Research Debunks Stranger-Danger Myth

In Bacon’s Rebellion blog, June 18, 2023, Dick Hall-Sizemore expressed surprise that the Crime in Virginia 2022 report, page 21, found that “the relationship of the offender to the victim in forcible sex offenses in 2022” was known by the victim 91% of the time. Approximately 93% of minors know their perpetrator, thereby debunking the stranger-danger myth.  The offenders are

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CALL TO ACTION: Stop Volusia County Council from expanding residency restrictions

Major Concerns: According to the Daytona Times, the Volusia County Council could be proposing at its June 20 meeting at 4 pm an ordinance to be drafted that would expand the residency distance requirements in the unincorporated parts of the county beyond the state’s 1,000 feet from any school, child care facility, park or playground. The Council could also consider

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NY Court of Appeals: Release Condition Excluding Certain Sex Offenders from School Zones is Not Punishment

New York’s highest state court has upheld the retroactive imposition of school exclusion zones as a condition of parole, release, or post release supervision of certain sex offenders. New York state law has mandated a release condition that certain supervised sex offenders— those with child victims— refrain from knowingly enter school grounds or child care grounds while serving their sentence.

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MT Supreme Court: The Registry is Punitive

Montana has joined a small but growing list of state supreme courts that have ruled that their states’ registries are punitive and cannot be imposed retroactively.   Selected excerpts: “A growing body of research into the effectiveness of sex offender registries has cast significant doubt on their capacity to prevent recidivism.”  And “the burdens and intrusiveness of SVORA have increased substantially

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FAC Affiliates in the Media: AZRSOL Educates Arizona Readers on Sexual Offense Laws

Studies show that your child is more likely to be placed on the sexual offender registry than to be harmed by someone on it.  At a time when The American Law Institute, all available research and public opinion are recommending reducing registry restrictions, we all should demand the same from our leaders.  Read more of the contribution of AZRSOL’s Vicky

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The Sex Offender Registry Failed Them: Women and Girls Exposed to State Police Academy Locker Room Hidden Camera

If you, as a member of the public, seek to identify West Virginia residents who have been convicted of a sexual offense, you can simply search the Sex Offender Registry website run by the West Virginia State Police. But what if that website does a poor job of identifying who presents a risk?  And what if, even worse, the agency

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Weaponization of Florida’s Legal System Being Used Against People on the Sex Offender Registry

In recent days, we are hearing of the weaponization of the U.S. Department of Justice along with the uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation.  What about the weaponization in the state of Florida that is used against tens of thousands of law-abiding citizens that are labeled as sex offenders, with Florida being considered by many people to

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Utah: Sex Offender Shares His Story with the Media

See an example of what happens when people forced to register on the sex offender registry get out there and speak to the media, even anonymously. In this case, a registrant spoke to the Utah news outlet KSL, resulting in more balanced, less hysterical coverage. The outlet also spoke to the Department of Corrections treatment director and accurately represented the

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Journalist lays out the research to counter myths about sex offender registry

Kelsey Turner with InvestigateWest shows readers that what we are doing to prevent future sex crimes against children is NOT working. “Researchers say sex offender registration and notification laws can be counterproductive for public safety by keeping registrants on the streets: Tenino cited as example” According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a Michigan study “found lack

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The State Attorney Who Declined to Pursue Sex Offenders for Voting

At least one State Attorney last year declined to prosecute six people forced to register on the sex offender registry in cases similar to those later brought against 20 ex-felons by Florida’s election police unit and statewide prosecutors.  This State Attorney determined instead that, as the Orlando Sentinel summarized it, the fraud was not willful. Read more from the Orlando

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