Since June of this year, an FAC board member has made numerous attempts to set up a meeting with the Assistant Commissioner for Florida Department of Law Enforcement and several FAC members to begin a dialogue between FDLE and families of those forced to register.

Topics of concern that FAC would like addressed:

• After FDLE modernized its software and operating systems for the registry, the information gathering has become more inconsistent among the 67 counties.
• Some registry requirements are precise but many are ambiguous.
• FDLE Guide for law enforcement employees and registrants are not at a reading level commonly used for public communication.
• The FDLE Guide provides no guidance for “plan B scenarios,” such as how to register required information within 48 hours when the local registration office is only open three days a week.

FDLE would not permit an in-person visit with us, but they are allowing us to send our concerns in written form to be studied by their representatives who deal with registry matters.

Even though there are other topics that our members would like discussed, please remember that we were limited in scope.  FAC is hoping that this could be the beginning of an ongoing dialogue with FDLE when other issues can be discussed.

We would like to work together with FDLE to improve the registry process so that registrants and their families can achieve long-term, routine compliance as long as the family member is on the registry.  That should be the goal for all stake holders involved: compliance for everyone.

FAC’s letter to FDLE is as follows:

Via email and certified mail on September 23, 2024

REF: Opening dialogue between FDLE and families of those forced to register

We are hoping to work together to improve Florida’s sex offender registry process so that (1) registrants and their families can achieve long-term, routine compliance and (2) FDLE can achieve ease of information.

FDLE has modernized the software and operating systems of the Florida sex offender registry.  However, the processes for information gathering and the actual data to be collected are inconsistent, confusing, and occasionally impossible.

FDLE provides law enforcement with the 90-page “Sexual Offenders & Predators Florida Registration Laws 2023 Guidelines” which is difficult for users to understand and implement.  The 2023 Guidelines are written as an Encyclopedia Brittanica article – dense, informative, and impossible for normal law enforcement registry personnel to assimilate and implement.  

Florida registrants are provided with printed registry rules, some of which are precise but many of which are ambiguous. Yes, the statutes are also ambiguous, but it should be FDLE’s responsibility – not local law enforcement employees’ nor registrants’ responsibility – to translate the statutes into workable rules.  

FDLE Guides for law enforcement employees and registrants are not at a reading level commonly used for public communication. There is no “crib sheet” or quick-reference guide similar to what we receive for new appliance instructions.  As a consequence, confusion, panic, and overreach occur from both law enforcement employees and persons forced to register.   The continual family fear of incarceration for their loved one drives the need for clear, unambiguous rules.   Concurrently, law enforcement employees are worried about being fired, hence, panic and overreach occur.

Two examples to begin the discussion and problem-solving:

1. Domestic travel registry requirements.  Local law enforcement varies in data requirements for domestic travel despite FDLE’s July 2022 emailed statement “There is no language in s. 943.0435, F.S. or s. 775.21, F.S. requiring an offender or predator who has registered as required to report domestic travel to another state if they will not establish a residency outside of Florida”.  Indian River County, St. Lucie County, Duval, and Volusia Counties, for example, require domestic travel itineraries which is not required by state statute nor FDLE instructions.

1. Internet identifiers.  There is great confusion over what is an internet identifier.  Apparently, even mobile phones have an identifier which we certainly didn’t know, nor do most people.  Additionally, email addresses from childhood are often forgotten because they haven’t been used for years. Are these to be included in reporting and how does a person find out what they are, especially for those with no current internet access?

The FDLE Guide provides no guidance for “plan B scenarios” such as the examples below.

Within 48 hours of a change from new job to a change of a car tag for a family member, the change must be reported, or incarceration ensues. What happens when the registration office is open only Tuesday through Thursday, and in-person updates are necessary?  

What happens when a person is hospitalized or in a car accident and can’t get to the registry office or make a phone call? 

What happens when a person has dementia and doesn’t have the mental and/or physical ability to comply with registry requirements?  Florida has 1,798 people that are 75 years or older that are to comply with registry requirements. This number is growing due to Florida’s virtual lifetime registration.

Please let your team know that we are ready to serve and help with this problem solving – for the good of all parties.   Both of us come from families affected by the registry and understand the registry outcomes for our loved ones, our families and friends as well as FDLE’s concerns. 

This letter was signed by two FAC board members who have family members impacted by the registry.