The subject of sex offenders who’ve served their time is a
thorny one with no easy answers.
The subject of sex offenders who’ve served their time is a thorny one with no easy answers.
As evidence, look at reactions to the Megan’s Law Internet database, which makes information about serious and high-risk sex offenders much easier to access.
We’re all for making access to information about registered sex offenders easier for the public to access. Prior to the placement of California’s Megan’s Law on the Web, people had to make an appointment at the sheriff’s department to look at the list and be accompanied by an attendant while viewing the information.
Placing the data about registered sex offenders on the Internet makes it easier for public officials to update and easier for citizens to access. But it comes with a difficult question: What’s the right way to react to learning that such a person lives in your neighborhood?
That’s a question that arises now that it’s easier to find out about the 70 registered sex offenders living in San Benito County who are listed on the site.
One reason it’s a difficult question to answer is a flaw in the Megan’s Law database itself. The database does not provide enough context about the crime or crimes the registrant committed. For example, it would be helpful to know when the crimes were committed, when the registrant was convicted, and if the victim was known or unknown to the registrant.
That data, along with a short summary of the crime, would greatly aid the public in deciding how to react to the registrant’s presence.
A recent conviction for crimes on strangers might warrant more severe changes in schedules and routines than a statutory rape conviction for consensual relations with an underage girlfriend.
We urge the state to add this information to the database so that the information provided under Megan’s Law is as useful as possible to the public.
But the public also bears the responsibility to act responsibly with the information they do have now.
Panic and hysteria do nothing to improve safety, and in the bigger picture, do nothing to solve the problem of the high rate of recidivism among sex offenders.
We encourage people to adopt the attitude that with more people aware of the sex offenders in their neighborhood everyone will be more vigilant, and to realize that some of those offenders have been there all along without causing problems.
