The Sex Offender Next Door, What Did We Expect?
There’s a lot of controversy in my hometown at the moment. A level three sex offender is moving to the area, but he will not have a permanent address. Why? He’s going to be homeless.
Of course I’m concerned. I have family that lives in that area. I grew up there. Friends live there. Do I want them in the path of a sex offender? Definitely not.
Here’s what I find interesting about the whole thing: the comments on the articles and on my Facebook, all seem to reflect a crazy mob mentality. They don’t seem to reflect actual facts.
In MN, the level of offender is based on a formula. Not surprising, he scored high enough to be a level three offender. However, I’m disappointed in the public’s response. Despite their shock and alarm over an offender moving into the area, it doesn’t seem like people are doing their due diligence to appropriately remedy or adequately inform themselves on the situation.
For example, many are making comments about protecting kids. Don’t get me wrong, I’d make sure mine would stay away from him too, but a quick search told me that he didn’t commit a crime against children. According to the MN Department of Corrections, he “engaged in sexual contact with victim (adult female) and held her against her will. Contact included restraining victim and pulling her to the ground. Offender gained access to victim by approaching her in a public park. Offender was not known to victim.”
So how are people reacting? The mob has ensued. People have made tough-guy comments about harming him, cried out against the system for allowing his release and even suggested that he should be moved to another city. But does any of this solve anything?
Here’s what I think should happen. The community needs to attend the public hearing. Get the facts. Find out what they can about him, where he’ll be, where he frequents, etc.
Then they need to act. Start by doing the things that they SHOULD BE DOING ANYWAY: locking their doors at night (it’s a small town, many don’t,) don’t walk alone after dark, inform people of where they’re going and when they plan to return, only take familiar routes, etc.
Second, understand the formula that makes someone a level three sex offender. The state legislative branch has information on their website that describes the formula used to determine risk of re-offending. Not surprising, a guy planning to be homeless almost couldn’t rank as a level one or two.
And even more importantly, the community needs to get involved. We have state legislators for a reason. Not one comment on these articles has suggested contacting a legislative official and pointing out the loophole in sex offender registration. As I finish this post, my next step will be to contact my local and state representatives. Hopefully, I can encourage action in the next legislative session that will close this gap.
Finally, I think that an issue like this bears political considerations. On one hand, we want to lock a dangerous person up indefinitely. But on the other hand, we want our taxes kept low. Can we keep taxes low and keep people locked up? If they aren’t locked up, do we have the resources to keep the public safe? A situation like this should make you assess your political affiliations and make you prioritize accordingly. I’m not saying you should be a DFL-er or a Republican or an Independent or a Green Party supporter. But using a “real life” experience to assess your political views should help shape the way you vote.
