It is almost Halloween, and as we begin to feel a chill in the air in the northern hemisphere, we also feel the excitement of that annual ritual of trick or treating. But while children look forward to a night of ghouls, ghosts, goblins and goodies, parents ponder the presence of real-life demons in the neighborhood: registered sex offenders. States, municipalities, and parole departments have adopted policies banning known sex offenders from Halloween activities (or, in some jurisdictions, from even leaving their homes on Halloween), based on the concern that they pose an increased risk to children on this day. So, my colleagues and I (Chaffin, Levenson, Letourneau, & Stern, 2009) set out to test this assumption… Full Analysis
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“Like the EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES…able to be seen by only by an enlightened few”.
Yes, I sooo gonna steal and use that. 😉
BTW, I wonder if the blog, not the RSOL page but the blog itself, were sent to various newspaper editors around the state if anyone would publish it?
Or maybe RSOL could send it as a press release.
Anyway, I’m gonna send it as a link to the OC Register and the LA Times.
I’m keeping it simple, I’m gonna put “The Truth about Halloween and Sex Offenders” in the subject line, and not write much in the actual email beyond something like: “For your information. I hope you do your community a service and publish this”
Maybe others would care to send it to other papers around the state.
Would it bad taste to make up bookmarks for libraries and churches that espouse the horrors of having a punitive sex registry? I mean with a little printing and cutting the effectiveness would do wonders. Cartooning on them as well…by showing how stupid we as a society have become. Just a thought. Just leave them on cars at restraunts after church (between 12-2pm) on Sundays. Cheap way to make a difference and get our voice out. Freedom of speech is a good thing right?
This article mentions the use of evidence to help form policy. The Ebola epidemic has raised similar questions. I think we need to carefully watch how the rights of citizens to not be quarantined develop. Many of the same issues are in dispute: the argued safety of citizens versus the rights (or removal thereof) of the few. Registration laws are mostly based on myth but are frequently pushed as necessary for public safety despite evidence to the contrary.
I am sorry to tell you but you are in denial if you think that facts and reality have ANYTHING to do with the legal system. You can quote all the statistics in the world…all of the studies…all of the FACTS and yet, all one politician has to do is say these magic words:
“If it just saves ONE child then it’s worth it.”
Sorry but emotions ALWAYS win out over facts when children are mentioned, and politicians know this perfectly! It’s basic politics 101!
flex your rights if they come to your door, as they do in San Bernardino County. And educate your family members too.
1. Inform them you do not wish to talk to them.
2. Hand them one of Janice’s business cards.
3. Inform them all questions need to go through your attorney (Janice. The name alone has been known to loosen the bowels of many a cop.) 🙂
4. Watch then soil their trousers and beat a hasty retreat.
5. Try really really hard to not burst out in laughter, thus leaving them a tiny bit of dignity.
Unless you are on probation or parole you do not have to talk with the lying creeps the cops are; cops that do everything they can to trample upon the very principals they took an oath to uphold and protect.
“Sex crimes of all types accounted for slightly over 1% of all Halloween crime. Non-familial sex crimes against children age 12 and under accounted for less than .2% (2 out of every thousand crimes) of all Halloween crime incidents.
Other risks to children are much more salient on Halloween. According to the Center for Disease Control, children ages 5 to 14 are four times more likely to be killed by a pedestrian/motor-vehicle accident on Halloween than on any other day of the year. These findings call into question the justification for diverting law enforcement resources away from more prevalent public safety concerns on Halloween.”
SO TRUE. If only OCDA Rackaukas had put more resources toward street safety than harassing registered citizens on Halloween, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened in Orange County…
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/3-girls-trick-or-treating-killed-in-hit-and-run-5862667.php