What do these people have in common?
What do the following people have in common?
- An Air Force Colonel
- A prison guard
- A Christian school teacher
They are all in positions where they are responsible for protecting people? Yes, but not what I was looking for. They all require specialized training and background clearances? True, but again, not what I had in mind. They are all people we should trust and respect? Ok, not the answer I had in mind. Guess again…
They are all sex offenders? Bingo! You guessed it!
I scan the headlines daily to share relevant news with our members. Within the past 24 hours, I’ve read stories about a former Air Force colonel ordered to pay $150,000 for raping a 15-year-old girl 30 times, the State of New York being ordered to pay $500,000 to a woman who was raped by a Department of Corrections officer at Rikers Island prison, and a former teacher at a Christian academy in Springfield, Oregon who will serve time in state prison for having sex with a student.
And that’s just in 24 hours. These stories come out every day! I generally don’t re-post them because we’re not about judging or shaming, but occasionally I feel like shouting from the rooftops, DON’T PEOPLE REALIZE THAT IT’S NOT PEOPLE ON THE REGISTRY COMMITTING THESE CRIMES!?!?!?!
97% of sexual offenses are committed by someone not on the registry. They are committed by people in the military, people in law enforcement, people in your child’s classroom and very sadly and most commonly, people in your home!
Sex offender registries were created in the wake of tragic but incredibly rare occurrences and have fostered a misconception that people on these lists are ultimately going to snatch your kid from a playground. Could you imagine what life would be like if people were instilled with the belief that their child was inevitably going to get killed in front of your house by a recidivist drunk driver? The streets would be empty! Yet the latter scenario is far more likely than the former!
“Police officer”, “teacher”, “uncle”, “sex offender” are useless labels when it comes to protecting our children from sexual abuse. The “sex offender” label only serves to punish the individual after the crime, but does NOTHING to prevent the crime from happening in the first place. Every “sex offender” was a once a “parent”, “child”, “neighbor”, “uncle”, etc.
We agree that sex offenses should be punished appropriately. But the registry is not appropriate – neither for the offender, the victim or the potential victim.
Discover more from Florida Action Committee
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I think that your shout from the rooftop would be more accurate saying that it’s not “registered offenders” committing these crimes. If they did what they are accused of, they are certainly sex offenders.
You are right!
Good, concise read. I could point out all of the good things about it but I have limited time and don’t want to waste yours. So forgive me for just pointing out an issue. You said those people are “sex offenders” and then shortly after said “IT’S NOT SEX OFFENDERS COMMITTING THESE CRIMES”. Probably not really intentional but you called people who are listed on the $EX Offender Registries “SEX OFFENDERS”. I think you should have said something like “IT’S NOT PEOPLE WHO ARE LISTED ON THE $EX OFFENDER REGISTRIES WHO ARE COMMITTING THESE CRIMES”.
Also, I know when the uninformed rubes who support the Registries read things like that they think, “That’s right, because the Registries work.” So that must ALWAYS be addressed. Perhaps follow that statement above with, “Understand that is not because Registries ‘work’, because Registries do nothing beneficial. Facts have clearly shown that Registries do not improve recidivism and they are much worse than just merely worthless.”
The $EX Offender Registries serve no legitimate public safety or law enforcement purpose. They exist for gossip, harassment, and to give shallow-thinking people their jollies and get them off.
Will – you are right – I edited the post. Thanks for pointing out this error
A companion issue:
http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Police-Hope-Software-Can-Help-Avoid-Losing-Sex-Offenders.html
Supposedly, states are “losing track” of registrants by the thousands. But notice there’s no claim that sex crime is increasing in those states. It’s just another indication that registrants aren’t the ones that the public should be so concerned about. Do a little digging and you’ll find that nearly all sex crime was committed by those without criminal records in the days before the public registry as well.