Regarding the news article, ‘Sex Offender Data Not Up to Date,’ and the accompanying editorial, ‘Wrong Approach to Sex Crimes,’ I appreciate the opportunity to counter some assumptions and add missing information to provide an accurate portrayal of the federal Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act (Dec. 5, pg. 1 and pg. 10). As far as the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry is concerned, we are fully compliant with not only the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry statute, but also with several major court rulings setting out how the Sex Offender Registry must operate under the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. As far as federal law goes, we have done all within our power to comply with the Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act.
Each state legislature must, on its own, pass a state law containing requisite provisions as laid down in the federal law. The Massachusetts Legislature has not yet passed the requisite state law, notwithstanding the fact that we filed legislation to do so last term and have re-filed that legislation for the upcoming two-year term of the newly-elected legislature.
Contrary to the assumption in the editorial that the ‘state’ is involved in ‘blaming’ Boston University Campus Police for failing to implement the law, we repeatedly explained to The Daily Free Press that the agency is not interested in or participating in a purported bureaucratic finger pointing exercise. We have made clear that we will make joint notification to the Boston Police and the Boston University Campus Police of sex offenders who live or who work at addresses that Boston University indicates to be ‘on campus’ locations.
And once we have that street information, we intend to go about making joint notifications to BU Campus Police and Boston Police out of an abundance of concern that the university community be notified of nearby living or working dangerous sex offenders. What the story and editorial fail to make clear is that for information on a sex offender to be publicly available, the sex offender must be finally classified as a moderate or high risk to re-offend. This is a lengthy, yet legally required process. As of today, we have classified 1,682 offenders, with 984 Level 2 (moderate risk) and 242 Level 3 (high risk) publicly available.
Anyone with a request to know if a named individual is a classified sex offender in Massachusetts may contact us at 1-800-93MEGAN, or with a form available at www.state.ma.us/sorb, and we will provide the information if allowable under our law. Also, anyone concerned with whether any classified sex offenders reside or work on campus can contact the Boston Police to obtain information on offenders classified as a moderate or high risk.
Contrary to the editorial’s contention that Megan’s Law considers sex crimes ‘apparently worse than murder,’ the reasons we have Sex Offender Registry laws are many. Pedophiles cannot be cured. The rate of recidivism for untreated sex offenders ranges as high as 80 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition, federal studies indicate that every year 500,000 children are sexually abused during the peak vulnerable ages of seven to 13.
As we stated, we are committed to making both state and federal laws work, even to the point of providing information as allowable under our existing state laws, prior to passage of state law accepting the federal law. To suggest we are ‘dragging our feet’ does a disservice to all, including dedicated police officers and state employees who are working to make this vital information available to the public.
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