Sex offenders: How to Deal with ThemEssay title: Sex offenders: How to Deal with ThemSex Offenders: How to Deal with themTurn on the news almost any day of the week and you will see a report on a missing child. Jessica Lunsford, a nine-year-old girl from Florida, went missing in February of 2005. A month later, a repeat child sex offender admitted to kidnapping and murdering the innocent child. The deranged man, John Evander Couey, was registered with the state of Florida as a sex offender, but was staying at a different house than the one where he was registered “Person of Interest”. He was staying at his sister’s house, which was in sight of Jessica’s home. It’s believed by the local authorities that he may have been in his sister’s home, with Jessica, when police talked to her about Jessica’s disappearance. I propose a federal law be passed that requires all sex offenders, who must register, must also wear a G.P.S. tracking device. Had John Couey been wearing such a device, the police would have had a way better chance of recovering Jessica Lunsford alive.
That the safety of our children is of the utmost importance is not in question. The 1994 Jacob Wetterling Act requires that persons convicted of sex crimes against children register with state authorities (Megan’s Law). This type of legislation is necessary because the prison system in America is already overcrowded. It would not be possible to lock up sex offenders and throw away the key, even though this is what many Americans would be more than happy to do. So we have registration laws. These laws are evidence that the people want more tools available to law enforcement to find sex offenders who may be responsible for missing children.
Most states disclose private and personal information about registered sex offenders to the general public. Forty-seven states have state-sponsored internet access to the information. Being able to access the information on the internet enables parents to find out where and how many sex offenders are in their area. This information is available because it is widely believed that sex offenders pose a high risk of re offending after release from custody (Megan’s Law). While each state is required by the Jacob Wetterling Act to register sex offenders, it is left to the state’s discretion to make public the information.
Even without public access, registration of child sex offenders is still a valuable tool to law enforcement officials. In the case of Jessica Lunsford, law enforcement became interested in Couey when interviewing all registered offenders in the area “Person of Interest”. Although it is a valuable tool, it is not enough. When a registered sex offender changes residence, it is up to the individual to notify the authorities of his change of address. Here lies a fundamental flaw in the system. We cannot accept that we are allowing the safety of our children to be dependent on the honor of a convicted criminal. We cannot trust a sex offender to notify the authorities every time she moves. A G.P.S. tracking device would make certain that we know where she is.
Massachusetts is implementing a program that uses G.P.S. and the estimated cost is ten dollars per day per person (Massachusetts). That seems like a very reasonable price for the safety of our children. I suggest that the federal government follow Massachusetts’ lead and implement a law requiring all states have a program similar to Massachusetts. Of note, is Florida’s brand new legislation in response to the murder of Jessica Lunsford. In this law, persons convicted of sexually motivated crimes on children under the age of twelve, will be faced with 25 years minimum to life confinement. Also, if released from prison, they will have to wear a G.P.S. tracking device for the rest of their lives. This is more than I am asking for, but is certainly acceptable.
G.P.S. (Global Positioning System) is a relatively new technology that uses satellites to locate a device. This technology has been used by the military, automobile manufacturers, and others. “OnStar”, used in automobiles for tracking by the owners in case theft, among other uses, is one know application of the technology. By placing a G.P.S. tracking device on sex offenders, law enforcement officials will be able tolocate him or her to within a 15-foot radius of his actual location. The program will also have the capability to record movements of the individual so that if a crime occurs, officials will be able to tell if a sex offender was at the scene. The tracking system will also alert officials if a sex offender enters restricted zones such as schools and playgrounds or a specific address specified under the offenders terms of
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Source: “Global Positioning System” (Citizens for U.S. Government Privacy), accessed May 17, 2016.
“G.P.S. (Global Positioning System), also being proposed in Texas, is the standardization of G.P.S., which is currently under review by the U.S. Department of Justice. This technology will allow for the detection and tracking of illegal activity, even if this activity does not involve a sex offender at all, providing information that may be used to inform future investigations. CGS will also serve a vital public safety role because it is a high-tech threat which allows us to quickly identify the perpetrators of crimes. It also gives law enforcement agencies an unprecedented level of security that the FBI, Defense Department to the Department of Homeland Security, and Homeland Security Administration will be able to provide, which can provide enhanced intelligence. Additionally, CGS will be a way for law enforcement forces who operate in areas that would otherwise be under surveillance in, or at the mercy of, law enforcement, to be able to quickly identify and identify individuals under surveillance. This allows us to effectively disrupt or disrupt the lives of civilians who are under surveillance, such as children or teens. CGS is also enabling national security officials and law enforcement agencies to gather the location information of terrorists and potential terrorist targets in much more timely and, at long last, for the protection of victims. CGS will also be able to track the movements—by GPS, and in whole or in part—of terrorists and potential ISIS and al-Qaeda members, making the law enforcement on the ground much more able to quickly identify and respond appropriately to information generated about these types of attacks.”
Source: Federal Register, May 17, 2016.
“G.P.S. (Global Positioning System), developed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is an online privacy tracking tool. CGS combines data from the Internet with U.S. Army and National security agencies’ national metadata that includes details of Internet activity. CGS can search the Internet for any suspected terrorist activities while making Internet browsing and Internet access more easily accessible and more secure. In addition, the CGS Web site gives the FBI and the CIA the ability to use it to provide new and targeted data or tools to protect user privacy and security. CGS is also designed to protect national security information such as all online activity on a country’s networks or any other data, including sensitive information, provided by law enforcement, military, intelligence or security agencies, civil society, government, political, or privacy-related organizations, private groups or individuals, or any source or source of information that we deem critical to our security. CGS is available online in all 50 states. CGS has already been utilized by FISC under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s ‘Internet for Business Protections in Plain English’ program. ‌The program was approved in October 2014 for use by the United States and FISC to identify suspected terrorists and individuals convicted of certain type of terrorist offenses in criminal investigations.”
Source: Federal Register, May 17 2015.
“G.P.S. (Global Positioning System) is an encrypted, online surveillance tool which