CA: Changes Are Coming to California Sex Offender Registry

[independent.com]

Fifty-four sex offenders live within two miles of the Santa Barbara Independent’s Figueroa Street offices. Their mugshots, height, weight, ethnicity, eye color, home addresses, criminal charges, and date they were released from jail are listed on the Megan’s Law website. That is about to change.

California lawmakers voted last year to reduce the length of time required for sex-offender registration. This means a sizeable number of Santa Barbara County registrants will no longer be tracked or publicly identified.

“It’s like putting a GPS on every shark in the ocean because one might attack a swimmer,” said Laura Arnold, a deputy public defender in Riverside and expert on sex offender registration laws. “Does it make the public safer? Probably not,” said Arnold, who was in Santa Barbara this week for a law seminar.

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Did the registry change or does this article have very wrong information? It states tier three is for repeat offenders. I remember this was true in one of the early drafts, but I thought the last one included a fair amount of codes that had nothing to do with repeat offenses, and even things like CP possession?

“But the question remains: Can serious sex offenders be rehabilitated?” Why do they keep asking this question? The FBI says only 5% re-offend, California says less than 1%. The question has already been answered, registrants are the most rehabilitation friendly of any class of convict. Geez!

Void in this article is the fact that the highly flawed Static-99R will be used to also determine Tier 3 offenders. The tiered registry will not merely be limited to the “severity of crimes.”

She recalled one case where investigators used a photograph on the registry to track down a man who had committed three heinous rapes. “Otherwise, they would have started with every male in Santa Barbara County,” she said.

There used to be this thing called a mug shot. And there used to be this thing called a criminal record that the authorities could utilize. Guess if it is not a click away it doesn’t exist anymore.

Well, the article clearly wasn’t written well, but its hope. I think (I actually wonder) how this will play out. When I apply to no longer register, 25 years will have passed since my arrest, 24 since my plea and 23 since my release from LA County Jail. I received a Battery Plea/expunged and Summary Probation. I’ve not been arrested/detained etc since this time. So, I would be hard pressed to see how a Judge can deny the request. I would be a Tier 1.

Well stated Alex. I’m thinking the same thing.

One of the main points that has to continuously be hammered home to get people to better accept this is that 46 other states have had a tiered registry for decades and have had no particular problems related to it.

Better to hammer in the point that only the few English speaking countries of the world have sex offense registries and only the United States has a public registry. All the other developed countries seem to be doing fine without them. Are English speakers more prone to breaking sex laws? Kind of doubt it. Looks like as far as reported rapes go, the United States is way up there on the list. No evidence that any registries serve as significant deterent. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics

I’m noticing that finally changes are being done, I couldn’t be happier. My husband was wrongfully convicted of rape almost 18 years ago, he went to prison did his time. It has been almost 3 years since the alleged victim cried rape again only difference was we live in the new world of technology which saved this poor mans life. He filmed the alleged rape and when the alleged victim was shown proof of her Lie she recant and said she didn’t want to press charges. Of course my husbands name was brought into the conversation with said girl being that the rape she had just described was almost identical to the one she fabricated almost 14 years prior. She of course 14 years too late admitted she lied and that my husband never raped her. So what I need to know is why hasn’t there been a bill passed that makes these life ruining woman accountable for their actions? I have people whispering things to our children and treating them different on account their father according to this horrible person is a monster when anyone that really knows this man knows he is the most of the most when it comes to parenting, mentoring and even the best partner I could ask for. I need to know who will help us? We have tried all these soo called innocence projects and for some reason no one will help. We have a signed document from the court stating there was a habeas petition filed and when we pay to have court records printed, they send us our money back and an apology for not having anything. Please any info would be helpful, we are trying all we can but we can always use any kind of help or just stear us in the right direction. Thank You Cali