Everett, Wash.
Published: Monday, October 8, 2007

New ideas for tracking sex convicts

Task force to present report after two months of hearings

By Jerry Cornfield, Herald Writer

 OLYMPIA -- A special panel will tell the governor this week of several ways to keep closer watch on dangerous sex offenders and give communities greater notice when one of them is on the lam.

In its final report after two months of hearings, the Sex Offender Task Force also will urge that services be expanded for victims of sexual assault and steps be taken to ensure all levels of the legal system know when someone is convicted of committing a sex offense.

"We made some progress and some good recommendations," said Mountlake Terrace Police Chief Scott Smith, a task force member.

Gov. Chris Gregoire should receive the report by Friday, one week later than she originally requested it.

Task force members address tracking and monitoring convicted sex offenders in a couple different ways.

They suggest clarifying existing state law to ensure that most serious offenders released from prison can be subject to wearing an ankle bracelet with GPS devices. Under current law, only 32 dangerous offenders are considered eligible for such monitoring.

They also want the sex offender registration law amended to include a requirement that offenders provide their e-mail addresses and the address of any Web sites they operate.

And task force members want to alert the public whenever someone who is required to do so fails to register and regularly check in with authorities. In such cases, the name and face of the offender would be posted online.

"These all get to the community expectation of holding the offenders accountable for their behavior," Smith said.

Punishment is not the only focus.

Members will urge the governor to increase funding for services to victims of all ages who have been sexually assaulted or abused, and for community prevention programs run through rape crisis and child advocacy centers.

And there was a strong consensus for improving the flow of information among juvenile, municipal and superior courts. Particular concern was expressed that convictions in municipal court were not getting passed along to those working in superior courts.

"We think this is an extremely important issue," said Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Hauge, the task force chairman who will write the final report for the governor.

The panel was created in August following the abduction, rape and murder of a 12-year-old Tacoma girl and subsequent arrest of a convicted sex offender as the suspect.

Gregoire wanted the panel to find out whether that case revealed any need for new laws or fixes of existing ones to boost public safety.

At the same time as the panel was formed, Gregoire rejected a request from Republicans in the state House of Representatives to hold a special session dedicated to passing legislation dealing with sex offenders.

GOP members had drafted eight bills they wanted to debate. Though the special-session idea got nixed, ideas raised in four of those bills will be detectable in the task force's expected recommendations.

For example, Republicans want the most dangerous sex offenders compelled to wear tracking devices. A 2006 law enabled this to happen; no funding was provided, so it hasn't taken place.

Last week, Gregoire, whose representatives attended meetings of the task force, ordered the Department of Corrections to get a handful of level 3 offenders -- those considered most likely to re-offend -- to wear ankle bracelets equipped with global positioning systems. She's paying for it with funds from her department's emergency budget.

Another concern of the task force is the financial burden that monitoring offenders puts on city and county law enforcement agencies. The task force is recommending that money be made available for local authorities to improve monitoring.

"No recommendation is going to come out of here without a demand to be fully funded," Hauge said.

Two months did not provide enough time for consideration of every aspect of how the state deals with sex offenders, Hauge said. Nor was it the panel's purpose to examine the effectiveness of each of the 18 laws passed last year, he said.

What will emerge, he said, is something that should be useful for the governor and lawmakers in the 2008 session.

"This group was the right people to look at the issues from a practical standpoint and then make practical recommendations that will really make a difference," Hauge said.

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfieldheraldnet.com.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA