Member Submission: Information asked during address verification.
Members have been writing in letting us know that officers are asking interrogating questions during the address verification, including information that is not even registrable (see below). Remember to only identify yourself by showing your ID and that’s all. You do not need to answer any questions! We STRONGLY suggest not to.
Use common sense. If it’s something benign, like “how’s your day going?” it’s harmless, but if they start quizzing you on items you reported or ask for other information, politely tell them you provide all required information at registration and you are not going to answer their questions without an attorney present. If you don’t have the confidence to say it, prepare a card to leave by your door and hand it to them.
Below is what a member reported to us.
Hello. I want to pass on what happened to me. Maybe you can offer some help and send it on to the registrant community. Last night I was awoke by a loud banging on my door. It was 10:30PM; I go to bed early. It was the XXXXXX Police saying this was a check in. There were 2 cops, only one wearing a mask. I, unfortunately didn’t get their names. I went to wake up my wife so she could witness this and to get my ID. I also grabbed a notebook so I could write down what happened. We were both scared and very startled, being woken up suddenly. I handed them my ID and they asked the following questions:
What was a good time to find me? I told them earlier, say 8PM
What was my phone? At this point I told them, “You have that info.”
Was I on probation? I told him, “You know that.” He said, “You don’t have to be a jerk about this.”
What was my wife’s name and number? I asked why he needed that. At this point I was scared and angry. Every time I objected to answering the remaining questions he would say he didn’t have this info and they would just get it this time then next time it wouldn’t take so long, or he would berrate me, saying “don’t be a jerk about this.
Questions continued: Do I have kids? How often did they visit? What was their name? I can’t see how this is a question they’re allows to ask but, I’m sorry to say, at this point I just wanted this over with. My wife told me there was nothing I could do just answer the questions
What are your emails? I handed him my receipt from my last registration. He said “This is really helpful.” Again they said they didn’t have this info.
Who is my internet provider?
Do I smoke?
Am I right or left handed?
I feel almost ashamed that I couldn’t have pushed back more during this. But I don’t know how to deal with this level of stress. I’m not trained to handle being on the opposite end of these intimidation tactics. My question is: Did I need to answer any of these questions other than do I live here? Do I have to answer the registry questions. Has anyone else experienced this with XXXX Police? Do I have any recourse to complain about this. I’m worried they’ll now try and intimidate my wife and the parents of my grandchild.
Thanks for your help
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This is good information, and I like that, expecially in the situation I am in right now. Here’s my situation as of now.. We have this covid issue going on. My old PO officer that I was with for 8 yrs of my 10 yr. sentence has left & went to retirement they say, and now I have a new PO. During this pandemic I haven’t been to the PO office since Feb of last year. They assigneed me a new PO. that just happened to knock on the door around Nov to meet me as he and I had never met since this pandemic. I had never met him only by monthly check in calls. So I really don’t know much about him.
He I’m sure has my records from my old PO but PO’s can be somewhat tricky as many of you have given me a view. So when things get back to visitations at the office level One doe3sn’t have to talk. Would n’t that be in non compliance. I mean I’m already in Non compliance if they consider I didn’t sign that paper saying I knew I was talking to a teenanger. Sure I pled guilty to my foul cybering tone and yes the Officer said since your public attorney dropped out if I pled guilty I would talk to the DA and Judge for you so you didn’t go to prison or jail.
Sounds a bit funny to me like a redress of greivence is about due for justice purposes. What do you guys think.
You have to choose to play the game or not. This can be based on what you have to lose, or gain, from doing so. On probation, you have less wiggle room, but you can always use the chain of command. If you don’t like his decisions on your life, go to his boss. If you don’t like that, petition the judge. If you have the means, you should keep an attorney on retainer. Preferably one who doesn’t like you, as counter productive as that sounds.
From the OP:
Was I on probation? I told him, “You know that.”
Wait … that tells me the OP is on probation, unless I’m reading it wrong. If that’s the case, you DO have to answer their questions, correct? You have to jump through the hoops whether you like it or not.
Not necessarily. Before the registry, when I was green on probation, my first PO would stop by my apartment every day at 5:30 a.m. rifling through my cabinets, looking through my closets, etc. A few months later, I met someone who lived WAY at the other end of the county. He forbade me from visiting her. So…I went to his boss. Boss was now my PO. Visit as often as you like. On house arrest, officers wanted to enter my home. I ask him why. He said he didn’t need a reason. I told him to get a warrant. Judge denied the warrant and said to leave me alone. On probation: PO wanted to come in my house and search my car. Wife said both were her property and in her name, so he needed a warrant. He tried to jimmy the lock on the car, so she called the cops and charged him with trespassing, destruction of property, and attempted B&E. He didn’t like that at all. So no, you have no obligation to “jump through hoops,” regardless of your status.
From a jan. ’04 sting operation I am on registry in Broward Ct with no probation since 2010 and want to move to Villages which covers parts of 3 countys. Lake county/lady lake seem’s very hostile and strict and even Sumter ct and Marion will not provide any map of living areas or restrictions and told me to hire a real estate attorney. Surely there is a better way as someone knows and has this info or they wouldn’t be able to say yes or no when you call with an address. Any help for me??
The best way that I have found to do this is to go to the most local GIS office you can find. Tell them the situation and give them parameters. For example, I told them that I needed a thousand foot buffer around every Park, School, and daycare in Leon County. Specifically the Tallahassee metro area. Within 10 minutes I had a map of Tallahassee in my hand with three different colors of thousand foot buffers around every park, school, and daycare in tallahassee. Two things about daycares: 1. You can live next to a registered daycare. You cannot live next to a licensed daycare. Nor can you live near a church that has playground equipment. 2. If you get a GIS map of your area, you need to keep in mind that day cares open and close all the time. The daycare end of the map is just a guide and you need to know ahead of time whether there is a daycare there or not. Honestly, your best bet is to live somewhere approximately 10 miles or so away from any city limits if you can. That will give you the most freedom. I hope this helps. If you can make a trip to Tallahassee you can go to the underside of the Leon County courthouse next to the elevators. They did not charge me for mine because I was a student at the time but I don’t know if they would charge someone for such a map or not. There may also be a GIS office in Brevard County or in a larger metro area like Orlando. Good luck. One more thing about GIS maps: it also serves as an official document. You understand that the information is not completely 100% up to date, but you can use it in court as far as what the state gave you that was technically accurate at that time.
Go back to Mrs Johnson, in the Broward sheriffs registration unit, and ask her, they know where you can and cannot live. Ask them if any RSO are living there, most cities in Broward have a Ban on all RSO living there,unless you were there before 2005…i wanted to move to a house, but theres no Place to go, where there is some kind of a Restriction on us….they basically want you to move someplace that’s 1 1.2 miles away from anything and anybody….. that’s just not possible in Broward,Miami Dade or Palm Beach
Rick
You brought up a good idea. You could actually check the registry and see where the most offenders live and pretty much that would mean it is ok to live in that area.
There is one spot about 10 miles from where I live that I call the offender village because so many SO’s live there. One guy actually bought an entire street of houses and rents out of people on the registry. It is not in my county but have talked to the guy before.
That’s not a perfect idea. Many are grandfathered into their areas.
My thought, too. Once SO concentration reaches a certain level, the powers try to break it up. Find a place outside of town and commute 20 minutes. More land, cheaper housing, fewer neighbors in your business. What could be better?
True
Was just trying to help. Things change so much that it is hard to know what the rules are anymore 🙁
Keeping up with the ever changing rules, laws and ordinances , is Like in Vietnam. Navigating through fields of landmines without any knowledge of what your next step could lead to. Death or safety.
Glenn
It is just sick and saddening that WE are responsible for figuring out where we can and cannot live. We did not create the law. It seems like #1 The authorities do not even know and #2 it is a trap to get us back in jail.
Last month when the leo came to do my verification he asked me my place of employment which I have 2 he asked which vehicles in the yard were mine asked my work hours. Name and dob later I found out had I not told him both of my jobs I could have been in trouble so yes even seemingly innocent questions can get you in trouble
In the Rockford Files Season 3 Episode titled: So Help Me God. James Garner’s character of Jim Rockford being a Private Investigator and a Fully Pardoned Former Convicted Felon says Under Oath in the Courtroom in Open Court that “‘I decline and refuse to answer the question on the ground that it may tend to incriminate me.'” Standing on his Fifth/5th Amendment Right To Remain Silent. So even in a fictional television show we can learn that the United States Constitution protects us in envoking/invoking our Civil Rights/Constitutional Rights.
How can they be doing a compliance check if they don’t have any info to compare to what you tell them? If they don’t have that info, it is now a fishing expedition. Clearly they were lying to you, as they love to do. (It’s why I call them the Thin Blue Liars).
I highly recommend everyone become well-acquainted with Florida v. Jardines (https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/569/1/). There is some good info in there about TBLs being on your doorstep (“curtilage”). In short, they can be there but there presence is automatically a 4th Amdt. implication. The moment you end the conversation, they must leave–and if they don’t, they’re now conducting an illegal search in violation of the 4th Amdt. (The non-TBL equivalent is we’d be trespassing once told to leave.)
Never open the door to TBL’s. Talk to them through the door, asking them to leave.
I think we can see part of the reasons why America has Hit Lists. Far too many people are kind of okay with it. Far too many people have told the criminal regimes that it is okay to come to my home and ask me questions to “monitor” me. Even random questions. I just think it sends the wrong message. It should be crystal clear to every decent, moral American that Hit Lists are not acceptable and no one is accepting anything about them, even something trivial, unless they are FORCED to do so at the point of a gun.
I honestly cannot fathom why some people allow law enforcement criminals (LECs) that have no statutory duties regarding the Hit Lists (e.g. city police) to come around their home and ever speak to them. I really cannot get it. I understand that people are in all kinds of different situations but there has to be some limits. I would never allow them to show up after dark.
If you are a PFR I think that you can keep all LECs from coming onto your property. The only exception (other than those all Americans have) would be if you are on probation or parole and those agents come to visit OR if they have somehow legally told you that you must allow “compliance checks” (even in that case I would make them clarify exactly what agencies/people must be allowed, when, and how).
You can keep LECs off of your property with a wall or fencing. If that is not feasible then an appropriate sign should certainly work. As has been discussed many times, all over the place, it cannot simply say “no trespassing” however because a person coming to your front door is not trespassing. But you can write verbiage that will work.
Based on Circuit and Supreme Court precedents, there seems to be no way to revoke someone’s license to knock on your door using only signs. Judge (now Justice) Gorsuch dissented in a case about this while on the 10th. He gets it but so many others do not.
There is one way that courts seem to uphold regularly, which is to have some sort of barrier at the edge of your property to block the common ingress/egress to your front door. Based on Justice Scalia’s writings in Jardines, even a locked chain or gate across one’s sidewalk or driveway is a sufficient legal barrier to entry. Keep in mind that anything the UPS driver, JW, or Trick-or-treater is allowed to do without your explicit consent, a leo can do, too. Thus spake Jardines.