Legislation comes as 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals considers constitutionality of Wisconsin’s GPS requirement for repeat sex offenders
Several Republican legislators say they want to close a “gap” in the state’s sex offender registry law they contend leaves communities in the dark about the whereabouts of convicted offenders who are homeless.
The bill would require any registered sex offender in Wisconsin to wear a GPS ankle monitor unless they can provide a permanent address. In prepared remarks before the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, state Sen. Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, said it would create a uniform standard.
“(The bill) is not meant to demonize a portion of the population just because they are homeless,” Maxey said. “This bill is meant to keep Wisconsin’s communities safe.”
Tomczyk claimed 16 percent of “Wisconsin’s homeless are sex offenders,” citing an April study by the Cicero Institute think tank, whose founder has criticized the “Homeless Industrial Complex.” Tomczyk said if the group’s estimate is correct, that means homeless sex offenders “are out and about in communities with no accountability” to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and other residents don’t know where they are.
“This bill ensures that housing status does not create a blind …
In response to the numerous sex crimes committed by homeless registrants, I’m sure.
And exactly how are homeless registrants expected to pay for such monitors and monitoring and keep them charged?
Or is this their answer to the homeless registrant problem – giving them a reason to lock them back up?
Right now the state is charging $240 a month. And they collect my state income refund every year to cover the amount I owe. The state can’t do anything to me if I don’t pay. Imagine being homeless and not able to charge the bracelet. Being not on any supervision, I charge it when I want. It dies a couple times a week. The DOC monitoring calls me a couple times a week and asks me to charge it. Interesting how “not punishment” the bracelet is, and the department of corrections runs the program!?!? Interesting they know exactly how much of the homeless is S.O., but they probably can’t cite how many are offending being homeless. I can, probably zero percent!!!!
I believe that this would be an Equal Protection Clause violation because you are not putting monitors on the domiciled people forced to register but just homeless (that the courts and the government help to put out there).
I’m not saying they don’t put ankle monitors on their people, but when you do a one-to-one protection, they are supposed to be the same.
This is the future, this is why a tiered registry was invented. This is why people in tier one are not listed, this is America moving forward. They wanna minimize the public access to who’s who and just throw a GPS monitor on everybody who’s tier 3 that’s what the Internet technologies has come to, hey don’t need the public awareness anymore. It used to be a tool for the public to know and help harass people on Megan’s Law but with today’s technology it’s easer to just GPS everybody and call it a day.
Those in Madison should put monitors on themselves and mushroom meters when they think about to do to citizens convicted of sex crimes. Once a cheese wedge, always wedging their way into every fiber of society.
It seems like sometimes Wisconsin is worse than Florida in some aspects. ( Florida resident here)
“The bill) is not meant to demonize” – Except, that’s EXACTLY what it does
“The registry is not meant to be punishment” – Except, that’s EXACTLY what it does.
“This bill is meant to keep Wisconsin’s communities safe.” – Except, that’s EXACTLY what will never transpire.
What the hell are these idiots thinking? Do they really think they’re not gonna cut those off? Get real.
Yet another solution in search of a problem.
Cruel, mean, dumb, vindictive–not much more I can say about those politicians in Wisconsin
They tried this in CA a number of years ago. Of course the homeless can’t pay, so the state would have to. Once they calculated the unfeasible cost it died out. So put out info to the residents of what this will cost.
The laws in FL are what creates the SO homeless crisis. Imagine if they allowed these people to live somewhere.