California's Sex Offender Registration - Essay Example

Californias sex offender registration and Section # of Californias sex offender registration The California Department of Justice (DOJ) is the respective body responsible for the creation and maintenance of the sex offender’s database. The law of the state entails, as according to the California Penal Code section 290, that persons who are convicted of particular crimes, which are specified, must register themselves as ‘sex offenders’ with the local law enforcement agency. Some of the crimes which make the offender eligible for registration are: rape, assault to commit rape, lewd behavior with a child under 16 years of age, sexual molestation of a less than 18 child, statutory rape, and even possession of child pornography (IPS, 2009, 1) These sex offenders are informed prior to their release from confinements of prison jail, probation and even mental hospitals that it is their immediate duty to register themselves, and a copy of the notification form processed in this stage is also sent to the DOJ. The sex offender tracking program is an expedient tool utilized for keeping track of the sex offenders in California since 1947; the state is also regarded as being the first ever to enact a sex offender registration law. This was major step towards public disclosure of criminals, for many states did not recognize such laws until the 1990s. These registration requirements are lifetime, and with an ever-increasing and current population of 35million people, California is respectively the holder of the largest database of sex offenders in the USA (Lockyer, 2002, 3). This lifelong obligation can only be reversed if the offender a ‘Certificate of Rehabilitation’ ten years after s/he has been released from custody or it can also be relieved if ‘Government’s pardon’ is attained. However, many serious offences are not even eligible to attain the aforementioned relieving documents (IPS, 2009, 1). There are certain conditions which must be met duly by the sex offenders, these are the requirements and the guidelines set by the DOJ. It is incumbent upon the registered offenders to update their whereabouts and necessary information per annum, within 5 working days of their birthday. This requirement is more stringent for some, the transients must update every month while the sexually violent predators are extended 90 days worth of time. Recently, they have also been imposed with the responsibility of submitting their vehicle license plate number along with a recent photograph. Since 2002, they have also been required to register themselves with the campus police department in case they plan to enroll in any courses, attend any specific programs or even as much as work. Furthermore, even for people who are sex offenders, if convicted by the military or federal court, of other states but they enter the jurisdiction of Californian state; they are required to register within 5 working days of entering California. Those who fail to register and have been convicted of a felony would be convicted of a felony yet again in case of non-compliance. This tracking program requires regular updates, and if any offender violates the registration requirements, it would show the registrant to be in violation. It is necessary for the transients to update their status within five working days with a local agency, in case they change their address or is homeless; the local agency is then responsible for forwarding the information to the DOJ. The latter then updates the information in the database, on a regular daily basis. The website www.meganslaw.ca.gov is responsible for publishing the data online, however 25% of the offender’s records are kept confidential and are not publicly disclosed, this condition depends on the specific type of crime being committed. According to the information available on this government website, the sex offenders can evade public disclosure in the following conditions (Harris, 2009; Department of Justice, 2010): 1- Sexual battery by restraint (Penal Code § 243.4, subdivision a.) 2- Misdemeanor child molestation (Penal Code § 647.6, or former section 647a) Or 3- Any offense which did not involve penetration or oral copulation, the victim of which was a child, stepchild, grandchild, or sibling of the offender, and for which the offender successfully completed or is successfully completing probation” Megan’s law was established by the State of California in 1996 and it talks about the publication and the duty of the local law enforcement agencies to inform the public about the sex offender registrants who are assumed to be a risk to the public of an area. This law also restricts the offenders to reside within 2000 feet of a school/park where children visit in frequency. This law is also responsible for the placement of prohibitions and restrictions relating to work on the offenders, such that an offender who is convicted of a sex crime against a victim less than 16 years of age cannot have any minor working under him as an employee or volunteer etc. If the registrant’s crime was not against a victim of less than 16 years of age, then s/he must notify the employer or the volunteer organization s/he is working with regarding their status as a registrant of sex offence. Failure to comply with this requirement is considered a misdemeanor offense. The details of non-compliance with the registration requirements are discussed below in this paper. There is always room for non-compliance with all the requirements wanted by the state of California, thus it must be ensured that the data is updated and the conditions are met by the sex offenders, this can only be ensured through penalties being imposed on the violators. Hence, there are numerous criminal penalties which are applicable to the individuals who are in non-compliance with the sex offender legislation. Generally, an individual who was initially convicted of a felony sex offence and who then evades the registration requirement out of will is guilty of another felony of non-compliance. This is applicable to the state of California’s ‘Three Strikes Law’. Furthermore, a person who was initially convicted of misdemeanor sex crime/offense, and then violates the registry law of the Californian State, is again guilty of misdemeanor in the first violation case. Any subsequent cases of violation with regards to compliance with the registration law would be considered as felonies, and thus resort to the ‘felony’ offence. It must not be ignored that sex offences are serious crimes, and the State of California believes such and therefore advocates the registration of such individuals, and claims that the public disclosure of the serious offenders, and the disclosure of specific information in case of imminent threat (after meeting certain conditions) would help reduce crime rate in the state, and they have proved this claim through statistical data gathered for analyzing the law. This success has helped make California a better residing place, and non-compliance with the law would result in penalties which were discussed earlier in the paper. The seriousness of non-compliance increases with the number of times violation occurs. Therefore, it is substantiated that the State of California is extremely serious pertaining to the registry of sex offenders in order for the safety of the Californian residents, and the DOJ has continued to progress in this field by adaptation to cutting edge technology in tracking systems and database management. In addition, many state departments and educational/work institutions help the DOJ in provision of the sex offender’s data to the public in case of need after a fee payment, which raises revenue for the agency to keep its services upgraded. In light of all these facts, it can be observed that California is an efficient state with regards to the registration and publication of sex offender’s data, since the provision of this data can help reduce further crimes (SRIS Law Group, 2010). References Department of Justice (2010) APPLICATION FOR EXCLUSION FROM INTERNET DISCLOSURE. Retrieved May 22nd 2011 from Harris. K (2009) Sex Offender Registration and Exclusion Information. Retrieved May 22nd 2011 from IPS (2009) ‘Sex Offender Registration Requirements- FAQs for California Resident’. Retrieved May 22nd 2011 from Lockyer. B (2002) ‘California Sex Offender registration- Megan’s Law’. Retrieved May 22nd 2011 from SRIS Law Group (2010) CALIFORNIA ATTORNEYS ASSISTING CLIENTS WITH SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION CASES. Retrieved May 22nd 2011 from Read More