This was actually a decent story from Fox News. It makes the general point that the registry is not working and the confusing patchwork of different state laws and local restrictions makes compliance and enforcement impossible. Here are some excerpts:
Amid the fallout from the death of Jeffrey Epstein – compounded by sharp questions as to why he was able to live such a lavish and unencumbered life despite being a registered sex offender – scrutiny has turned to the National Sex Offender Registry, its discrepancies and its lack of uniformity – all of which the disgraced financier may have exploited.
Federal law has divided convicted sex offenders into three “risk” categories. “Risk one” generally has mandated a 20-year registration period, with “risk two” and “risk three” violators cataloged for life. In 2006, the Sex Offender Registry and Notification Act (SORNA) purported to close existing discrepancies between states by establishing a national standard, with states threatened with the loss of federal funding for failing to comply.
However, several states have pushed back against such standards — and in some cases, the auditing processes have been tied up in red tape and lack of oversight. And, according to Bader, despite the national standard, “jurisdictions have different rules in place about registration requirements, notification of address change and whether neighborhood residents will be proactively notified.”
“Many states require lifetime registration, others are laxer and less compliant with updating records and notifications because of the economic cost,” she added. “Other states prefer individualized risk assessment tools to the rigid standardized federal methodology.”
CBS Chicago reported this week that many photos of convicted sex offenders weren’t being uploaded to the Illinois online registry, and some photos showed the wrong people. In the case of at least one offender, mug shots from 2019, 2016, and 2009 were posted on the registry, but each mug shot showed a different person.
In many states, Fox News found, mugshots were uploaded sporadically and routinely skipped years or were out-of-date by up to four years.
People in several states also have bemoaned an array of other escape clauses – including unclear instructions as to whether offenders can live near bus stops or near youth camps without restriction.
Moreover, the double-edged sword of homelessness was known to be especially commonplace among sex offenders – who routinely have battled to find adequate housing and employment given their red-flagged status, cannot adhere to the law properly without a known address.
Then there’s the point of contention over the national registry and nursing homes across the country.
Some critics have argued the sex offender registry program has deprived Americans of the right to due process and to avoid double-jeopardy, with the regular check-ins functioning as a means of ongoing punishment.
“The requirements necessary to successfully comply with registration are all but impossible, and certainly not helpful to those trying to maintain employment and find stable housing,” said Jessica Kelley, a government-affairs specialist at the Washington free market-centered think tank R Street Institute. “The registry should almost certainly be a policing tool, but the public component is not necessary. Its continuing punishment can only be vindictive, and many of these first-time offenders are on the registry for non-violent crimes like public urination.”
Critics also say that the registry ultimately provides communities with a false sense of security.
“Most sexual offenders are never listed in the registry because the victim knows them and is too scared to come forward. Sexual abuse is a very underreported crime,” added Andrea Powell, the founder of human trafficking survivors’ advocacy group Karana Rising. “Thus, the registry is not capable of doing what it intended to do, which is to keep people safe from offenders.”
Happy new year! I spent 2.5 hours searching the net, and this site in particular, and could not answer this question. So it is with some shame and guilt that I post it here and trouble people for a response.
If I get removed from the SOR in my convicting state, am I cleared (1) in all states, (2) nationally, and (3) with Internal Megan’s Law? My “crime” (consensual dating a 14 year-old 25 years ago) was in Georgia. Is “getting my registration requirement fully expunged” a thing? My lawyer told me: “If you want removal from all registries, you must do it with the trial judge in your state of conviction.” Is that correct?
Does such a thing as total expungement exist? Does it indeed trickle down in the way my lawyer said—from the state of conviction to everywhere else?
In other words: Can I “remove my name” in such away that it is truly removed, from all databases, including the national and IML ones?
If such a thing as total removal, does not exist, then does “removing my name” from my CURRENT state mean that I am cleared from the IML/passport problem as long as my flight originates from my SOR-cleared state?
Apparently this info is so widely known that it’s not written about anywhere. Thanks in advance.
It seems to me the registry and legal term, “sex offender”, were a smoke screen for the elite. It’s reached them now and it is now that they talk common sense. Thought they were inescapable? Not to mention this seeming smokescreen was perpetuated by sex offender (by action, not legal term), Billy C.!
Their own creation has come to bite them now.
Additionally, how about Book wanting to know why her policies failed in Florida regarding Epstein?…
https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article233102457.html?__twitter_impression=true
My registration information, on the nebraska State patrol site, showed that I had plead guilty to commiting seperate crimes with more than one victim, one in 2009 and one in 2015, when in reality I had plead guilty to commiting one crime in 2009, no others. If I wouldn’t have noticed the error it would not have been changed. When I called to have it corrected they told me that’s the information they had recieved.
After reading this article, all I can say is that Hollie didn’t do her homework on “SORNA.”
She states: “Federal law has divided convicted sex offenders into three “risk” categories. “Risk one” generally has mandated a 20-year registration period, with “risk two” and “risk three” violators cataloged for life.”
Sorry, but SORNA uses Tiers I, II, and III, not “Risk one, two, and three.” Tier I is 15 years not “generally” 20. Tier II is 25 years not life.
She also states: “SORNA requires sex offenders to re-register annually with a new photograph and DNA sample, report any changes of address within three to ten days of re-locating, document vehicle information and adhere to strict residency restrictions. For example, offenders are banned from living near parks, schools or places where children congregate.”
DNA is only required upon initial registration, not annually. Hint: it doesn’t change. It’s three business days to report a change of name, residence, employment, or student status, not three to ten days. There’s no provision in SORNA to provide change of vehicle information. Most glaring error of this article, SORNA does not require residency or proximity restrictions.
I’m surprised she conceded the relative lowness of recidivism rates when her idiot colleague, JussieH20 on “The Five,” stated on air yesterday that the rates for “child molesters” were higher than for the guy who shot up the cops in Philly. He has been arrested “about a dozen times.” Maybe he should read this article.
Valid points, JZ
Maybe Epsteins’ death will benefit us after all….It shows it is not working as it thought it would. Perhaps lawmakers and Judges gain common sense and do away with the public shaming and banishment. I going to play the villian here. I understand having a police data base but hell they got 100 unsolved murders in Jacksonville Fla. No telling how many cold case here in Phoenix AZ, Why isn’t there a data bank of other violent felonies Car jacking, Home invasion and even murder? I come to the conclusion it is easier to harass post conviction members than solve crimes.
What about the known drug dealers that hang around where children congregate. I don’t see those on a registry or forbidden from parks, schools, bus stops, restaurants, and the list goes on and on.
They are abusing and killing our children with their poisons.