NCMEC Joins members of Congress to Announce S.O. Legislation

NCMEC Joins members of Congress to Announce S.O. Legislation
Press Release NCMEC JOINS WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO ANNOUNCE TOUGHER SEX OFFENDER LEGISLATION “The Children’s Safety And Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2005” will help track sex offenders more consistently and keep our nation’s children safer WASHINGTON, DC – March 8, 2006 – The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) applauds Speaker Dennis Hastert, Chairman James Sensenbrenner, and other members of Congress for drafting sweeping legislation that will overhaul our nation’s current sex offender registration and community notification law. This new legislation is entitled “The Children’s Safety And Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2005” (H.R. 4472). “Today, there are more than a half million sex offenders that are “supposed” to be registered in the United States; however at least 100,000 of these offenders are actually “missing” from the system. This is a massive problem,” said NCMEC President and CEO Ernie Allen. “I commend Speaker Hastert and Chairman Sensenbrenner for recognizing that the current federal sex offender law needs to be revamped. This new legislation will help build a more comprehensive system for tracking sex offenders and better protect our nation’s children.” NCMEC believes this legislation, “The Children’s Safety And Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2005” will increase and tighten tracking of sex offenders and provide standards for notifying the public about these predators. It will integrate previous years of legislation into a more consistent way of governing how sex offenders are monitored and how communities are notified. Highlights of this legislation: Improves Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Program to ensure that sex offenders register, and keep current, the address where they reside, work and attend school. Improves verification systems to keep sex offender information up-to-date and accurate. Creates the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website to search for sex offender information in each community. Expands community notification requirements to include active efforts to inform law-enforcement agencies, schools, public housing, social service agencies and volunteer organizations in the area where a sex offender resides, works or attends school. Currently, there is a wide disparity among the state programs, in both registration and notification procedures. NCMEC believes this is a serious problem due to the mobility of our society and has led to “lost” sex offenders who fail to comply with their registration duties. In addition, there is a lack of resources to enforce these registration laws on a regular basis. More funding is necessary to assist states in maintaining and improving these programs so a comprehensive system for tracking sex offenders and alerting communities can be developed. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, on average, child molesters were released after serving about three years of their seven-year sentence. And released sex offenders were four times more likely to be rearrested for a sex crime than non-sex offenders. Allen added, “Without reform, the current situation poses an enormous challenge for law enforcement trying to keep track of these offenders and evokes unparalleled fear among the public. There is a clear need for more consistency among state programs for sex offender registration and community notification. Our law-enforcement agencies deserve more and so do our most vulnerable members of our society, our children.” About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 365,600 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 117,100 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 99,500 children. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit www.missingkids.com. CONTACT: Communications Department NCMEC 703-837-6111 http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=2309

View Full Version: NCMEC Joins members of Congress to Announce S.O. Legislation