement calls and asks you to send them money, it’s a SCAM. Report it immediately to your local police department.
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I know the perfect way to prevent this predatory activity as well as vigilantly activity …………….. classify all ex-offenders into tiers with tier I and II being a non-public registry and tier III being public for 10 years and if no re-offense, reclassify them to Tier II and remove them from the public registry. Also, for Tier II if they have been offense free for 10 years reduce them to Tier I. For Tier I ex-offenders if they have been offense free for 5 years remove them all together. Likewise let the removal process flow as follows. Tier III off the public registry after 10 years, and Classified as Tier II, then if offence free for 10 years reclassify them at Tier I and then after another 5 years remove them all together. For Tier II if they have been offense free for 10 years drop them to Tier 1 and offense free for 5 more years remove them. That keeps them on the registry for 15 years.
Basically, you would have:
1. Tier III on for 25 years, 10 on the public 15 on the LEO only
2. Tier II on for 15 years on the LEO only
3. Tier I on for 5 years on the LEO only.
Maybe our Legislative Team could pitch this to our legislators. State still gets the money whether its public or private anyway.
Sorry for the long Post
@Tearful
A novel idea, but the registry brings in millions of funding and they are not going to just let that go. Greed and selfishness among those who profit off of the registry would have a stroke if their payola was taken away.
And all those who speak to the law makers and lie out their behind that 99% of sex offenders have a high recidivism rate, which is a bold face lie. And the ones who do re-offend should not cause those who have not re-offended to miss out on a chance to be removed from the registry if they have had no incidents over a specified time period.
Seems if someone has gone, 5, 10, 15 or more years without a re-offense (Once off all sanctions), they shouldn’t even have to pay to see a judge but automatically be removed from the registry. I am not super optimistic that I will ever see that in my lifetime. I am no spring chicken and at a certain point I will stop caring that I am on the registry because once I am dead, I hope I can haunt their dreams.
Great points Jack for sure. Here is my thinking. Since we know the registry really has no bearing on Re-offense or First offense, the funding would still be coming in. The funds lost on the outgoing ex-offenders would be made up with the incoming ones. It really would be the perfect storm in flow equals outflow. IDK just spit Balling here but why not pitch it to the legislators who at lease are willing to listen. I just hope to be off before I turn 100 and 1 day. I have requested to live that long. 🙂
Tearful
That brings up another question. Does the registry really deter anyone from doing what they are damn set out to do? Wonder if incidents have gone down due to the registry? I do know those fake stings they do are entrapment, but law enforcement doesn’t see it that way.
I spoke to someone at the registry office who was registering, and he got caught in one of those trap stings. He had no actual victim but I did. We compared and he got more time than I did and he had no real victim because the person he went to meet ended up being an uncover agent.
On a side note, I got numerous charges (They started making up charges that did even exist in the law books) but the judge allowed all of them. I still wish I had gone to trail but just didn’t have the money after spending my life savings to bond out TWICE. Yes you heard that right. As soon as I stepped out of the jail, cops re-arrested me as they held back charges to re-arrest me so I couldn’t bond out again. See the evil things they do. I had not even been found guilty yet but they were hell bent on me being guilty before even seeing a judge.
I think comparing sentencing in the 90’s compared to now is apples to asparagus, which I love by the way sauteed with a hint of garlic and sesame seeds…. anyway lol. We all know people are going to do what they want to do. I mean if I want Ben and Jerry’s I am going to drive to Publix and get it even though I might as well duct tape it to my stomach as that is where it is going anyway.
I would be more than happy to pitch the Tier idea to a legislator who is at least willing to listen if FAC could point me in the right direction. We know the spot units are over worked, under paid in fact I just lost mine getting a new one; the one I have had I have had since covid year is still there but they had to shuffle around as one left the department. Anyway, FAC point me in the right direction.
As much spite as Florida law enforcement has been to PFRs, I wonder if they encourage PFRs to throw their money at the scammers, instead.
It should also be mentioned that the scammers also go after family members as well. In my case they called my wife. I know that others have had parents and siblings called.
I never answer my phone unless I recognize the number. You never know these days who it is that’s trying to scam you.
@Mary
Me either, however when they called me and I listed to the voice mail I knew it was a scam. My parents got the call when I did not answer and my Dad called me to ask if I was ok. I told him to not fall for it or give them any money and he said that is why he called me to see if it was real and if I was ok.
In an after thought, I should have gone and met the person and brought a cop with me to hide and catch the bastard. But my luck, law enforcement would just tell me it’s a scam and not pursue any further actions. And even if I had fallen for it, they would have to “Fake arrest” me because I have like 9 cents in my bank account after paying this month’s doctor bills. LOL
They called me about 8 years ago and told me that I failed to pay a fee for National DNA registration and that I also failed to submit a new DNA sample on time. They wanted to have me meet up with their detective to pay the fee and to give them a new sample.
I agreed. They told me to get a pre-loaded visa in the amount of $250 since it was a weekend and the accounting staff were not working. I agreed to this as well. Then They set a place for me to meet them. I happily agreed again.
I guess they realized shortly after that it was a trap since a white Ford Explorer pulled in to the deserted parking lot and then left very quickly. Maybe I shouldn’t have had a video camera set up on a tripod and a baseball bat leaning against the side of my truck. But I really wanted to get it on film and I was in a mood to take out years of frustration on them.
But you guessed it the Sheriffs office did nothing because the video didn’t get their plate number and the driver wasn’t visible.
James
That was fun. Now you got me thinking, maybe I SHOULD have shown up and met him because I would have come in my birthday suit and rubbed down with baby oil LOL. If the fake cop was going to arrest me, he was going to have to deal with me “Slipping away from his grasp”.