[thedickinsonpress.com – 3/23/21] Fargo-area politicians and activists will no doubt have a lot of success milking this issue for notoriety, and donations, but even if they’re successful in implementing a policy, and even if that local policy withstands legal scrutiny under state law, it isn’t likely to change much of anything. MINOT, N.D. — Bias crime laws, the new lingo for hate crime laws, are, from the perspective of public policy, not all that unlike policies the death penalty or sex offender laws. They’re all great for politicians who want…
Read MoreTag: Registry
Academy Expels Registered Sex Offender Adam _____ After Variety Investigation
[variety.com – 3/17/21] After a story in Variety in November exposed the fact that registered sex offender — and noted cinematographer — Adam ____ has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2007, the organization has taken action and removed him. An Academy source confirmed to Variety that Adam ____ is no longer a member. When asked for a comment, a representative for the Academy did not immediately respond. Adam ____ also appears no longer to be in the American Society of Cinematographers, an…
Read MoreNew Zealand: Ex-NZ First MP Darroch Ball, advocating for victims, blasts ‘out of touch’ Greens for opposing child sex offender list
[newshub.co.nz – 3/17/21] Former NZ First MP Darroch Ball, who advocates on behalf of victims, has described the Greens as “out of touch” for opposing the registration of child sex offenders. Nearly 600 child sex offenders will be put back on the national register after MPs rushed through urgent, retrospective changes on Wednesday to the Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Act 2016. The Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that the law was not clear enough when it came to people who committed an offence before it came…
Read MoreMalaysia: [Expand and] Put sex offenders list under home ministry, NGO tells govt
[freemalaysiatoday.com – 3/4/21] … It added that the list should be more complete, user-friendly, and accessible to the public with information on all types of sex offenders, not just paedophiles. Former deputy minister for women, family and community development, Hannah Yeoh, had announced the setting up of a child sex offender registry, which has been up and running since April 1, 2019. Read the full article Related links: Govt urged to establish accessible sex offenders list [theborneopost.com – 3/4/21]
Read MoreNY: Rensselaer County proposes animal abuser registry
[news10.com – 2/23/21] TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — On Tuesday, Rensselaer County legislators filed a local law to create a local animal abuse registry. “This legislation will establish an online registry for individuals who are convicted of animal abuse and neglect,” said Minority Leader Peter Grimm. “It is in the best interest of our residents and their animals that an online registry be established identifying individuals, living in Rensselaer County.” Read the full article
Read MoreNew Zealand: Man wins appeal to have name struck off Sex Offender Register
[rnz.co.nz – 2/9/21] The man was sentenced to nine months home detention in early 2018 after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography in early 2016. At his 2018 sentencing, the Judge also made an order that he be placed on the Child Sex Offender Register, which was established using the Registration Act in late 2016. The man committed the offence prior to the Registration Act coming into force but was convicted and sentenced after that date. The man did not seek to appeal his nine-month home detention sentence but challenged…
Read MoreAZ: Bowers revives sex offender registry bill HB2674
[azmirror.com – 1/28/21 House Speaker Rusty Bowers is taking another shot at passing legislation making it easier for some people to get their names off the state’s sex offender registry. House Bill 2674 would give some relatively low-level offenders an opportunity to end their lifetime obligation to register as sex offenders. People convicted of crimes including sexual abuse of a minor who is at least 15 years old, indecent exposure, sexual exploitation of a minor, sexual extortion and misrepresenting a person’s age for purposes of committing a sexual offense would…
Read MoreSri Lanka: Should Sri Lanka Have A Sex Offender Registry?
[roar.media – 1/23/2021] Last month, Minister of Public Security Rear Admiral (Rtd.) Sarath Weerasekera announced he would publicly name perpetrators of child abuse, rape and assault in an attempt to deter other potential offenders. Weerasekera said that, in addition to facing legal consequences, offenders will have their photographs and personal details released to the public. If this is done — albeit with a clearer sense of structure, scrutiny and with the purpose of protecting potential victims and communities rather than shaming perpetrators — it would effectively constitute a system similar…
Read MoreMI: ACLU calls for Whitmer veto on Legislature-approved changes to Sex Offender Registration Act
[mlive.com – 12/20/20] DETROIT – Approved changes to Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act are unconstitutional and ineffective at stopping offenders, argues the state’s ACLU chapter in an appeal for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to veto. State lawmakers approved altering registration protocols for sex offenders during the Legislature’s Wednesday, Dec. 16 session, fulfilling a 4-year-old mandate from the U.S. Court of Appeals. The federal court ruled in 2016 that it was unconstitutional to impose new restrictions on people convicted before the state’s Sex Offender Registration Act was updated with added rules in…
Read MoreGA: Removing the Scarlet Letter
[lagrangenews.com – 12/15/20] Decades ago, our state established the Georgia Sex Offender Registry (SOR). The purpose of SOR is to protect our citizens from sexually dangerous predators by identifying offenders that present the greatest risk of sexually re-offending. However, many people who are registered with SOR should not be because they pose no danger to society. Read the full opinion
Read MoreLA: Legislators look at options to increase reliability of LA. sex offender registry
[houmatoday.com – 12/18/20] Legislators began Thursday looking at changes to state law that would address inaccuracies in the registry that alerts neighbors that someone convicted of sex and/or child predatory crimes lives nearby. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor found that the severity of the crime, called a tier, wasn’t accurate for 61% of the sex offenders tested. The information listed on the registry wasn’t updated in 21% of the cases. That could mean the public often doesn’t know when a predator is within their midst. It could also mean that the…
Read MorePakistan: Chemical Castration, Sex Offender Registry in Pakistan’s New Rape Law
[vice.com – 12/16/20] Rocked by intense protests after a violent gang rape in September, Pakistan’s president has approved a new anti-rape law that seeks to double down on sexual crimes against women and children in the country. Anti-Rape Ordinance 2020 will give speedy trials to women and children, create a national registry of sex offenders, give privacy to victims and survivors, and also allow chemical castration of repeat sex offenders. Moreover, the consent of the convict will not be taken for executing castration, the discretion of which will be held…
Read MoreMI: Michigan Senate approves tightened restrictions in Sex Offender Registration Act
[mlive.com – 12/16/20] The proposed amendments to SORA in House Bill 5679 are: Giving sex offenders no more than three days to register or report status changes in person with local law enforcement. Requiring offenders to report all email addresses, social media names or other forms of “internet identifiers.” That would not apply retroactively to offenders prior to July 1, 2011, but anyone required to register after that date must comply. Requiring all telephone numbers and vehicles used by the offender to be reported. Previously, they didn’t need to report…
Read MoreIL: Hundreds of Southern Illinoisans are required to register as sex offenders. But are we any safer?
[thesouthern.com – 11/27/20] SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ sex offender registry, which now includes more than 32,000 people — most of them men, though some women, as well — has rapidly expanded since its first iteration in 1986. Then, it included four qualifying crimes. Today, there are more than 30 crimes that trigger mandatory registration, including some repeat misdemeanor offenses. In recent years, policy makers and advocates, both for offenders as well as victims, have been raising questions as to whether the registry, and the ever-increasing rules around it, really makes the…
Read MoreMI: Michigan poised to double down on failed sex offender registry
[freep.com – 2020-12-10] In early 2012, more than eight years ago, five people challenged Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA) in court, arguing that the registry branded them as dangerous “sex offenders” without any individual review. One was a man — we’ll call him John — who met a woman at a club open only to those 18 and older. They slept together and only later did he learn that she was actually 15. They fell in love, eventually married, and now have three kids. But due to her age, John…
Read MoreSouth Africa: Cape Town GBV Protest: Call for Sex Offender List to be Made Public
[sapeople.com – 11/28/20] “I will not be next”, “We’re done being afraid” and “Femicide is the real pandemic” were some of the many banners on display on Saturday morning during a protest against gender based violence (GBV) outside Parliament in Cape Town. “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” chanted some of the protesters in unison as cars driving by hooted in support. Read the full article
Read MoreCanada: Baranyai: How should Ontario’s sex offender registry work?
[lfpress.com – 11/29/20] Ontario’s sex offender registry has some soul searching to do. Does it exist to punish offenders, or protect communities? And how can the framework for who goes on the list, which the Supreme Court has ruled discriminatory, support this core objective? The government has one year to amend Christopher’s Law, named for 11-year-old Christopher Stephenson, who in 1988 was tragically abducted, assaulted and murdered by a known pedophile. A coroner’s jury recommended creating an electronic registry of sex offenders to help police target their neighbourhood searches during…
Read MoreIN: WATCH NOW: Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan Kersey conducts sex offender checks
[kenoshanews.com – 11/20/20] Ride Shotgun with Lake County, Indiana sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan Kersey as he checks to ensure convicted Northwest Indiana sex offenders are complying with state sex-offender registry laws. This special episode of “Riding Shotgun with NWI Cops” was filmed recently in conjunction with a Midwest reporting project titled, “Out of the Shadows: Spotlight on Sex Crimes.” The special report will span multiple newspapers throughout Lee Enterprises’ Midwest news agencies and will be taking a deep look at sex crimes, the offenders, their victims and the effectiveness of state…
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