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(The following facts and figures are from the United States Census Bureau and the United States Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. There is no way we could make this stuff up!) If the Sex Offender Registries are working, why do we see a NATIONAL AVERAGE of 147% increase in the number of offenders placed on the state registries from 1998 to 2001 when the population of the country grew at about 13%? Why did the State of Washington with just a 20% increase in population, show a 993% increase in their Sex Offender Registry? Why did Alabama, with just around a 10% population increase, show a 659% increase in its Sex Offender Registry, or, Rhode Island with barely a 5% population increase show a 422% increase in its Sex Offender Registry, and Georgia with a 26% increase in population, show a 280% increase in its Sex Offender Registry? Is it because of the Byrne Grant Program and the LEBG (Law Enforcement Block Grants) Program mandates states increase their registries or lose over 20% of their Federal funding? If you find this interesting, then keep reading. Facts vs. Myths, what the politicians are not telling you to help keep your children safe: (Click on picture to view full size - opens a new window.)
Myth – All sex offenders are child molesters and all child molesters are predators and all predators are child killers. Fact – The FBI-UCR, National Crime Victimization Survey reveals that only 23% of sex crimes are against someone under 18; and the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that predators represent around three percent of all sex offenders and child killers are less than one percent of all offenders.
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Myth – All child molesters are pedophiles. Fact – Pedophile means someone attracted to and obsesses of pre-pubescent children. Studies by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services show that less than twenty-nine percent of sex offenses are against children under age twelve.
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Myth – Strangers are lurking at school bus stops or around playgrounds looking for children to molest. Fact – According to all reliable resources, around 90% of all child molestation cases involve someone who is a family member, or someone who is close to or trusted by the family.
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Myth – Depraved adults commit all sex crimes. Fact – Over 40% of sex crimes committed against someone under 18 are by a juvenile; most are consensual sex by teenagers, others are older siblings acting out against a relative.
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Myth – Sex offender treatment is too high and ineffective. Fact – Sex offender treatment cost is exponentially lower than incarceration and has proven to be an effective way to monitor sex offender activity. The statistical average nationwide of incarceration is around $22,000 per year per inmate. Factor in the cost of welfare for the inmates family members, and the cost jumps to $48,000 per year. The cost for treatment and community monitoring is less than $5,000 per year per offender. It is just more fiscally responsible to treat low risk offenders different, and it preserves tax revenue for government treasuries.
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Myth – Sex offenders have the highest recidivism rate (some quote 95%) and allowing them back into society is a mistake. Fact – Again, according to the U.S. Dept. of Justice and other studies done since 1994, sex offenders commit another crime, of any kind, at a rate of just thirteen percent, while those convicted of property theft reoffend (steal again) at an average of 75%. People convicted of drunk driving will reoffend at a rate of 51%, while a convicted murderer will reoffend at a rate of 41%. Ex-convicts with a non-sex offense charge are 87% more likely to commit a sex offense than a convicted sex offender in therapy is.
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Myth - Sex offenses are increasing and are becoming an epidemic in our society. Fact – Using the Bureau of Statistics; U.S. Dept. of Justice own figures, from 1990 to 2000, sex offences declined around 20%. Since 2000, the decline has been around 36%. Reporting offences to authorities has improved, and stiffer sentences have led to this decline. Sensationalized media coverage of a handful of cases leads the public to believe otherwise.
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Myth - Media coverage and legislative action have made the United States a world leader in citizen safety. Fact - According to the United Nations Law Enforcement Commission, adult rape in the United States is over twice as high as in other industrialized nations, while we have seen a decline in the problem, we still need to address why we have such a high rate compared to other countries. As recommended in a 1998 report (NCJ-168965) by the National Conference on Sex Offender Registries, "We need to overhaul our entire criminal justice system to better control sex offenders." We contend it is more than a criminal justice problem and as a society we need a National Sex Offender Policy Forum to address these issues.
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Myth – Sex Offender banishment and proximity laws increase public (child) safety. Fact – Harsh proximity laws actually have the opposite effect. Data from Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota show that driving sex offenders from the communities where their support network is (family, jobs and therapy) lead to more absconding by medium and high risk offenders and loss of hope for low risk intra-familial offenders. For these low risk intra-familial offenders, harsh banishment laws also punish their innocent family members (wives, parents, children, siblings) which make them unconstitutional. Low risk offenders should be removed from community notification, allowing law enforcement to better track medium and high risk offenders.
Here is the biggest myth and the one that is most damaging to our society.
Myth – All sex offenders are the same. Fact – Sex offences are as varied as the people who commit them. It is irresponsible to cast a broad net and classify all sex offenders the same. An example would be a one time intra-familial offender, someone who had a lapse in judgment and did something inappropriate; is not the same as a serial rapist who has had many adult victims. Another example would be to classify someone who urinated in public (some guy who had a bladder infection and just had to relieve himself behind a tree) the same as a person who repeatedly molested a child. Categorizing all offenders the same is a miscarriage of justice and impacts everyone in society adversely.
More Statistics: The following charts are from a 1997 study by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire for the United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Offenders Incarcerated for Crimes Against Juveniles. While the statistics are almost a decade old, they support our contention crimes against children are on the decline, not epidemic as the media or politicians (The Fear Lobby) would have you believe. (Researchers David Finkelhor and Richard Ormrod compiled the statistics. Links to the OJS Study and CACRC are at the end.)
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This chart shows the age of the offender at arrest, by the age of the victim. Note, it is not dirty old men who are hiding in the bushes looking for a victim that have the highest number of offenders.
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This chart shows the age of the victim, and type of offender, (parent or step-parent, acquaintance, spouse or partner, other relative, stranger).
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This chart shows the offender/victim relationship and type of offence - sexual assault or homicide.
Again the stranger-danger myth is making children less safe. In every major study we have seen, researchers, therapist, law enforcement and jurists all acknowledge one simple fact, children are 80 to 90 percent more likely to be assaulted by someone the family knows or trusts. Parents need to be more concerned about the people in their children's life and teach their children about appropriate behavior, inappropriate touching, and how to avoid dangerous situations.
Crimes Against Children Research Center Link Offenders Incarcerated for Crimes Against Juveniles
Even More Statistics:
Here are other statistics, independent of our own research.
Crimes Against Children Research Center (Fact Sheet from University of New Hampshire CCRC)
Click the Button to find out, this will open a new browser window.
If we truly want to make children safer, we have to ask, where does John Walsh and others like him get the statistic that 50,000 children a year are abducted by strangers?
Click the Button to find out, use the back arrow to return here.
At the end of the day, we have to ask, why is most American citizens more concerned with who Paris Hilton is dating than what their elected representatives are doing? We have compiled a list of 61 Republican office holders or political operatives who have been charged or convicted with child sexual abuse and are currently working on a list of Democrats.
Click on Ann above to read the list.
What are the Solutions?
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Copyright © 2006 SOSNet Legal Notice: The information on this web site based on hundreds of hours of research, however is NOT intended to be used as legal advice. If you are being investigated, or accused of crime against a child, seek the help of a licensed attorney, who specializes in child abuse cases, from your State Bar Association today. General practice attorneys do not have the skills to represent you in these types of cases and by delaying contacting a competent attorney; you will be placing yourself and your family in jeopardy.
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