Registered Sex Offender Databases Promote Community Awareness
A search of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s database turns up 17 pages of sex offenders registered with New Port Richey addresses.
You may not know all of your neighbors, but there may be one or two you should be aware of.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office monitors more than 700 sexual offenders, predators and career offenders, according to its website. A search of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s database turns up 17 pages of sex offenders registered with New Port Richey addresses.
An online mapping tool, available through the Pasco Sheriff’s Office website, allows users to search by address or city to get a visual representation of offenders’ registered addresses. Follow this link, then click on “crime reports” at the bottom to get to the map.
According to the sheriff’s office website, sexual offenders and predators are required to register in person either two or four times per year based on their offense.
Individuals who have a conviction for a sex-related crime and/or a specified crime against children are required to register with local law enforcement, according to Florida law.
The important thing is just to be aware if a registered offender is in the area, sheriff’s office spokesman Kevin Doll said. And always know where your kids are, he added.
According to the American Psychological Association, some research indicates that about 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before the age of 18.
“If you see someone who you know is a sex offender interacting with children who are not their own, report it to the sheriff’s office,” Doll said.
Online registries are made available to keep the public informed, according to the sheriff’s office. An individual’s appearance on the registry does not indicate he or she is wanted for that crime; instead it is an indication of a past conviction.
However, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office also has an absconders list, and that one they need the community’s assistance with.
Absconders, those who do not follow registration requirements, are actively pursued, Sheriff’s Chris Nocco said.
The absconder list includes photos and information on past known whereabouts, and also indicates any history of violence.
If you see any of those people, let the sheriff’s office know immediately, Nocco said.
“We need to know where they are,” Nocco said.
Rudy101
9:04 am on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Don't you wish you had a list that actually promoted public safety? Community awareness is not enough to have a public registry. That public registry is used to harass, threaten, isolate, banish and put fear into offenders.
The registry and/or registry laws were passed ex-post facto. The registry strips a person of safety and/or security. The registry has no mechanism for challenge, appeal, or even a hearing. The registry is used as a template to systematically banish from society without hearing.
No person has to abide by laws whose only outcome is a loss of safety and/or security. No person has to abide by laws who are passed ex-post facto. No person has to abide by laws that strip his civil rights that are applied by legislative fiat.
A hate list controlled by a legislature is inherently unjust, illegal and unconstitutional. Every level of government will never stop with their illegal laws. It has become a legislative sport.
Always remember, it is what you don't know that will destroy the registry. You don't allow people hearings? Don't expect them to follow your laws.
Sex Offender Issues
11:46 am on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The "community safety" is nothing more than a placebo. If someone is so dangerous they need to be monitored 24/7 and on an online hit-list, do you think they will not commit another crime, if that is their intention? It doesn't protect you like you think it does.
And it's nothing more than an online hit-list for people to use to harass, beat or murder ex-offenders:
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2007/09/human-rights-issues.html
http://www.youtube.com/user/RSOVigilantism
And many cases of sexual crime in Florida, and across the country, are by police officers, did you know that?
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2007/07/corruption-links.html
Shana Rowan
1:18 pm on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
96% of sex crimes are committed by someone not on the registry, and by someone known to the victim - not a stranger. http://www.rethinking.org.nz/images/newsletter%20PDF/Issue%2078/C%2002%20watchedpot.pdf
Research indicates that the registry has actually had no impact on recidivist sex crimes.
Children account for over a third of all crimes committed against other children. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/227763.pdf
Publicizing addresses, employment addresses, and vehicle information of registrants AND their families only leads to harassment, ostracism and threats.
Honestly, i could go on and on. What in the world make you think this was an INFORMATIVE piece... let alone "news"?? Did you just copy and paste from the registry or something?
Shelly Stow
2:00 pm on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Yes, research indicates that about 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before the age of 18. But they aren't abused by those on the registry. They are abused by relatives, by trusted adults in their lives, and by their peers. Over a third of the molesters of children are themselves children.
Seriously, this type of article just compounds the problem. Too many parents already listen to the hype and think the registry is of actual benefit rather than doing a little research and finding out where and from whom the actual risk to their children comes. If you really want to help parents keep children safe, tell them the truth. It would take a little bit of research on your part to get actual statistics and studies, but it would be worthwhile. I keep waiting for enough parents whose children have been sexually abused by family members and others in their circle of trusted friends to file a class action suit against the government for spending every penny on the worthless registry instead of on education and prevention programs that just might actually do some good with some left over for victims' services and for decent rehabilitation and re-entry programs for those who have already offended. A more responsible media would go a long way in bringing this to the forefront of America's consciousness.
gustavo
9:30 am on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Where is the registry for murderers, bank robbers, drug dealers, jaywalkers, DUIs, people that have not paid their income taxes, and people that are late returning library books? These registry's are nothing more than modern day scarlet letters based on uniformed emotions. Let's attack the problem intelligently. Education of our children and treatment of offenders. All else are ignorant reactions
Jim
3:12 pm on Thursday, October 18, 2012
I have noticed that many young people are being put in this database for statutory rape. I think the laws need to be changed, they currently are based on the idea that teens do not have sex.