[floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/30/20] Even in states of emergency, governments take any opportunity to kick persons required to register as sex offenders. With a county-wide order for people to stay indoors now in effect, the city of Tampa is establishing a tent city that will allow up to 100 homeless people to shelter in place. The city will pay Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Petersburg $120,000 to run a temporary homeless camp for the next 30 days. The shelter will be open to any homeless person except for registered sex offenders.…
Read MoreMonth: March 2020
Attorney General Barr Memo Excludes Release of Registrants
[ACSOL] It’s just come to my attention that Attorney General Barr recently issued a memorandum purporting to address the problem of COVID-19 for federal prisons, by recommending consideration of release from federal prison to home confinement. In the federal system there is a regular program allowing many prisoners to be released near the end of their sentence to “halfway houses”, which are run by private contractors. Many in halfway houses are then released fairly quickly from those settings to home confinement, especially if they have found employment. While in home confinement, they are supervised…
Read MoreNow More Than Ever, Prisoners Should Have Some Access to Social Media
[eff.org – 3/27/20] As the pandemic unfolds, state agencies should take a flexible approach to enforcement of restrictions on inmates’ ability to connect with the outside world. By Mark Rumold COVID-19 has trapped many of us in our homes, isolating us from family and friends and limiting our movements. But there are few people who feel the isolating impacts of COVID-19 more acutely than those who are actually incarcerated in jails and prisons across the country. As Jerry Metcalf, an inmate in Michigan, wrote for the Marshall Project’s “Life on…
Read MoreCA: Placentia to open homeless ‘navigation center’ Tuesday without registrants
[ocregister.com – 3/30/20] Placentia is racing to put the final touches on what city leaders say is a first-of-its kind facility that will offer emergency shelter, help finding jobs and housing and other types of counseling and aid to homeless people in north Orange County. The shelter is expected to start accepting people Tuesday, March 31. … (The centers will take clients by referral only, and no one with sex offender status, certain felonies or active arrest warrants will be admitted.) Read the full article
Read MorePennsylvania, Oregon Suspend In-Person Registration
[ACSOL] The States of Pennsylvania and Oregon have temporarily suspended in-person registration for all registrants in those state. Instead of in-person registration, Pennsylvania is allowing registrants to register by mail, if needed, and Oregon is allowing registrants to register by telephone. “Pennsylvania and Oregon are protecting the public, including registrants and their families, from further infection of COVID-19 by suspending in-person registration,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “These states are setting an example that should be followed by all 50 states in the nation.” In Pennsylvania, registrants are…
Read MoreND: Yet another way COVID-19 has changed life: Fargo sex offenders can now register remotely
[inforum.com – 3/29/20] FARGO — The Fargo Police Department is allowing sex offenders to register by phone in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus, while other local law enforcement agencies continue the registration process with few changes. Fargo police made the switch March 19, the same day it closed the lobby of its headquarters. The department is making several adjustments to its operations to limit contact amid the global pandemic, and having sex offenders register via phone is one of them. “If a new registrant who has never…
Read MoreStrategies for reducing COVID-19 exposure [paper]
[mitchellhamline.edu – 3/28/20] SEX OFFENSE LITIGATION AND POLICY RESOURCE CENTER Strategies for reducing COVID-19 exposure by revising the implementation of registration policies, housing banishment laws, and other restrictions impacting people with convictions MARCH 28, 2020 – We join numerous criminal justice organizations that have issued policy recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by suspending or eliminating non-essential police and court functions, while ensuring that law enforcement resources are used wisely to keep communities safe. This guidance focuses on policies affecting people listed on sex offense registries. More than 900,000…
Read MoreFL: Groups Call on Governor DeSantis to Temporarily Suspend In-Person Reporting Required Under Sex Offense Registry
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/27/20] BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA – March 27, 2020. The Florida Action Committee (FAC), the ACLU of Florida and the Florida Justice Institute are calling on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to temporarily suspend the requirement that persons required to register for past sexual offenses appear in-person at the Sheriff’s office to report during the Coronavirus state of emergency. Florida Statutes mandate in-person reporting every six months, quarterly, or monthly for registrants who are transient. Changes to vehicles or reporting travel for three or more days (or changes to prior…
Read MoreACSOL Files Fifth Lawsuit Challenging San Diego In-Person Registration During Pandemic
[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed today a fifth lawsuit challenging in-person registration for all registrants, including those with high-risk COVID-19 factors. This lawsuit was filed against the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department which registers more than 3,200 individuals each year. “The plaintiffs in today’s lawsuit include a 72-year-old man who suffers from hypertension as well as a 51-year-old man who suffers from chronic asthma,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Both of the plaintiffs live with, and support, individuals who also have high-risk COVID-19 factors.”…
Read MoreCA: 60 Organizations Jointly Request Significant Parole and Probation Changes During Pandemic
[ACSOL] A group of 60 organizations, including ACSOL, are jointly requesting that parole and probation agencies in California modify existing supervision conditions, policies and practices to align with public health recommendations in order to protect the lives of more than 400,000 people under their supervision. Included in the request is the end of in-person registration. “ACSOL and its members need to share the list of requests with local county government officials, including county boards of supervisor, county probation departments and local sheriff’s departments,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “This…
Read MoreCA: Root and Rebound Rapidly is Responding to Our Communities’ Needs by Expanding Support During Covid-19
[rootandrebound.org – 3/26/20] Dear Community, As an organization that serves, supports, and advocates for the rights of people who have been impacted by mass incarceration–people who are currently and formerly incarcerated and their families, we understand that people are struggling right now in the midst of this pandemic. We believe that the strongest organizations are those that are willing to be responsive, to learn, and to adapt to what is happening on the ground and what is needed from us in this moment. So we are flexing and adapting our…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Don’t Let Increased Stress Lead to Suicidal Thoughts
In August 2017 I wrote a blog piece for Women Against Registry titled “No More Suicides, Please”. Almost 3 years later I’m still receiving notices of comments on that piece, notices that have prompted me to touch on this subject again. Knowing what we know about the way some registrants and their families have been treated, it’s no wonder some registrants, and even their family members, have considered suicide as their only option, the only way out of “life on the registry.” My previous blog was not written during a…
Read MoreThe Unethical Dilemma of an Offense Based Sex Offender Registration and Notification System and the Indiscriminate Effect on the Low Risk Offender
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/26/20] The Law Review article linked to below was written by Kenneth H. Browning, a third-year law student at Barry University School of Law. He examines ethics in the sex offender registration scheme and questions whether it is ethical to sweep up everybody into a common dust bin. Read the full article on floridaactioncommittee.org
Read MoreACSOL Files Fourth Lawsuit Challenging DOJ and L.A. In-Person Registration During COVID-19 Pandemic
[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) today filed a fourth lawsuit challenging in-person registration. This lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against both the California Department of Justice as well as the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. “We added the CA Department of Justice as a defendant in this case because several registration officers in the LA Sheriff’s Department said they could not stop in-person registration until and unless the CA Department of Justice authorized them to do so,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. Earlier…
Read MoreNARSOL / ACSOL Phone Meeting March 29
NARSOL and ACSOL will once again join forces for a special Action News Alert phone meeting on the afternoon of Sunday, March 29, from 1 to 3 p.m. Pacific Time, 4 to 6 p.m. Eastern Time. A week ago, NARSOL issued a press release calling for all in-person verification checks of registrants to be suspended during the Coronavirus health crisis. On its blog, NARSOL is providing daily updates of where this is being done and where in-person visits are still required. During the phone meeting, ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci…
Read MoreCA: ACSOL Lawsuit Filed Against SDPD for In-Person Sex Registration Amid Pandemic
[kpbs.org – 3/25/20] A lawsuit has been filed against the San Diego Police Department on behalf of more than 100 local sex offender registrants who are challenging requirements that they must register in person during the coronavirus pandemic, while state and local governments ask that residents stay home to prevent the virus’ spread. The lawsuit was filed by the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, which also filed similar lawsuits this week in Riverside and Sacramento counties. It asks for a judge to issue an order halting the practice of…
Read MoreACSOL Files Third Lawsuit Challenging Sacramento In-Person Registration During COVID-19 Pandemic
[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed a third lawsuit today challenging a city’s requirement that all registrants, including those with high risk COVID-19 factors, register in person. The defendant in the lawsuit is the City of Sacramento and the lawsuit was filed in Sacramento Superior Court. Today’s lawsuit alleges that the requirement to register in person during a pandemic and in contravention of state and local orders, is an abuse of discretion and therefore unlawful. The lawsuit requests that the court issue a writ of mandamus…
Read MoreACSOL Files Second Challenge to San Diego In-Person Registration Requirement During COVID-19 Pandemic
[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) today filed a second lawsuit challenging a city’s requirement that all registrants, including those who have high-risk COVID-19 factors, register in person. The defendant in this lawsuit is the City of San Diego. There are multiple plaintiffs in the lawsuit including ACSOL, a female registrant who suffers from chronic diseases, and additional registrants to be identified in the future. “The City of San Diego, during this historic pandemic, is increasing the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus by requiring people to…
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