The Sex Offender Registry And Idealism
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RUNNINGHEAD: THE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY AND
The Sex Offender Registry and Idealism
Ricky Daigle
Nipissing University
In fulfillment of the requirements for CRJS 4917
Prof. Carson Fougere
Due Date: March 19, 2008
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The National and Provincial Sex Offender Registries
Many know the story of Christopher Stephenson; the little eleven year old boy who was molested and murdered by a pedophile that had a long list of previous sexual crimes (Macleans, 2008). A Coroners Inquest would recommend (amongst many other things) that Parliament create an electronic sex offender registry database, which soon led to legislation enacted by the Harris Conservative Government, in collaboration with the Stephenson family, which passed in 2001 under the name “Christophers Law” (Macleans, 2008). In fact, Premier Harris was so pleased with the Act and registry database that he offered the technology to the federal government to create its own registry (Macleans, 2008). The federal government would decline though, insisting that CPIC was sufficient to track down criminals (Macleans, 2008). One year later on Feb 2002, after much pressure from officials, police and victim groups, the Liberal government (in a meeting that was thought to be for official amendments to CPIC) announced that they were creating a national sex offender registry and database to be maintained by the RCMP(Macleans, 2008). They failed to enact the first bill in the later part of the year but after reintroduction in 2004, the bill finally passed and the scrutiny began (Macleans, 2008). The research provided here focuses not on the history of national sex offender registry database as set out in the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, rather on the strengths and weaknesses of the national sex offender registry and its comparison to the Ontario Sex offender registry so that recommendations can be made to increase the effectiveness of both systems. The research also promotes a proactive approach to the registry and promotes information sharing amongst the officials of the criminal justice system and the various levels of policing (whether they are municipal, regional, provincial, federal or First Nations police services) so that solidarity
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may me promoted amongst all members of the criminal justice system and that this solidarity becomes a positive aspect of the system which will serve as a guiding light for the citizens of Canada to emulate.
A New Sex Offender Database to help Police prevent Sex Crimes?
When examining the National Sex Offender Registry database we notice many advantages that do serve police in preventing crimes; there are strict reporting practices in place (most are within 15 days of returning to Canada, after release of custody from prison, after conviction of various offences, etc) for offenders to check in with one of many reporting centers (Canadian Legal Information Institute, 2004). The registry itself contains a detailed description of offenders from basic features such as eye and hair color down to their odour (because some victims recognize offenders by such a feature) which assists police in investigating sexual crimes (Canadian Legal Information Institute, 2004). Also Sex offenders must report to a center, run by the RCMP, if they take a vacation for more than two weeks and must provide all current (primary and secondary addresses) and prospective addresses (Canadian Legal Information Institute, 2004). Since the database was completed in 2005, only three years ago, it has been able to gain a high compliance rate amongst the offenders that have been registered (through a form 52 or 53 applied for by prosecutors in court during sentencing) (Parliament of Canada, 2002). Since the true effectiveness of the National Sex Offender registry in assisting police in solving crime can not be assessed by examining the positive aspects of the legislation, a comparison to the more experienced registry database of Ontario must then be made to bring to light the aspects that have been subject to public scrutiny so that solutions may be formulated to produce a more sophisticated and compelling registry for the future.
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The Ontario Sex Offender Registry vs. the National Sex Offender Registry
As of this day, neither the National nor Ontario Sex Offender Registries have gone on to solve a single sex crime (Macleans, 2008). The reasons for such are more apparent with the National Registry, which pales in comparison to the provisions implemented in the Ontario Registry database. First, the Ontario registry is mandatory for offenders who have been charged with a sex crime (sex crimes defined in the Act list many Criminal Code offences but leave out other offences such as child pornography offences), are currently serving a sentence for a sex crime, and who are found to be not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for a sexual offence (Government of Ontario, 2000). This is in contrast to the Federal registry that must be applied for in court during sentencing by a prosecutor via a Form 52 and Judges may even refuse the request if the offender can prove that registering would have an overwhelming impact on him/her (Macleans, 2008). Offenders under the Ontario registry must sign in to a center once a year as well as every time they move; if they are a second late, a red flag is issued in the system and a warrant will be issued for their arrest for non-compliance with sections 3 (offender required to report in person) or 7 (Reporting period) (Government of Ontario, 2000). The data base also has a much more detailed description of offenders including nicknames, tattoos, height, weight and offenders must report from a period of ten years to life depending on the length of sentence they were given or the amount of sexual offences committed (a sentence of less than ten years results in an obligation to report for ten years and a sentence over ten years or a conviction of more than one sex crime results in an obligation to report for life) (Canadian Legal Information Institute, 2004). Sex crime investigators are also able to locate offenders geographic location in relation to a crime