Yuma, Arizona’s NBC News 11 just posted a horribly misleading article titled, “Released to Reoffend: News 11 investigates the sex offender next door.”
The irresponsible news story makes the absurdly inaccurate statement that “Statistics show 99% of child sex offenders reoffend, yet they are still being released into our community.”
The statistic allegedly comes from an organization called “Amberly’s place” Diane Umphress, who started the family advocacy center, Amberly’s Place in Yuma, 20 years ago. says that “It’s grown into an empire” Of course it’s grown into an empire if you feed people false statistics and scare them into supporting you.
The same story quotes some politician, Congressman Paul Gosar, (R) Arizona who said, “It defies common sense that these offenders receive light sentences, and are often released into society when the data shows high risks of recidivism.”
Released sex-offenders are less likely to be rearrested than other released prisoners, according to new data released by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). (https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsorsp9yfu0514.pdf). The commonly held “frightening and high” myth has long ago been debunked (https://reason.com/2018/11/14/the-frightening-and-high-factoid-about-s/) and we know sex offenders have a LOW rate of recidivism.
Stories like this are responsible for the irrational and ineffective policies that govern persons who have sexually offended. It shows how bullshit statistics perpetuated by a self-interested organization are regurgitated by irresponsible journalists who mislead the public and lawmakers into passing irrational and ineffective laws.
Please take a moment to correct those responsible:
Diane Umphress, Amberly’s Place: dianeumphress@amberlysplace.com
Jenny Day, journalist, KYMA News 11: [email protected]
Ernesto Romero, KYMA News Director: [email protected]
Congresman Dr. Paul Gosar: https://gosar.house.gov/contact/
Sorry, folks:
https://kyma.com/news/crime/2019/11/19/released-to-reoffend-news-11-investigates-the-sex-offender-next-door/
These clowns put in “Amberly’s Place statistics” before the statistic to try and point the finger elsewhere. I think it’s time to ask the FCC to make sure this station is accountable for republishing false statistics.
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554.
I am on it. I hope other people are, too. Power in numbers.
FAC, they can try to blame it on others… suite me fine. Now we can sue more than one idiot. Not only this post on KYMA but Twitter too.
I hope the Twitter world is hot on this.
I have already sent 2 emails to the NBC website in New York City to report errors in their reporting. I am going to send a third one, suggesting that now that the news story is back up, perhaps it is time for the FCC to get involved.
Again, you can email NBC at [email protected].
Around 75% of Amberly’s Place revenue goes to payroll, with their executive director receiving upwards of $100,000 in salary and compensation.
Per The Appeal reporter Joshua Vaughn, who reviewed their 990 financials, via Guy Hamilton-Smith on Twitter.
None of FAC’s revenue goes to payroll.
Do you know who funds their organization? Tax payers?
Finally, KYMA has made some corrections to their original stories. Use Jacob’s link above. I have sent numerous emails, including the blitz yesterday and a letter to the FCC. I am now going to send more emails thanking them for their efforts in making a wrong situation a little better. I can tell that the station is trying. (I am having to ignore some of Ms. Umphress’ statements, though.)
Did you catch who they say smart office watches? They just had to get their dig in didn’t they,buttheads
I felt this reply was worthy of a post… I shall keep my opinion to myself for now.
Diane Umphress dianeumphress@amberlysplace.com
To:
Nov 18 at 4:24 PM
Let me clarify..
The statistics from Amberly’s Place for the last 19 years have been consistent…. child molest being the second highest crime we respond to annually and domestic violence being the highest.
Child molestation is separate from Adult Sexual Assault statistics. In the short report people combined the two crimes. They are totally different crimes by different suspects!
Only one in nine children ever report abuse.
A child molestation is a different crime and looked at in the legal system and the victim services system as completely different then adult sexual assault. Behavioral therapies are different as is treatment of these crimes. Misconception the people thought the report made these two crimes the same act and they are not! My comment that the cure rate for a child molester is very low as in 99% thus the frustration of recruiting people in this field to work with this population. I was not saying 99% will reoffend again. When I refer to cure rate I am talking about people losing those urges for children.. not 99% will reoffend. The reason a child molester can have the potential of 117 victims is due to the fact that children don’t talk and the crime isn’t reported. Thus the molester continues to molest.
In therapy to be successful a person must admit they have a problem and be willing to work the program. Due to the small amount of reports made by children new research shows the majority of individuals are in there 50 before they disclose they were molested as children, once again gives you insight as to how they can have so many victims. No one can accurately give us a percentage that will reoffend as we don’t really have a accurate insight into how many child molesters are in our society.
Here are some victim stats. With references.
Recidivism: How often do Child Molesters go on to Reoffend?
Some people claim that child abusers can’t be cured and invariably reoffend. Others suggest that recidivism rates are low and that sex offenders are less likely to reoffend than those who commit other types of crimes. What is the truth?
Overall, follow-up studies typically find sexual recidivism rates of 10%-15% after five years, 20% after 10 years, and 30%-40% after 20 years (see, Hanson, Morton, & Harris, 2003).
However, these numbers are conservative because not all offences are detected.
In fact, a careful review of the scientific and legal literature shows that determining true recidivism rates are next to impossible as recidivism rates only count the number of sex offenders released into the community who are caught and convicted.
The vast majority of sex offenses are never reported. For instance, the National Women’s Study surveyed a representative sample of over 4,000 adult women in the United States . Three hundred forty-one (8.5%) of these women were victims of at least one rape prior to the age of 18; however, only 11.9% of these women reported the rape to authorities (Hanson et al., 1990). And it must be remembered, of the few offenses reported, an even smaller number result in convictions.
The problem with using recidivism rates to determine the rate of reoffending is readily apparent when considering the following example. If 100% of released molesters reoffended, but the rate of reporting is only 12%, and the conviction rate is half of this, than the recidivism rate would be reported as only 6%!
Prentky et al. (1997) examined recidivism rates on 115 child molesters and concluded that: (1) child molesters remain at risk to reoffend long after their discharge, in some cases 15-20 years after discharge; (2) there is a marked underestimation of recidivism rates.
Likewise, a review by the American Psychological Association (2003) concluded that “the research demonstrates that even sexual offenses against children that occurred long ago evince a continuing risk of recidivism by the offender.”
Another perspective on the problem is offered by Anna Salter, one of the foremost experts on sex offenders in the country. She writes the following in her popular book Predators:
"The dry research figures only confirm what I have seen over and over in this field: there are a lot of sexual offenses out there and the people who commit them don't get caught very often. When an offender is caught and has a thorough evaluation with a polygraph backup, he will reveal dozens, sometimes hundreds of offenses he was never apprehended for. In an unpublished study by Pamela Van Wyk, 26 offenders in her incarcerated treatment program entered the program admitting an average of 3 victims each. Faced with a polygraph and the necessity of passing it to stay in the treatment program, the next group of 23 men revealed an average of 175 victims each."
References
American Psychological Association. (2003, February 19). Amicus Curiae brief submitted in Stogner.
Hanson, R. F., Resnick, H. S., Saunders, B. E., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Best, C. (1990). Factors related to the reporting of childhood rape. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 559-569.
On the complaints regarding the Registering of Sex Offenders and the likelihood to reoffend that is from the Courts.
Thanks,
Diane Umphress
Executive Director
Amberly’s Place
The recidivism rate is based on previous sex criminals committing new sex crimes. The rate of reporting is NOT based on any past offense. In fact 95%+ of new sex crimes, reported or not, are NOT by those registered. Your cognitive dissonance prevents you from seeing that.
Here are just a few facts/statements:
Recidivism studies
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/rsorp94pr.cfm
https://www.hrw.org/report/2007/09/11/no-easy-answers/sex-offender-laws-us http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0886260514526062 https://ofm.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/legacy/sgc/sopb/meetings/board/2015/10/research_outline.pdf
https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/024_hanson_decl_11.7.12.pdf
https://www.avnetnews.net/newsletters/sex-offender-recidivism-fact-based-research-statistics/
http://restoringintegritytovirginiaregistry.blogspot.com/p/national-u.html (Virginia)
https://gb1.ojp.usdoj.gov/search?q=sex+offender+recidivism&site=BJS-OJP&client=bjsnew_frontend&proxystylesheet=bjsnew_frontend&output=xml_no_dtd&proxyreload=1&filter=0&tlen=150&getfields=description&Go.x=0&Go.y=0 (Bureau of Justice Statistics)
https://sosen.org/blog/2018/06/10/there-is-a-direction-that-registered-citizens-can-take-to-become-free.html (has lots of links)
https://www.smart.gov/SOMAPI/sec1/ch5_recidivism.html
Robert Longo wrote the original 1986 non-scientific Psychology Today article stating “frightening and high” recidivism rates to be as high as 80% (35 to 80). Barbara Schwartz wrote the Department of Justice manual cited by the Supreme Court but admits she just “made up a model”. The article had 6 references including the dictionary. The “best we were doing is guesses” she says.
The above is from https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000005415081/a-frightening-myth-about-sex-offenders.html?src=vidm
http://www.casomb.org/docs/Residence_Paper_Final.pdf (page 10 states 95%) “A. US Bureau of Justice Statistics Report published in 2003 declared that after analyzing the records of nearly 10,000 convicted sex offenders, only 4.6% of them were found to have had a previous conviction involving a sex crime against a child victim. Thus over 95% of new sex crimes against children are committed by someone who has no previous record of being convicted of a sex offense against a child.”
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2016/05/06/despite-concerns-sex-offenders-face-new-restrictions “A U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics study in 2003, the most recent available, found that 5.3 percent of inmates released from prison after being convicted of a sex offense are arrested for another sexual offense within three years.”
https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=1136 “Within 3 years following their release, 5.3% of sex offenders (men who had committed rape or sexual assault) were rearrested for another sex crime.”
https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/law-law0000135.pdf see figure 2 on page 8 (page 55) Shows all offenders with any static-99 score desist to offend at 20 years offense free and very low score to desist at 0 years offense free.
https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=576121020003021086102102031086064064032043077033024024075122119067085065070080108000011050026016049049112002118096119121091016048026026076017082088003090111090070084075000007020069080023010094127070018083090085092091084107073067088118006084127127083&EXT=pdf Debunks Karl Hanson’s Static 99 recidivism rates as exaggerated by 500%. See page 27.
From http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/03/sex_offender_bans_are_based_on_bad_science.html
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsorp94.pdf
In reality, sex offenders have among the lowest same-crime recidivism rates of any category of offender. Indeed, in the most comprehensive single study on reoffense rates to date, the U.S. Department of Justice followed every sex offender released in almost 15 states for three years. The recidivism rate? Just 3.5 percent.
https://www.womenagainstregistry.org/recidivism
Contains 17 studies
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/03/sex_offender_bans_are_based_on_bad_science.html
The Supreme Court’s Sex-Offender Jurisprudence Is Based on a Lie
https://www.d2l.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/all_statistics_20150619.pdf Facts about juvenile offenders.
https://www.fatherly.com/parenting/better-way-teach-stranger-danger-without-scaring-kid/
“The most important thing that parents need to know is that 93% of sexual abuse against children is perpetrated by those known to the child–meaning family, friends and those they know in their environment, like teachers and coaches,” explains Elizabeth Jeglic, Ph.D, a professor of psychology at the City University of New York Graduate Center, and author of Protecting Your Child from Sexual Abuse. “We are targeting the wrong individuals when we teach our children about stranger danger. We are better off teaching our children about consent and that no one should be touching them without their permission.”
Comments:
“Help keep your neighborhoods safe”????? These draconian laws from the 80’s have been debunked. Most, upwards of 95+%, NEW sex crimes are committed by those NOT on the registry. These compliance checks are just a way for upholding the fear and hysteria wrongfully associated with a completely inaccurate recidivism rate stated back in 1986. https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000005415081/a-frightening-myth-about-sex-offenders.html?src=vidm
https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=1136 “Within 3 years following their release, 5.3% of sex offenders (men who had committed rape or sexual assault) were rearrested for another sex crime.” The offenders you need to watch are not registered sex offenders, they’re parents, coaches, clergy, teachers, siblings, etc… those close in relationship to the victim and who commit 95+% of NEW sex crimes. Stop the fear and hysteria brought upon you by the government and greed.
“Juveniles account for more than one-third (35.6 percent) of those known to police to have committed sex offenses against minors.” http://unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/CV171.pdf
https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=1136 “Within 3 years following their release, 5.3% of sex offenders (men who had committed rape or sexual assault) were rearrested for another sex crime.” The offenders who commit NEW sex crimes are not registered sex offenders, they’re parents, coaches, clergy, teachers, siblings, etc… those close in relationship to the victim. Stop the fear and hysteria brought upon you by the government and greed.
People are ignorant and because of that, NEED to hate someone/something. https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=1136 “Within 3 years following their release, 5.3% of sex offenders (men who had committed rape or sexual assault) were rearrested for another sex crime.” That recidivism rate is LESS than any other crime except for murder in some cases. The offenders who commit NEW sex crimes are not registered sex offenders, they’re parents, coaches, clergy, teachers, siblings, etc… those close in relationship to the victim. Stop the fear and hysteria brought upon you by the government and greed.
Why are ONLY people who committed a sex crime in the past watched (registry)? High risk or not, ALL other criminals such as murderers, drug dealers, and DUI offenders have a higher risk to society. Unfounded fear, hysteria, and the NEED for America to hate, that’s why.
95+% of the offenders who commit NEW sex crimes are not registered sex offenders, they’re parents, coaches, clergy, teachers, siblings, law enforcement, etc… those close in relationship to the victim. Stop the fear and hysteria brought upon you by the government and greed.
There has never been a case where a registered sex offender committed a new sex crime on Halloween. Stop the fear and hysteria brought upon you by the government and greed.
What prevents the other 95% of new sex crimes?
Creating and enforcing useless laws like the sex offender registration and all its restrictions led to this. None of these laws make society safer as 95+% of the offenders who commit NEW sex crimes are not registered sex offenders, they’re parents, coaches, clergy, teachers, siblings, law enforcement, etc… those close in relationship to the victim. Stop the fear and hysteria brought upon you by the government and greed. There has never been a case where a registered sex offender committed a new sex crime on Halloween. Stop the fear and hysteria brought upon you by the government and greed. What prevents the other 95% of new sex crimes?
Creating and enforcing useless laws like the sex offender registration and all its restrictions led to this. None of these laws make society safer as 95+% of the offenders who commit NEW sex crimes are not registered sex offenders, they’re parents, coaches, clergy, teachers, siblings, law enforcement, etc… those close in relationship to the victim. Stop the fear and hysteria brought upon you by the government and greed. What prevents the other 95% of new sex crimes?
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/227763.pdf
Juveniles Who Commit Sex Offenses Against Minors (2009)
My response:
Can a juvenile be a psychopath, of course; so can adults but that is of only 5% of sex crimes committed. Everyone has issues of their own…. we are humans.
“Sex offenders tend to be adult males who have sociopathic or psychopathic traits and a long history of criminal behavior, trauma, or misfortune.” Really?
Much documented research shows that 95+% of sex offenders DO NOT have a criminal history. Here’s just one: http://www.casomb.org/docs/Residence_Paper_Final.pdf (page 10 states 95%) “A. US Bureau of Justice Statistics Report published in 2003 declared that after analyzing the records of nearly 10,000 convicted sex offenders, only 4.6% of them were found to have had a previous conviction involving a sex crime against a child victim. Thus over 95% of new sex crimes against children are committed by someone who has no previous record of being convicted of a sex offense against a child.”
Also, as you linked to in your description: “Juveniles account for more than one-third (35.6 percent) of those known to police to have committed sex offenses against minors.” http://unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/CV171.pdf or https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncjrs.gov%2Fpdffiles1%2Fojjdp%2F227763.pdf&event=video_description&v=aAKJW1Erabg&redir_token=864PpdGp-40XbwSwu1iHVqqWqCd8MTU0ODE5MzQ3M0AxNTQ4MTA3MDcz
MANY of which are experimenting with sex (who doesn’t/didn’t), are sexting with each other (thanks to technology), or even possess a nude pic pf themselves on their own phone (no distribution needed and by the creation of hundreds on new laws each year… all because of the unfounded fear and hysteria created by media and/or government).
We need to keep a very close eye on minors, educated them on sex crimes, repeal these idiotic laws including the registry, hold parents accountable for their own offspring, etc. Therapy AFTER the fact may help prevent future crimes…. but it’s too late by then…. registry.
“Most US states are punitive”…. they are punitive but most states classify them as administrative, many of which end up on a public registry FOR LIFE. That in a nut shell is the problem. Sex crimes are the only crime in which an offender is punished not only in jail/prison/mental hospital, but punished WAY beyond when they get released. Murderers (and all other criminals) go to prison, do parole/probation and have NO other restrictions after that… none. What’s wrong with this picture?
Another issue is this: a juvenile victim is usually considered unable to consent to sex; a juvenile offender is usually considered ABLE to understand what they did and to stand trial, often as an adult.
Don’t get me wrong. Therapy can be great but we need to prevent these crimes BEFORE they happen. Teach real sex education in high school, teach what can land you in jail/prison in high school, and make parents accountable for their child’s actions.
At the same time that these 5 were arrested for a technical idiotic reason, 95 new real sex crimes occurred by those not registered. Registries and all there useless restrictions DO NOT WORK, except to fill the pockets of ball-less law makers.
Let’s go into everyone’s home and search the home, the people, their electronics… I guarantee there’s not enough prisons to hold all who are committing sex offenses by today’s standards. IE: look in your own mirror. 95+% of new sex crimes are NOT committed by those with a record… think about that before you judge.
I hope that the statistics quoted in the comments by RM and others, along with the research, are sent to Ms. Umphress and others involved with this story. it is very important to let them know how incorrect and skewed their facts are.
They were, I sent the same to her. No response yet.
Forgot to add this in for clarity. I had included these 2 links in the initial correspondence. She references them in her reply…. I think.
https://reason.com/2018/11/14/the-frightening-and-high-factoid-about-s/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232505213_Does_a_Watched_Pot_Boil_A_Time-Series_Analysis_of_New_York_State's_Sex_Offender_Registration_and_Notification_Law
It’s true that sex offenses are under-reported.
It does NOT follow, though, that a disproportionate number of those unreported offenses are perpetrated by people who have already been caught, held to account, and placed on a public registry.
Sc, I too received a lengthy reply from Ms. Umphress. She also addressed her 99% comment with the following:
Only one in nine children ever report abuse.
A child molestation is a different crime and looked at in the legal system and the victim services system as completely different then adult sexual assault. Behavioral therapies are different as is treatment of these crimes. Misconception the people thought the report made these two crimes the same act and they are not! My comment that the cure rate for a child molester is very low as in 99% thus the frustration of recruiting people in this field to work with this population. I was not saying 99% will reoffend again. When I refer to cure rate I am talking about people losing those urges for children.. not 99% will reoffend. The reason a child molester can have the potential of 117 victims is due to the fact that children don’t talk and the crime isn’t reported. Thus the molester continues to molest. Never did I say 99% will reoffend. No one has that documentation
I was a math teacher for 30 years certified to teach grades 7th through 12th. When I would take my daughters to the beach during the summers, the joke in our family was how I would sit on the beach working problems out of a calculus book in my “spare time”, yet I cannot follow the logic of how Ms.Umphress came up with her 99% statistic.
Amberly’s Place admits in writing here that the journalist misquoted them.
All the more reason for the story to have been retracted.
Their statistics are still WAY off!
The statistics turned out to be one individual’s personally-held view (about something else, it turns out)!
And that personally-held view is contradicted by…the statistics!
I’m sure I know where she got the 99% statistic. Use gloves to handle that.
Arizonans for Rational Sex Offense Laws, the Arizona NARSOL, affiliate sent the following letter to the News Director at KYMA.
November 17, 2019
Dear Mr. Romero,
Arizonans for Rational Sex Offense Laws is the Arizona chapter of NARSOL (National Association for Rational Sex Offense Laws). We envision effective, fact-based sexual offense laws and policies that promote public safety, safeguard civil liberties, honor human dignity, and offer holistic prevention, healing and restoration. Because denying any group of citizens their civil, constitutional or human rights threatens the liberties of us all.
As the Directors of AZRSOL, we wanted to share with you some facts regarding sexual offenses and the people who commit them. We also are asking you to publish a corrected version of your story, Released to Reoffend: News 11 investigates the sex offender next door, which is filled with complete falsehoods and misquotes designed to instill fear based upon myths rather than facts. It is in fact, one of the most inaccurate pieces of “journalism” we have ever seen in a sea of fear-based reporting on a topic which is difficult to talk about.
Here are the facts supported by sources, unlike the information provided in your article:
Re-offense is rare. The DOJ has reported a 5.3% re-arrest rate, and a 3.5% reconviction rate after 3 years. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/rsorp94pr.cfm https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/231989.pdf page 7
Former sex offenders are less and less likely to reoffend the longer they live offense-free. https://www.hrw.org/report/2007/09/11/no-easy-answers/sex-offender-laws-ushttp://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0886260514526062https://ofm.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/legacy/sgc/sopb/meetings/board/2015/10/research_outline.pdfhttps://www.eff.org/files/filenode/024_hanson_decl_11.7.12.pdf
Research studies have found no relationship between having a registry and a decrease in sex offenses. http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-18509-003 https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/225370.pdf pp. 7, 41
In more than a third of sexual abuse cases against minors, the perpetrators were also juveniles; with victims under age 6, 40% of the offenders were juveniles. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/227763.pdf https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/saycrle.pdf page 8
23% of contact offenders were under age 18 at the time of their offense, with 16% under age 12. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/saycrle.pdf page 8
Over 95% of new sexual crime is committed by persons NOT on a registry. http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-18509-003 https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/231989.pdf page 15 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232505213_Does_a_Watched_Pot_Boil_A_TimeSeries_Analysis_of_New_York_State's_Sex_Offender_Registration_and_Notification_Law
Public urination, sexting, underage sex, and indecent exposure can trigger a requirement to register. https://www.hrw.org/report/2007/09/11/no-easy-answers/sex-offender-laws-us third section
Only a small fraction of those on registries are truly high-risk. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/231989.pdf page 11
“Stranger-danger” is rare; 90% or more of victims know their attackers, higher for children. https://www.rainn.org/statistics/perpetrators-sexual-violencehttps://www.innovations.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/105361.pdf page 7
Current sexual offense laws create conditions that lead to increased crime. https://qz.com/869499/new-evidence-says-us-sex-offender-policies-dont-work-and-are-are-actually-causing-more-crime/ https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1078&context=articles
We also would like to point out a particularly disturbing technique used by the reporter where she quotes a source and follows the quote with a summary of what was said. In at least one case, we believe what follows the quote to be a misrepresentation of what the source told the reporter. The article states “Representative Walter Blackman (R) Arizona, said in part, ‘There are some who believe we should include sex offenders as part of the criminal justice reform debate,’ but he says he can’t support that.” In fact, Representative Blackman has invited us to speak at his ad hoc committee on Earned Release Credits. While we cannot say exactly what Mr. Blackman told the reporter, we find it incredibly suspicious, and bad journalism, that she chose to quote him only in part.
We would be happy to speak with you regarding our concerns and to provide you with additional facts to aid you in accurately reporting on this issue in the future. We look forward to your response and a seeing corrected version a corrected version of the story.
Sincerely,
Patricia and Terry Borden, Directors
Thank you ARSOL
I am sure by now most of us have heard of the story on KYMA in Yuma, AZ by Jenny Day and the outrage that followed. It appears that the post on their website has been removed.
https://kyma.com/news/released-to-reoffend-news-11-investigates-the-sex-offender-next-door-1/1142360703
The pressure may have worked. The article appears to have been taken down from the station’s website.
Thanks all for speaking out. The Station pulled the story.
Amen! Praise the Lord and pass me a glass of Granny’s special recipe.
The Twitter post is still up though.
https://twitter.com/JennyDayTV/status/1195159698460143617
Hold them accountable… it’s slander.
Anyone considering a lawsuit for defamation should know the difference between slander and libel, as well as the legal standards for bringing a lawsuit and the plaintiff’s burden of proof. It’s no easy task to bring such a suit.
https://defamation.laws.com/defamation-laws/libel-vs-slander
Journalists lol. This guy should be sued. If I have to have numbers stamped on my drivers license that groups me in with those 99 percent He must be negligently slandering me!
Emailed
Oh man this place put itself in the middle of the cops case by taking the victims statement ,I won’t know any dept. That would use someplace like this unless they were Barney fife, Mayberry, I didn’t see any way they could or did do research of any kind , but it looks like they have a good board of directors and a very fine thrift store.
Well on top of this article being full of falsehood propaganda, its also not written very well. Several grammatical and spelling errors. For me, when I read those, it lessens the legitimacy of the article in my eyes. But anyway, this was a dumb article written by a newbie it looks like. RSO issues are easy pickings for them, so I’m sure that’s their first assignment story when they first get hired!
Some agencies report a violation of registry compliance arrests as a re-offense : IE another sex offense.
When someone gets arrested it is rarely reported on and if so, they do not go into that person’s past much. That is unless it is a sex offender.
I see all the time someone who is on the news for say getting into an altercation with their neighbor over a noise complaint but that story is overshadowed by them saying ” A convicted horrible predatory high risk sex offender was just re-arrested.”
* No indication they were arrested because the neighbor claimed the offender threatened them, making people think they were arrested for another sex related offense.
Also if any other offender violates their probation, it is not a story but when someone on the registry does it is front page news.
The news justifies and sensationalizes stories regardless if it destroys someone’s family or invades their privacy. I once saw a report sitting outside a middle school waiting to interview a teen about their Father being arrested.
I hate to say this but I feel many reporters are lower on the totem pole than most sex offenders in my book.
Well said!! Such great points you have made.
I know that at least 2 members of FAC have sent emails to the recipients listed above. For those of you who do have email, please send something. It does not have to be long or elaborate or filled with research. Plenty of that has already been sent. It helps a lot if you just let them know that their information is all false and has caused a lot of damage for registrants who are now law-abiding citizens of this country.
I could not get my email to go through to the Representative. I tried contact information at his website in Arizona, but it would not let me send an email to him because I was “out of his district”. Maybe someone can find an email address to use. He really needs to get his facts straight.
I also sent my email to [email protected]. This is the contact to notify NBC News in New York City of incorrect information in their news reports.
Email sent. Short and not so sweet. I also sent a copy to the nbcnews email above. Thank you.
Can we send this to our sister organizations and ask them to also respond??
Trust me, our FAC leadership is working behind the scenes on all of this. Our leadership does so much that most of us never know about. I am out on this website all the time communicating with people about the things I do, but what I do is nothing compared to what our leadership people are doing. I am finding that they are always one step ahead of us in dealing with all of these matters. Their knowledge level is tremendous; they have given their whole life to the causes of FAC; they put in more hours working on our cause than any of the rest of us do; and they have donated a lot of their own money for our cause.
Our leadership team really needs our help in the way of more volunteers. You will find that they will work with you and understand that we know basically nothing when we start volunteering. They never expect you to do more than you have time to do. They always understand if you tell them I just cannot do that or do not have enough time to do it.
You do not have to be a writer or a speaker. The leadership team will work with you to find what you would be most comfortable doing.
Please consider offering your services. You do not have to figure out what services that might be. They will help you figure it out.
The NARSOL affiliate in Arizona is AZERSOL:
http://azrsol.org/
It looks like their website hasn’t been updated since August [with June news], but I emailed them the link to this post nonetheless.
Thanks – There are some active affiliates in AZ. not sure about how active their affiliate org is. We should get it active though. If things in AZ are not as bad as they are here, just wait… a few more stories like this one and the laws will start changing based on a false statistic. Don’t believe it will happen? Think Smith v. Doe!
This is why I appreciate our FAC leadership so much. If we start losing them, I am not seeing any replacements out there, and we will start to look like some of the NARSOL affiliates in certain other states. Just look at how well our website is kept up along with all of their other duties.
All members of congress are subject to ethics complaints for these types of things.
https://oce.house.gov/contact-us/make-a-submission
I would love for all of us to send in a report on this representative, but does ignorance constitute an unethical behavior?
Nice. I like that. Every time that a pandering, lying politician even mentions Registries, an ethics complaint ought to be filed. They are constant violators of being ethical humans.
As long as Registries exist, I’m going to make people sick about hearing it. They are going to hear about their harassment and crimes every day.
Just like my grandma said, years ago. There are big black lies like the ones being told by certain people in our government right now, then there are the little white lies like when wife asks if you think she’s gained some weight in the last couple of weeks, then….there are statistics.
The good news is that she is getting absolutely hammered on Twitter for this. 149 comments, of which 148 are negative, at last count.
But she has not responded yet, and we cannot rely exclusively on Twitter to correct her. At least there, NO ONE is buying the 99% figure.
Also, the offending statistic on amberlysplace.com cannot be found or has been removed.
All good to hear. I am seeing more and more the strength in numbers.