TX - Sex offender list closer to stripping job details

Original Article

05/20/2013

AUSTIN - An online registry of convicted sex offenders in Texas would no longer include employer information under a bill inching closer to Gov. Rick Perry's desk.

The House on Monday night gave tentative approval to what advocates say would mark a minor but extraordinary softening of the state's sex offender laws.

More than 72,000 convicted sex offenders are registered in Texas. Supporters of the bill say keeping employer details on the public database intimidates companies from hiring offenders, thereby impeding their rehabilitation into society.

Businesses group leaders were among those backing the measure. They told lawmakers their bottom line suffers when the public discovers who's on the payroll.

The bill needs to clear a final, procedural House vote before being sent to Perry.

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OH - Ohio Public Defender’s Office says sex offender registry doesn’t improve public safety

Original Article

04/12/2013

Ohio will begin tracking arsonists this summer through a new registry similar to the one used to track sex offenders.

A law passed last year by the General Assembly will require people convicted of arson-related offenses to register at their local sheriff's office each year for at least 10 years. Failing to register will be a felony.

Supporters tout the measure as a tool for law enforcement. Critics argue, among other points, that the registry will be a burden for sheriffs already charged with keeping the sex-offender registry.

"The sex-offender registry has been around for a long time, and the research that's out there says that it has no positive impact on the public safety," Amy Borror, spokeswoman for the Ohio Public Defender's Office, told The Plain Dealer. "And, if anything, it might have a negative impact on public safety because it creates this administrative burden."

The registry has been around for almost 20 years and has been public for more than 15. The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Act, enacted by Congress in 1994, required convicted sex offenders to record their address with local law enforcement. Megan’s Law, added in 1996, allowed the information to be given directly to the public. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), passed in 2006, set registration standards that widened the reach of registration for the entire nation.

PolitiFact Ohio knew the subject could be an emotional one. We asked Borror how the claim is supported that the registry does not improve public safety.

She referred us first to the website of the Public Defender's Office, which links to a number of reports, and to a special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Criminal Justice and Behavior, from May 2010, which was dedicated to sex offender issues.

Criminal Justice and Behavior published 10 academic studies related to sex offenses, focusing on the question of whether public policies concerning sex offenders enhance the safety of children and communities.

The journal found that the subject is consistently one of the leading policy issues on legislative agendas. It concluded, however, that "sex offender policies are often inconsistent with empirical evidence about sex offender risks, recidivism, reintegration and supervision...."

"Legislators cite the news media and the views of their constituents -- not research evidence -- as their primary sources of information about sex offenses and offenders," the journal said.

One of the published studies, by criminologists with the University of Massachusetts, Lynn University and the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, focused on Ohio and Oklahoma, two of the first states to meet federal guidelines set by SORNA. Those guidelines classify offenders into one of three categories determined by solely by convicted offense. (Previously, judges determined what risk offenders posed and assigned them to one of three registration categories.)

Drawing on data from more than 28,000 cases in Ohio and from other research, the study’s conclusions "shed doubt on the public safety utility of the SORNA classification system." It found that a disproportionate number of offenders were classified as high risk, placing greater burdens, perhaps unnecessarily, on law enforcement personnel and budgets.

"From a public safety perspective," the study found, the SORNA classification guidelines hurt the ability of the system "to effectively discriminate between those who pose a substantial risk to society and those who pose minimal risk," and also contradict evidence about the risk of repeat offenses for both adult sex offenders and juveniles.

Another report, from the Minnesota Department of Corrections, studied sexual offenders who were jailed for failing to register with local law enforcement agencies. It found that the failure to register was not a predictor of repeated crime, other than future failure to register.

An analysis of adult arrest data from 1990 to 2005 in South Carolina found that sex offender registration laws did have a deterrent effect on first-time adult offenders, but no effect on juveniles and no effect on recidivism.

Borror also pointed us to a 2009 study from the state of New York’s Office of Mental Health that specifically compares a risk-based classification system (which Ohio used to have) to the offense-based registration system, which Ohio has now.

It concluded that the current system "falls short of increasing public safety," citing five earlier studies that found registration and notification laws were "ineffective methods of reducing sexual victimizations."

It also noted there is evidence that such laws actually lead to more criminal behavior by aggravating the factors linked to it -- an unintended consequence of reducing or denying employment, educational, social and housing opportunities.

"Although well intended, such laws have done little (if anything) to increase public safety and may in fact be lowering it," the study said.

(A 2007 report by the non-government organization Human Rights Watch detailed the harassment of registered offenders because of online community notification.)

We looked further and found a 2008 report (PDF) funded by the U.S. Justice Department examining the original Megan's Law in New Jersey.

"Despite widespread community support for these laws," it said, "there is virtually no evidence to support their effectiveness in reducing either new first-time sex offenses (through protective measures or general deterrence) or sex re-offenses (through protective measures and specific deterrence)."

"Given the lack of demonstrated effect of Megan’s Law on sexual offenses, the growing costs may not be justifiable," it said.

Another study (PDF), by J.J. Prescott of the University of Michigan Law School and Jonah Rockoff of Columbia Business School and the National Bureau of Economic Research, examined data from 15 states over more than 10 years.

They found that registering sex offenders does reduce sex crime, especially among victims with a personal connection to offenders, most likely because of better police monitoring. They also found, however, that making the registry information available to the public has the opposite effect and increases crime.

"There is little evidence of a decrease in crimes against strangers," the study said. "We also find evidence that community notification deters crime, but in a way unanticipated by legislators. Our results suggest that community notification deters first-time sex offenders, but may increase recidivism by registered offenders by increasing the relative attractiveness of criminal behavior. This finding is consistent with work by criminologists showing that notification may contribute to recidivism by imposing social and financial costs on registered sex offenders and, as a result, making non-criminal activity relatively less attractive."

"We regard this latter finding as potentially important, given that the purpose of community notification is the reduction of recidivism," the authors concluded.

The federal Government Accountability Office evaluated the effects of SORNA in a report issued earlier this year.

The GAO noted that law’s purpose is to protect the public from sex offenders, but found "analysis of the act’s effect on public safety has been limited."

Positive effects included "improved monitoring of registered sex offenders" and better information sharing between law enforcement agencies.

Negative consequences found by the GAO included a lack of consideration of the risk of repeating sexual offenses in classifying offenders; a disproportionate increase in the workload of law enforcement agencies, and increased problems for registered sex offenders to find work or housing.

What conclusion can we draw about Borror’s statement for the Ohio Public Defender’s Office, that research shows the sex offender registry has no positive impact?

We found that research has been done generally on the effectiveness of sex offender registration and notification laws.

We found that studies indicate the laws have no clear effect on recidivism, or repeat offenses, which is their intended target, and are ineffective in assessing and managing risk.

Although there is some indication that registration and community notification may deter first-time adult offenders, the studies find that the deterrence doesn’t extend to juveniles -- and that community notification likely increases repeat sex crimes and other crimes.

With that information needed for clarification, we rate the statement Mostly True.

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TX - Conservative Think Tank Supports Less Sex Offender Disclosure

Original Article

04/03/2013

By Emily DePrang

Texas lawmakers have filed more than a dozen bills this session that augment or add restrictions to the behavior of registered sex offenders, of whom Texas now has over 72,000. That’s normal—sex offenders don’t have a lot of constituent clout and making them list their status on a driver’s license or social media profile is a low-cost, low-risk way to look tough on crime.

What’s unusual is that the Texas Senate recently passed a bill that would remove employer information from the public registry. Senate Bill 369 (PDF) is by Houston’s Democratic state senator John Whitmire. Right now, you can look up an offender’s name, race, height, weight, hair color, eye color, shoe size, home address, birth date, and employer name and address. Dropping the last two wouldn’t be for the good of offenders, but of the businesses they work for.

“The employer didn’t commit an offense,” says Marc Levin, director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Effective Justice. “There’s a lot of concern about employers being harassed, vigilantism. Certainly there are a lot of studies showing that families of sex offenders have been subject to harassment and even criminal activity.”

Levin says the House version of the bill, HB 879 (PDF), also met enthusiastic support in committee.

“The risk that a sex offender may reoffend is actually lower if they’re employed,” Levin says, so along with protecting employers, the reform may increase public safety.

But that kind of pragmatism is a slippery slope toward reality-based policy. No research has ever suggested, let alone proved, that public sex offender registries prevent crime or reduce recidivism. (Check out “Life On the List,” our cover story from last June, for extensive documentation of what the list doesn’t do.) And research does show that the perennially popular laws restricting offenders’ movement, employment, schooling and home hinder successful reintegration.

The registry continues to swell, and all that monitoring takes public money and law enforcement time and attention. So will the TPPF, a free-market think tank that has supported a variety of right-on-crime reforms, ever oppose the registry itself?

“We haven’t gotten into the question of whether we should have one,” Levin says. “But there is a concern that the registry encompasses too many people that aren’t predators to be effective.”

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CPA / Enrolled agent

The following was sent to us via the contact form and posted with the users permission.

By Anonymous:
Dear Sex Offender Blogsite,

I noticed that at time you will post emails from RSOs that need help or advice. I am a RSO and have a Deferred Adjudication for Online Solicitation Of A Minor (sting operation). I have been off of probation for a few years, but am really having difficulty getting a job. I have always worked in accounting, but nobody will have a RSO. I do want to start my own tax business and would like to sit for the CPA examination or become an Enrolled Agent with the IRS. However, there are background checks associated with this. While I don't have a CONVICTION, I of course still have a record and am on the registry.

What I would like to know is if there is anyone out there that has become a CPA or Enrolled Agent after becoming a RSO, and if so were there any additional hoops they had to jump through to do it?

Thanks,

Anonymous

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MO - Public Safety or Endless Punishment? Should sex offenders be listed on a public registry for life?

Original Article

04/01/2013

By Virginia Young

[name withheld] fears he will forever occupy a shameful sliver of cyberspace known as the sex offender registry.

Type in his name in the state’s search engine, and you can see where he lives and works, the cars he drives, along with the crime he committed more than a decade ago: Possession of child pornography — then a misdemeanor.

The registry, [name withheld] said, has cost him jobs, prompted neighbors to distribute fliers about him, and led to his arrest on a trespassing charge last fall when dropping his teenage son off at school.

“At 25, my life basically was over,” said [name withheld], now 36.

[name withheld], however, sees hope in proposed changes to the registry that legislators are debating in Jefferson City.

A diverse smattering of groups — from law enforcement officials to victims advocates — have argued that the current registry, which requires most offenders to register for life, is too much of a blunt instrument.

“They’re all lumped into one category and they all get a life sentence,” said Rep. Don Phillips, R-Kimberling City.

Phillips, a retired highway patrolman, is sponsoring a bill that would keep minor offenses off the registry and allow nearly a third of the roughly 14,000 people on the registry to petition for removal from the list within the next 20 years.

A more far-reaching proposal, sponsored by Rep. Dave Hinson, R-St. Clair, would give all offenders on the list a chance to petition for removal from the list eventually. How long they have to wait would be determined by individual “risk assessment reports” done by mental health professionals.

Both bills have made it out of the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee, leaving Republican legislative leaders to decide which bill to present to the full House.

Some lawmakers have qualms about loosening requirements for the registry. Rep. Kenneth Wilson, R-Smithville, and a former police chief, said he “spent a career defending the public, and I think we’ve absolutely ignored a segment of our public, that being the victim.”

The proposals come at time when states across the nation are taking hard looks at their registries.

Most are moving toward more stringent requirements to comply with federal guidelines, said Wayne Logan, a professor at Florida State University’s law school.

“There is a lot of flux right now,” said Logan, author of the book, “Knowledge as Power: Criminal Registration and Community Notification Laws in America.”

Logan said research into the effectiveness of public registries is limited, and offers mixed results.

One recent study showed that while registries can serve as a deterrent, Logan said, they can also promote recidivism by making life too difficult.

“They can never get out from that shadow,” he said.

Eleven years ago, [name withheld], a former Marine, had gotten in the habit of downloading large files of heavy metal music at work from the then popular file-sharing service called Morpheus.

But one day, a human resources officer at his company summoned him to a conference room where two detectives were waiting.

He was informed that images of children in sexual acts had been found on his computer. [name withheld] claimed it was accidental. The images, he said, were embedded in the music files he downloaded and he had no knowledge of their existence.

But prosecutors didn’t buy his story. [name withheld] was charged twice — once in St. Louis County and once in St. Charles County, where police found different images on a disc that he had brought home from work.

[name withheld] pleaded guilty in both instances in exchange for probation and suspended imposition of sentence. The crime, he was told, would never go on his record.
- They always tell you this to get you to plead guilty, even if you are innocent.  Never do this, take it to jury trial.

“I was young,” [name withheld] said. “I was naïve. I was scared.”

He now wishes he would have fought the charges.

Daniel Pelikan, the St. Charles County judge who presided over [name withheld]'s case, wrote in his order that “although the defendant did not intend to download and transfer the images to the compact disc, the discs were in the defendant’s custody and control.”

A few years later, new state and federal laws required [name withheld] to register as a sex offender.

Kim Kilgore, a St. Louis County assistant prosecutor who has specialized in sex crime cases for the past 10 years, said one of the images depicted a 4-year-old. And, she pointed out, they were found in a secret, password-protected file. Kilgore also said that according to a Hazelwood police report, [name withheld] admitted downloading the images.

“I don’t have a problem with him being on the sex offender registry,” she said.

But should he be on it for life?

“I think it’s a hard decision,” she said. “As a mom, why not? As a prosecutor, it’s very burdensome for the state to maintain a registry.”

TRIMMING THE LIST

To winnow the registry’s rolls, both bills (HB-462 and HB-589) in the Missouri House would group sex offenders into three tiers. But they would use different criteria.

Phillips’ bill would rely on the severity of the criminal charge.

People who fall in the least serious tier — convicted of crimes such as second-degree endangering the welfare of a child — could petition to get off the registry after 10 years. The second tier — those convicted of crimes such as second-degree statutory rape — could seek removal after 25 years.

The third tier would include people convicted of crimes such as forcible rape and sexual trafficking of a child. They could never get off the registry, unless they were juveniles when convicted. In that case, they could petition after 25 years.

The requests would be filed in the circuit courts where offenders were convicted. To be considered for removal, they could have no additional convictions or pending charges for sexual offenses or felonies, and they would need to have completed probation and parole, as well as a sex offender treatment program.

The Missouri Highway Patrol, which manages the list, calculated that Phillips’ bill would allow the immediate removal of about 631 people dubbed “Romeo and Juliet” offenders — generally older teenagers who had consensual sex with a minor. They would be exempted from registering if the victim was at least 14 years old and the offender was not more than four years older than the victim.

The patrol says an additional 1,111 offenders could petition immediately for removal. Over the next five years, 284 more people would be eligible. Over 20 years, 2,480 more could apply.

At a hearing in February, Phillips’ bill drew support from groups as diverse as the Missouri Sheriffs Association, the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri and Missouri Kids First, a statewide organization that works to prevent child abuse.

“This is a very thoughtful response,” said Emily van Schenkhof, who lobbies for Missouri Kids First. “It really does protect children but highlights a public policy problem” with the registry.

Under the bill, juveniles convicted of sex crimes would still have to register but would not be part of the public list on the Internet.
- Nobody should be a part of an online shaming hit-list, it should be taken offline and used by police only!

County sheriffs lined up behind the bill, saying they have limited resources to track the growing list of offenders. Phillips’ bill “would make it easier to concentrate on the more dangerous offenders,” said Andrea Luntsford, a detective with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department.

MENTAL HEALTH TESTS

The alternative approach — Hinson’s bill — would use mental health exams to determine where offenders should fall in the three tiers. People deemed low-risk could apply to get off the registry in five years. Even people in the most serious tier would be eligible after 25 years, instead of facing lifetime registration.

Supporters of Hinson’s bill said it would inject science into the process and provide more meaningful information to the public, which has become numb to the registry because it includes so many people who are not real threats.
- Inject science?  If you did that in the first place, then you'd not have the registry or residency laws, since science & many studies show that they do not do what you think they do.

Sister Mary Ann McGivern, who represented the Missouri Association for Social Welfare at a recent legislative hearing, said many people on the list are unlikely to pose a risk. Some exposed themselves or peeked through windows, she said. Others possessed child pornography or had sex with a younger girlfriend when they were 18.

The registry is “a lifetime punishment for a set of behaviors most of us don’t understand,” said McGivern, who is a Sister of Loretto from St. Louis.

Critics said a new state bureaucracy would be needed to handle the risk assessments required under Hinson’s bill. A fiscal note said the cost to the state was “unknown but considered to be significant, exceeding $100,000 per year.”

Also, the state would no longer be in compliance with the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, so Missouri stands to lose federal grants. Those grants have provided $637,905 over the last three years. Much of the money funded grants to sheriffs to buy items such as digital cameras and computer equipment.

Hinson countered that sex offenders would shoulder the cost of the mental health appraisals, which he estimated would likely be “no more than a couple hundred dollars” apiece.
- And that's a couple hundred dollars many of them do not have, due to the laws you are pushing!

He also pointed to a study that estimated the current sex offender registry costs the state and local governments nearly $5 million — for example, by sending people who fail to register back to prison.
- In many cases we've seen, people get more time in prison for failure to register than the original crime.

To fight for Hinson’s approach, some offenders and their families have organized a group, St. Peters-based Missouri Citizens for Reform, and hired a lobbyist.

“This is the only crime in America that’s punished endlessly,” said Sharie Keil, a member of Citizens for Reform.

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TX - Texas sex offenders in sight of rare policy win

Original Article

03/29/2013

By Paul J. Weber

AUSTIN (AP) - Four convicted sex offenders huddled in a busy hallway at the Texas Capitol, congratulating each other for going public and testifying against a bill that would plaster their criminal past on their Facebook profiles.

As expected, not everyone was moved by their objections.

"I don't feel bad for the guys that came in here whining," Republican state Rep. Steve Toth said after the men had left the room at a recent House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee meeting. A Democrat switched on her microphone to voice on the record that she, too, had no sympathy.
- Just wait until one of their own get slapped with the label, then they will see it differently.

In the Texas Legislature and statehouses nationwide, bills aimed at curbing how and where sex offenders can live and work are routine. But for the 72,000 registered sex offenders in Texas this year, there is optimism. A legislative victory is in sight, and it's not for sinking a fresh round of get-tougher proposals — but scaling back one already in place.

Pushing forward what advocates say would mark a minor but extraordinary softening of the state's sex offender laws, the GOP-controlled Senate has passed a bill to remove employer information from Texas' online sex offender registry.

"I've been on that registry for 15 years and going on for a lifetime," said [name withheld], 34, who works in information technology and said he was arrested at 18 for copying illegal images. "I've never re-offended. I have no intention to re-offend."

It's not a change of swaying lawmakers but the wringing hands of frustrated business leaders — they complain their bottom line suffers when the public discovers who's on the payroll.

The odd result: Sex offenders and Gov. Rick Perry's favorite conservative think tank is among those left seeing eye-to-eye. The Texas Public Policy Foundation, which backs business-friendly bills, argues the current registry comes between the private relationship between employer and employee.

"We've seen if it bleeds, it leads in news coverage for years," said Marc Levine, director of the foundation's Center for Effective Justice. "Obviously, people may be able to make money by doing a news report, 'We went to a McDonald's and there was a sex offender serving as a cashier' or something. It may be salacious, but what's the public interest?"

Mary Sue Molnar, executive director of Texas Voices for Reason and Justice and the mother of a registered sex offender, said the bill is only the second her group has endorsed since forming in 2007.

Hers and a small band of similar organizations typically play defense in statehouses, arguing that decades of stacking one restriction atop another has pushed sex offenders to society's fringes. They say the result is growing ranks of unemployable and homeless outcasts, who then become more likely to commit new crimes.

"(Texas) would have every right to crow, jump up and down, dance jigs — whatever," said Brenda Jones, executive director of the Massachusetts-based Reform Sex Offender Laws Inc. "It would be a huge win. It's very difficult to do."

Pressure on lawmakers to step up restrictions began intensified in 2005 when 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Florida was sexually assaulted and killed by a sex offender, according to a 2006 report by Texas House researchers. States began enacting sweeping "Jessica's Laws" that generally included mandatory minimum sentences and prohibiting sex offenders from living with 2,000 feet of schools and playgrounds.

Rules were being put in place prior to that. In 2001, for example, a Texas judge ordered sex offenders to place conspicuous signs in their front yards announcing their convictions to neighbors. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld that sex offender registries are not punitive, though an Indiana federal appeals court this month did uphold the rights of sex offenders to have social media accounts.
- Live with the laws for about 10 years, then tell us it's not punitive!

And states — Texas included— continue to roll out new legislation to more closely track sex offenders and restrict what they can and cannot do. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder this month signed a new law expanding the state's public sex offender registry to include a wider range of crimes involving minors. In Arkansas, a proposal would keep sex offenders whose victim was under 18 on the registry for life, whereas now they can petition for removal after 15 years.

About a dozen bills in the Texas Legislature this session would create new restrictions, including one reinforcing the authority of cities to keep sex offenders away from playgrounds and swimming pools.

In all, it's a reality check that keeps groups stopping short of predicting that wiping employer information off the registry will lead to a wave of other rollbacks.

Tough-on-crime conservatives aren't the only ones piling on the restrictions, either: The Texas proposal that would require sex offenders to list their convictions on social media profiles was filed by Democrats' go-to political attack dog, state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer.

"The state made a public policy decision in 1991 to get into this business. Every year we've expanded it," Martinez Fischer said. "It's all been done under the rubric that we need to protect the public. And most important, we need to protect those who probably can't protect themselves."
- And adding onto someones sentence, after the fact, is an unconstitutional ex post facto law!

Phil Taylor, a licensed sex offender treatment provider in Dallas, told lawmakers the social media bill would only further stigmatize sex offenders and hamper their efforts to rejoin society. He said 80 percent of sex offenders don't relapse after prison, and pointed out that the group has lower recidivism rates than burglars and other criminals.

Sex offenders, meanwhile, sought to make a pragmatic case to lawmakers: money and resources. State law requires released sex offenders to register within seven days of leaving prison. [name withheld], 43, said he fell out of compliance that first week of freedom because the state was so backlogged. Three months passed before [name withheld] said he was finally registered.

"I think if more people knew the person behind the mug shot, they would be more in favor of turning away from sex offender registry," [name withheld] said.

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Do Sex Offender Registries Belong in a Free and Just Society?

Original Article

03/28/2013

By Gina Luttrell

In the continuing madness out of Steubenville, Walter Madison, the attorney for [name withheld], is appealing the “You’re so obviously guilty it’s painful” verdict in the rape of a 16-year-old girl. Why? Because he believes that adding [name withheld] to a lifetime sex offender registry is unjust.

The question of whether [name withheld] deserves to be in the already-existing sex offender registry is a different beast. The interesting question is whether or not sex offender registries should exist at all. My thought is that government-sponsored sex offender registries are unjust, but in a free society there would be no way to prohibit a privately-run registry. However, it is highly likely that such a registry would be more just than the system currently in place.

Government-run Registries are Unjust

“You do your crime, you do your time.” Typically an adage that refers to the fact that you can’t avoid punishment for wrongdoing, this phrase also suggests something we all believe to be true about punitive justice: there is a beginning and an end to a punishment. However, “paying your debt to society” doesn’t end when you leave the prison walls. A criminal record follows you, and this makes it difficult, if not impossible, to find employment and, with such, improve your life after incarceration. This contributes to a cycle of poverty and, for many people, results in repeating criminal activity because there are few if any other options.

Sex offender registries exacerbate this problem. Not only does the registration stay with the perpetrator for the rest of his or her life, sex offender registries are public documents. There are areas of society that registered offenders are not allowed to go. The problem compounds even further when one considers the kinds of acts that can land people on government sex offender registries: urinating in public, streaking, and prostitution or paying for sex.

This certainly does not constitute “justice.” Even under a punitive justice system, punishment must fit the crime. With compulsory sex offender registries that do not expire, criminals “do time” for the rest of their lives. Every penalty is a life penalty. It is the modern-day equivalent of human branding.

Read the entire article here

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WI - Lost signals, disconnected lives: Offenders raise concerns over reliability of GPS monitoring

Original Article

03/23/2013

By Mario Koran

[name withheld #1] and [name withheld #2] were convicted of violent sex crimes and served many years in prison.

Now they are on parole, living in Madison neighborhoods, attending treatment groups and wearing global positioning system (GPS) ankle monitors — tracking that, under Wisconsin law, will continue for the rest of their lives.

But [name withheld #1], [name withheld #2] and 11 other offenders interviewed for this report say that Wisconsin’s GPS tracking system repeatedly fails, registering false alerts and landing the offenders in jail although they have done nothing wrong.

“There are times when I’m afraid to leave whatever room I’m in, even to go to the bathroom,” said [name withheld #1]  53, who served 26 years in prison for sexual assault and other crimes.

“I’m afraid an alert will go off and the police will show up at my door.”

On July 31, [name withheld #1] stood in his Madison bedroom with a Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism photographer. On several occasions, his GPS monitor began flashing, indicating he was out of range, even though [name withheld #1] was in his own home and well within boundaries determined by his parole agent.

Offenders and their advocates say GPS breakdowns waste taxpayers’ money with unnecessary police work and lockups, and hamper offenders’ efforts to restore relationships with their families and retain jobs.

Even the people who make the GPS technology acknowledge that signals can be lost due to weather conditions, tall buildings and car travel.

A key legislator, the chairman of the Assembly Committee on Corrections, said he was unaware of any problems with the state’s GPS monitoring system. But he was concerned by the Center’s findings, and said that an audit may be in order.

VIDEO FROM TWO YEARS AGO:

Video Link

“Yes, I think it would be proper to inquire about the accuracy and effectiveness of our monitoring system if offenders are indeed experiencing these problems,” said state Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay.

But Bies, a former Door County sheriff’s deputy, added, “I really don’t have a whole lot of sympathy” for sexual offenders and whatever “inconvenience” they may have to endure.”

As of February, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections was using GPS technology to track 638 offenders. According to DOC spokeswoman Jackie Guthrie, “The majority are sex offenders with a very small number being offenders convicted of domestic violence or other violent crimes.” She was unable to provide a breakdown.

And GPS monitoring in Wisconsin is projected to expand by nearly 50 percent over the next two years.

A Wisconsin state law passed last April, set to take full effect in 2014, allows judges to require GPS tracking for offenders who violate a domestic abuse or harassment temporary restraining order or injunction.

Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget recommends $10 million in new funding for expanded use of GPS tracking in fiscal years 2014 and 2015 — to monitor 783 individuals the first year and 939 the second year.

'Nothing's perfect'

Significant concerns about the reliability of GPS tracking have arisen in at least seven other states. The technology has been found both to sound alerts in error and miss offenders’ transgressions when they do occur.

Last September, an audit in Tennessee (PDF) revealed massive oversights in the state’s GPS offender tracking system. More than 80 percent of alerts from GPS-monitored offenders “were not cleared or confirmed” by corrections agents, including alerts triggered after individuals appeared to enter prohibited areas such as parks and schools.

The Wisconsin DOC insists its system, and the devices it leases from Colorado-based Behavioral Interventions, or BI, are reliable.

“We are not aware of any ‘problems’ with our GPS monitoring system, and have several protocols in place to ensure that the integrity of our system is maintained,” Guthrie wrote in an email.

BI spokeswoman Monica Hook maintained that GPS technology is “a reliable alternative to incarceration” and that millions of people have worn the devices over the years.

Yet, she conceded, “it’s a manmade device. There are certain things that we safeguard against, but nothing’s perfect.” She said the Wisconsin DOC has “discretion” to determine how to handle alerts.

The DOC rejected the Center’s request for records regarding its protocols for dealing with dropped signals or false GPS alerts, saying offenders could use this information to “defeat the monitoring device.”

Guthrie said the agency does not keep statistics on how many alerts are triggered for GPS offenders, and does not track how often these result in offenders being incarcerated.

The DOC, she said, also has not conducted audits or quality reviews of its GPS program, which began operating in 2007.

Tracked offenders wear anklets at all times. Those with older, two-piece models must carry a portable GPS device that communicates with satellites and sends data to a central monitoring center in Madison. One-piece models include this device in the anklet. The DOC says the two-piece models are being phased out.

If an offender crosses into a restricted “exclusion zone,” an alert is sent to the monitoring center, which can investigate the problem. “One of the outcomes,” Guthrie said, “could be an apprehension or arrest.”

'You just want to give up'

In all, the Center interviewed a dozen sex offenders, and one person convicted of stalking, who complained of problems with their tracking units.

[name withheld #3], convicted in 2001 of sexual assault of a child in Winnebago County, says challenges with his GPS unit have cost him jobs. In one of several discrimination complaints with the state Division of Equal Rights, he even has evidence.

In response to one such complaint, filed in 2011, an attorney for a company that chose not to hire [name withheld #3] for a particular job noted that his two-hour application process was disrupted four to six times by his GPS device. The attorney said this “indicate(d) a high level of potential for disruption in any assignment where the applicant could be placed.”

His attorney, Andrew Phillips, said the case was settled out of court to the “satisfaction of both parties.”

[name withheld #4], convicted of sexual assaults in 2005 and 2007 in Winnebago County, estimates he has been jailed six times due to problems with his GPS equipment and that he has lost “thousands of dollars” in missed work.

The Center was able to obtain some records on GPS alerts for individual offenders. They show that [name withheld #1] and [name withheld #2] triggered multiple alerts for “No GPS,” indicating their locations could not be tracked by satellite. In May alone, [name withheld #2] triggered 206 “No GPS” alerts.

Records show [name withheld #1] has been booked into Dane County Jail at least eight times since June 2011, serving a total of 29 days in jail, all for violations related to his GPS tracker.

In each of these cases, [name withheld #1] argues the violations occurred because of an innocent mistake, as when he went for a bike ride without bringing along a hand-held device, or despite the fact that he was complying with the rules.

For instance, on Sept. 19, [name withheld #1] was jailed for four days because “he failed to have a GPS signal” for much of a two-hour period. [name withheld #1] said he was attending an approved University of Wisconsin-Madison class. His English professor, Emily Auerbach, backs him up. “I know exactly where he was” during the time in question, she said.

[name withheld #2], 39, served 12 years for having intercourse with an unconscious woman. Records show he has been booked into jail at least a dozen times since April 2011 for violations related to his GPS monitor, spending a total of 74 days behind bars.

[name withheld #2] admits he forgot to bring his hand-held GPS tracker with him on two occasions. He left it in his car when he entered a supermarket and left it on a bus when traveling to work. But the other violations, he says, were over lost signals and false alerts.

On June 12, 2012, according to records obtained by his attorney, [name withheld #2] was at his wife’s house, an approved location. He said he left his tracker in an adjacent room, as he had done before without triggering alerts, while he watched a basketball game on television and did not hear it beep. He served a total of 51 days in jail, until after he signed an agreement admitting he “did fail to comply with the rules and conditions of GPS monitoring.”

“It’s almost like taking on a new normal,” [name withheld #2] said in an interview from the Dane County Jail in June, while jailed on this violation. “If you’re trying to move on with your life, and you’ve got these barriers, you just want to give up.”

[name withheld #2]’ attorney, Jessa Nicholson, thinks her client has done his best to reintegrate but has been unfairly punished: “I’ve spoken with his therapist, and she assessed him as posing no threat whatsoever.”

'Unworthy of life'

Now [name withheld #2] works at Voices Beyond Bars, a Madison nonprofit that assists former inmates. He said he does well at Madison Area Technical College, where he attends classes. But last year, he missed a final essay for one class because he was back in jail on a GPS violation. His grades suffered, and he was placed on academic probation.

[name withheld #1], when not back in jail, lives with his elderly aunt on Madison’s north side. He paints, often giving his work away to Madison charities. He still takes a one-credit class at UW-Madison and works construction jobs part time.

And while [name withheld #1] acknowledges that his past actions have caused pain and deserve punishment, he thinks being on GPS monitoring conveys that he is “unworthy of life.” He said he hopes and prays “that I’m able to continue to withstand this.”

See Also:

• Use of GPS as tool to track sex offenders is investigated

ANOTHER GPS PROBLEM VIDEO:

Video Link

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Not sure where to start

The following was sent to us via the contact form and posted with the users permission. The name has been abbreviated for their own protection.

By L:
First, I want to say thank you for creating and maintaining this blog. I am glad to know I am not alone in the commitment I've recently embarked on to help sex offenders.

I am finding resources to create a program for sex offenders to find housing and employment, as well as to develop an understanding of how their actions affect society and other human beings, be accountable and people of integrity and then to help others who are struggling with the same feelings and desires.

Why is this my passion? I am a 31-year-old woman who realized 2 years ago I'd be molested by my grandfather during the majority of my childhood. I've experienced molestation, rape and sexual abuse many times. I believe the only way the issue of sexual victimization can be curbed is through forgiveness of offenders by victims and by sex offenders being accountable and having a voice.

I want to help sex offenders because in doing so, perhaps less children will deal with the experiences I have dealt with. There are tons of resources for victims and very few for offenders.

I hope to hear back from you regarding what is currently available so that it can be built upon.

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TX - Bill would end registry listing of where sex offenders work

Original Article

03/15/2013

AUSTIN - At any time, you can get online and find out where registered sex offenders live in your area. And thanks to a 2007 law, you can also find out where those sex offenders work.

But now, two lawmakers are working on plan that would not allow you see where they work. The bill is being pushed by Fort Worth Representative Lon Burnham and Houston State Senator John Whitmire. They say making employment information public is keeping sex offenders from getting jobs because companies fear it will hurt their business.

Back in 2007, when that information first came available, our Trouble Shooters uncovered sex offenders working as karate instructors, clowns for birthday parties, and even locksmiths.

What do you think about the plan? Is it too much information or something we need to know for our children's safety? Join the conversation on our Facebook page.

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TX - Sex-offender status imposes harsh limits on paroled woman

Original Article

03/03/2013

By Michelle Mondo

Since she was paroled in November after more than 12 years in prison for a crime she maintains never happened, Anna Vasquez has learned that being a registered sex offender means never truly being free.

No doubt, Vasquez said, she's happy to be out of a cell, waking up in her own bed, sitting on the porch, watching fireworks on New Year's Eve.

But the stringent parole restrictions, even tougher for sex offenders, she must adhere to have gnawed at her optimism.

She said she has lost out on job offers, is constrained in where she can drive, can't visit certain family members and is blocked from going to a church, some of what would help her readjust from prison life.

On Saturday, Vasquez wasn't allowed to attend the screening of a partly completed documentary and a panel discussion about her case and the ongoing efforts to win exoneration for her and her three co-defendants, who always have professed their innocence.

The event, part of CineFestival at the Guadalupe Theater, was within 500 feet of a school, making it off limits to a sex offender.

“I'm not a child molester,” said Vasquez, 37. “I do understand the restrictions; it just sucks that I'm under that blanket. There are some sick people out there, and it's upsetting to me that I'm looked at like that, too.”

Last year, one of the four women's two accusers publicly recanted, saying the bizarre sexual assault never happened. Her testimony had helped convict Vasquez and three friends: Cassandra Rivera, 38, Kristie Mayhugh, 40, and Elizabeth Ramirez, 38. They were accused in 1994 by Ramirez's two nieces, then 7 and 9. The younger niece, now 25, has changed her story; the older sister has not commented. San Antonio Express-News stories in 2010 delved into the conflicting testimony and questionable evidence presented at the trials.

Ramirez, who was tried separately and sentenced to 37½ years in prison, isn't eligible for parole for another two years. Vasquez, Rivera and Mayhugh entered prison in 2000 to serve 15-year sentences.

As the only one out of prison on parole so far, Vasquez has taken on the mantle of spokeswoman for the efforts, led by The Innocence Project of Texas, to clear all four women.

On the good days since her release, Vasquez doesn't dwell on what she's lost since 1994.

“It's sitting down with my family, sitting on the porch, cutting the grass, going to H-E-B even and shopping. Yesterday, I was cleaning out this little storage room. That was a good day,” she said.

She tries to focus on the three goals she hopes to achieve in her first six months out of prison: get a driver's license, find a job and buy her own car. So far, she's reached the first one, but the other two are more difficult than she realized.

On the bad days, when she's turned down for a job or told she won't get to CineFestival, Vasquez is reminded that she still can't live the life she wants.

“This conviction defines her,” said her attorney, Mike Ware. “She can never be free until this wrong is made right, and despite her being on parole, she's not free of that.”

Read the rest of the article here

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NY - Registered sex offenders being placed at North Utica motels

Original Article

02/23/2013

By ROCCO LaDUCA

UTICA - Anyone who spends a night at a motel accepts the fact that they know little about the guests who are staying in surrounding rooms.

So there’s always the possibility that a convicted criminal – such as a registered sex offender – might occasionally be sleeping next door.

But when sex offenders and child molesters are among the homeless people temporarily placed by the Oneida County Department of Social Services in a cluster of local motels just off the state Thruway exit, questions can arise whether any child’s safety is being systemically put at risk.

This practice comes as news to some authorities, including the Utica Police Department where offenders are required to register any changes in address within the city.

Within the past two weeks, at least eight Level 2 and Level 3 registered sex offenders have reported living at the Scottish Inns, Happy Journey and Super 8 motels along North Genesee Street, according to the state’s public sex offender registry.

“I think you would want to know that you’re safe and your family is safe, and I think any reasonable person would want to know if a sex offender is staying next to them for a week,” said Utica police Sgt. Steven Hauck. “We’re not looking to brand people with a scarlet letter, but the most important thing is to keep people safe.”

A homeless sex offender is able to apply for public assistance and temporary housing like anybody else, officials said. The issue, however, is that sex offenders are not required to disclose their criminal past when applying.

That means motel staff might never know they are hosting a sex offender, and neither would any guests with children who might be staying in the neighboring rooms.

. . . . .

2 sides weigh in

Despite these worries, two typically opposing voices at least agree on one thing: It would not be fair to “paint with a broad brush” all sex offenders as a public risk in motel settings.

Shana Rowan, executive director of USA Families Advocating an Intelligent Registry, or FAIR, said sex offenders already struggle to find jobs and housing, so disclosing this information would likely only make it more difficult to move on with their lives.

“It’s understandable that people would feel empowered to know information like that, but there’s no research to suggest a sex offender would abduct a child they don’t know to molest them,” Rowan said. “I don’t see any positive outcome in making them even bigger targets.”

The Oneida County Child Advocacy Center investigates sex abuse against children, but its director, Chief Deputy Dean Obernesser, agrees that the label of being a sex offender does not necessarily mean the person is a threat to children.

“You have to look at each one individually,” Obernesser said. “I don’t think you can randomly say that if there are 10 sex offenders living at a particular place that you put the community at risk.”

Read the entire article here

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MI - Defenders, critics debate effectiveness of sex offender registry

Original Article

02/02/2013

By Liz Shepard

Michigan residents have access to the names, addresses and offenses of convicted sex offenders at their fingertips.

You can search within a mile of your house for them. You can search an entire ZIP code. Smart phone apps will show you a map of sex offenders, your location marked with a green dot, surrounded by menacing looking red dots marking the addresses on the registry.

Michigan required sex offenders to register in the state in 1994 to meet a federal mandate. Legislation sponsored by Michael Bouchard, now Oakland County’s sheriff, made the registry public in 1996.

“I wrote the law because of the high recidivism rate of sex offenders,” Bouchard said in an email. “The average pedophile has over 100 victims in their so-called career. For those reasons alone, the public should have easy access to what is already public record."
- And that is the problem, people continue to ignore the fact that study after study shows that ex-sex offenders have a very low recidivism rate, but politicians continue to ignore those facts because they don't help their career.  The registry does nothing to "prevent" crime or "protect" anybody, it's a false sense of security. Even the Department of Justice says recidivism is low.

“Their crimes, their release and their location,” Bouchard wrote. “This allows women and families to better protect themselves by being informed. Maybe it's taking a different route to school or jogging or skipping a house or block on Halloween. To those that say, ‘When can the sex offender move on with their life?’ I say the day their victims can forget.”
- This is why police or other uninformed people should not be making laws, especially police, who are biased in the first place and think most people who are in jail or have been accused of a crime, are criminals who will continue to repeat their "crimes!"  They think everyone is a criminal!  Maybe we should have a POLICE BRUTALITY registry so all these egomaniacs can have their own personal online registry?  Then see how much they like it when their names, addresses, photos are put online.

There are 519 sex offenders registered in St. Clair County and 138 in Sanilac County.

While many say the registry is a useful tool, others argue it might not be the right approach.

JJ Prescott, a law professor at the University of Michigan, researched the topic of private versus public directories for a paper published in 2011.

Prescott said he found public registries are a deterrent to potential first-time offenders — but once an offender is on the list, it does little or nothing to keep him or her from committing new crimes.

“They can’t find jobs, can’t build families, can’t live near friends and family, they are pariahs,” Prescott said. “What is the threat? What do you threaten someone with who is in prison on their own dime?”

Francie Giordano, founder of Michigan Citizens for Justice, said her son was on the registry for just a few months and it was like living a nightmare.

Read the entire article here

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ME - Construction Jobs for Felons: A Staffing Experience

Original Article

Well, we emailed the lady who runs this organization, and like usual, they do not support ex-sex offenders who are ex-felons. Her email is as follows:

Margo Walsh (margowalshdavies@gmail.com)
"Unfortunately not.... Many of my worksites are schools because I do federal contracts. It's limited in that way. I'm sorry that I can't help."

01/13/2013

Want to find a felon friendly employer in your area? Are you willing to move to the northeast corridor of the United States? If so, we may have a solution for you!

MaineWorks is a staffing agency that specializes in the hiring of convicted felons for various jobs – most often in construction work. While these are not highing paying positions, they are employment opportunities given only to felons and will help you start your path to independence.

If you do not currently live in southern Maine, this may be a challenge for you but if you are willing to relocate for this type of work, we highly recommend MaineWorks as a viable option. In a report by The Main Public Broadcasting Network, MaineWorks is praised as being a progressive employer that is restoring independence by providing gainful employment to many convicted felons in the area.

Even if you are not able to move to Maine, search for these types of staffing agencies in your area. You may be surprised to find that there are other staffing agencies that will hire only felons. Or, why not start your own staffing agency? Never be afraid to think outside the box and find a great way to find employment and to offer employment to other felons. Using the progressive staffing agency concept that MaineWorks utilizes, you may have many construction jobs and opportunities to employ people in your local community.

Jobs for convicted felons come from many unique resources. To find the best jobs, you have to get out and search and network with people who are “in the know”. Margo Walsh is the founder of MaineWorks. She has experience in this type of progressive staffing solution and we highly recommend that all felons interested in starting the own business in construction consider this same type of staffing criteria.

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NE - Job Opportunity: Nebraska Company Wants to Hire a Registrant

Original Article

Excerpt:
A sympathetic company is looking for a new employee, and is posting here first! If you are an out-of-work registrant who likes working outside and is handy with tools, this could be the job for you.

JOB DESCRIPTION
Employee will work on empty homes, with little to no interaction with other people. Applicants must be able to work independently, have a moderate to high level of computer skills, be very organized, trustworthy, and reliable. Most work will be relatively unskilled, and semi-skilled work can be trained.

REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must have their own internet connection, reliable truck, supply their own tools, and insurance.

PAY
This position will be paid by the job and applicants should expect months-long periods of light and heavy workloads.

LOCATION
This position will be a work-from-home location. Applicants from all over Nebraska are sought, but current preference is in western Nebraska (Alliance and North Platte).

TIMEFRAME
After training begins, work will flow as quickly as a week after hiring, but could be closer to a month.

Interested applicants please contact Eric at (402) 905-8160 for more information.

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FL - OPPAGA finds sex offender registration is rising

Original Article

01/03/2013

By Bill Cotterell

The number of sex offenders registering with police has risen four times faster than Florida's population, but state and federal law enforcement agencies have dramatically cut the number who get away, says a new legislative study of rules imposed since the rape and murder of a little girl horrified the state in 2005.

However, homeless and transient sex offenders take up a lot of police time and paperwork, and about one-fourth of offenders who comply with registration laws can't afford the sign-up fee or lack documentation to verify their arrests. In addition to transient sex offenders, many of the addresses listed by those registering turn out to be jails or homeless shelters, the report said.

The Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability did a statewide review of how the 2005 Jessica Lunsford Act has worked. The law, named for a 9-year-old Homosassa girl who was kidnapped  raped and murdered, requires life sentences for anyone assaulting children under 12, and a 2007 revision added new rules for those classified as predators.

All offenders are required to check in with police every six months, and those classified as predators have to check in every 90 days -- updating identification, addresses, phone numbers phone and e-mail addresses, work locations and other data.

"The number of registered sex offenders residing in Florida communities has grown by 28 percent, from 18,607 in 2005 to 23,813 in 2012," the OPPAGA report said. "During this same time period, the state population grew by roughly 6.5 percent."

OPPAGA said the number of predators almost doubled -- from 1,222 in 2005 to 2,400 last year.

But the number of registered offenders absconding from official supervision has fallen from 1,214 when the act was passed to 646 last year. The number of predators not reporting in edged up from 45 in 2005 to 47 last year, OPPAGA said.

Predators are distinguished from other offenders as those "who present an extreme threat to public safety, as demonstrated through repeated sex offenses, the use of physical violence or preying on child victims."

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which maintains a public registry of sex offenders, told OPPAGA analysts that several factors have contributed to the decline in numbers of criminals who abscond or otherwise lose contact with police.

"These factors include the department's hiring of absconder analysts to actively monitor the sex offender registry to identify absconders quickly," said the report. "In addition, FDLE and local sheriffs' offices are working with the U.S. Marshals Service to locate absconded sex offenders."

Sex-offense statutes also include restrictions on where offenders can live, requirements for electronic monitoring and prohibition of contact with children.

Tracking homeless, transient and indigent offenders with oft-changing addresses remains a chronic problem, even when they try to comply with registration laws, OPPAGA said. It said the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles processed 22,329 identification requests for sex offenders between Aug. 1, 2011, and July 31, 2012, and 23.3 percent of them -- 5,194 offenders -- either couldn't furnish required documentation or pay fees ranging from $25 to $54.25, depending on whether they wanted a driving license or other ID card.

Sheriffs' offices also reported that locating transient offenders "was a major impediment" in verifying addresses they provided. The report said some counties require transients to call police weekly, in addition to showing up in person quarterly or semi-annually, as required by their offense records.

FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey thanked OPPAGA for its analysis of the sex-offender registry.

"Despite the complexities and challenges of administering the system, Florida remains a national model," Bailey wrote in his reply to the OPPAGA report. "The Florida registry maintains a remarkably low percentage of absconded registrants; it has decreased from 4.37 percent in 2005 to 1.23 percent, despite the 65 percent increase in number of registrants."

See Also:

• Report No. 12-12: Registered Sex Offenders in Florida Communities Increased to Over 23,000; Transient Offenders Present Challenges (PDF)

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FL - Sex Offender Monitoring Problematic In Florida

Original Article

This would not be as much of a problem if you'd take the registry offline, so they can get a job and home, and repeal the residency laws, so they can live in a home and somewhere else, with family or friends. The state of Florida, and lobbyists like Ron Book, and the ones creating the problems.

12/21/2012

28% Increase In Registered Florida Sex Offenders

LABELLE - Since 2005, the number of registered sex offenders residing in Florida communities has increased by 28%, while the number of absconded offenders has continued to decline, according to a study by OPPAGA (PDF).

In Hendry county there are 30 offenders registered, all male, mostly in Clewiston including two transients, one who has absconded and one in jail. In Glades county, there are 22 including one female, one transient, and one in jail. ......

But, almost 25% of sex offenders are unable to obtain identification cards because they lack the needed documentation or money. State and local agencies have developed a stopgap measure, providing sex offenders with a letter that acknowledges that they attempted to obtain identification.

Monitoring homeless sex offenders is problematic as it is time-consuming to verify their location and provide required public notice. In addition, some offenders may claim a transient address to avoid legal requirements and restrictions.

Florida is 1 of 15 states substantially compliant with federal requirements, county sheriffs’ offices report compliance with statutorily required registration and public notification activities.

Local practices vary and some sheriffs could better coordinate with the Department of Corrections so as to not duplicate address verification efforts, says the study.

Approximately 1,100 registered sex offenders were minors at the time of their offense. While many youthful offenders are subject to registration requirements, Florida law provides some exemptions for “Romeo and Juliet” cases and some other juvenile offenders.

Florida provides citizens official websites for locating offenders as well as a means to be notified by email when an offender changes addresses.
- So why don't we have this same email service for all the other criminals, who are more dangerous than ex-sex offenders?

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NY - Workforce Advocacy Center, Inc.

About the Workforce Advocacy Center
Workforce Advocacy Center, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation chartered and dedicated to eliminating discrimination in employment, education, and housing against individuals with arrest and conviction records. We work to ensure that people who have paid their debts to society are evaluated by their qualifications and not subjected to senseless bigotry.

WAC engages in public advocacy and outreach to increase public awareness of state and federal laws and regulations prohibiting unfair discrimination. WAC also works with employers and government agencies to help them develop and implement anti-discrimination policies; and conducts original scholarly research into the scope, scale, and effects of discrimination against people with criminal records. We are rapidly expanding and seeking members and supporters from the public and other advocacy groups.

Contact Name:	Jeremy D. Zielinski, Founder / CEO
E-mail:	info@workforceadvocacy.org Contact the manager of this GroupSpaces group
Tel:	(518) 772-3990
Category:	Business & Careers > Employment & Work

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Off to Elba: The Legitimacy of Sex Offender Residence and Employment Restrictions (2006)

Original Article

Overborne by a mob mentality for justice, officials at every level of government are enacting laws that effectively exile convicted sex offenders from their midst with little contemplation as to the appropriateness or constitutionality of their actions. These laws fundamentally alter the liberties and freedom of convicted sex offenders to satisfy the ignorant fear of the masses. As a result, residence and employment restrictions which in theory are to protect society, in practice only exacerbate the perceived recidivism problem. When such laws are passed and the political process is broken, it is necessary for the judicial branch to step forward and protect those who are politically impotent.

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Jobs For Felons Magazine

We've added a new blog to our links page, called "Jobs for Felons Magazine". Click the image below to view the site.

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