brokeninoz
07-10-2005, 10:11 AM
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http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifPosted on Fri, Jul. 08, 2005http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifhttp://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gif
Visits to registered offenders begin
BY LILLY ROCKWELL
The Wichita Eagle
For the first time, officers from the Sedgwick County sheriff's office and the Wichita Police Department are doing a door-to-door sweep to check the addresses of 661 people on the registry for sexual and violent crimes.
Officers started Thursday morning and expect to wrap up this afternoon, said Sheriff Gary Steed, who is leading the effort.
About 90 percent of the offenders are on the state's registry because of sex crimes -- 70 percent of that group committed crimes against children. Once they are released from state custody, they are required to let authorities know where they live, where they work and where they attend school, said Kansas Bureau of Investigation spokesman Kyle Smith.
Statewide there are about 3,700 offenders on the list, Smith said. First-time offenders must stay on the list for 10 years, but second-time offenders are on the list for life.
This week in Sedgwick County, only the home addresses are being checked.
The state's procedure for checking registered offenders is admittedly cumbersome: the KBI sends a letter every 90 days to offenders on the list.
If the letter is not returned in a timely manner, a certified letter is mailed. If the certified letter is returned unopened, the offender is considered an absconder -- someone who has broken contact with supervision -- and the sheriff's department is notified.
KBI Director Larry Welch told the Eagle last month that the location of up to 10 percent of the registered offender population at any given time is unknown.
Steed said the county's efforts this week to check the addresses instead of waiting to be contacted by KBI is "proactive."
"And we've been pretty successful so far, we have contacted quite a number of people on the list," Steed said Thursday.
In June, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline said the agency will audit the addresses listed in the registry in late July by doing face-to-face checks on about 150 offenders statewide.
Steed said failing to register is a low-level felony. If officers can't find offenders at the listed address, they will notify the district attorney's office for possible charges.
Failure to register is punishable by probation or, for people with two prior felonies, up to 13 months in prison.
Smith said offenders tend to be a "transient group" and that the average offender moves about four times a year.
"It is tough to keep track of them," Smith said.
Nevertheless, he said, the state registry, which was created in 1993, is a "great system" that keeps people informed of potentially dangerous people in their communities.
However, Smith said, people should remember that some offenders haven't been caught or convicted of a crime yet. They wouldn't be on the registry.
And though people may be afraid of strangers, Smith said, statistics show that 70 percent to 80 percent of victims are molested by people they know.
Reach Lilly Rockwell at 268-6404 or lrockwell@wichitaeagle.com (lrockwell@wichitaeagle.com).
© 2005 Wichita Eagle and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.kansas.com (http://www.kansas.com/)
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http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifPosted on Fri, Jul. 08, 2005http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifhttp://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gif
Visits to registered offenders begin
BY LILLY ROCKWELL
The Wichita Eagle
For the first time, officers from the Sedgwick County sheriff's office and the Wichita Police Department are doing a door-to-door sweep to check the addresses of 661 people on the registry for sexual and violent crimes.
Officers started Thursday morning and expect to wrap up this afternoon, said Sheriff Gary Steed, who is leading the effort.
About 90 percent of the offenders are on the state's registry because of sex crimes -- 70 percent of that group committed crimes against children. Once they are released from state custody, they are required to let authorities know where they live, where they work and where they attend school, said Kansas Bureau of Investigation spokesman Kyle Smith.
Statewide there are about 3,700 offenders on the list, Smith said. First-time offenders must stay on the list for 10 years, but second-time offenders are on the list for life.
This week in Sedgwick County, only the home addresses are being checked.
The state's procedure for checking registered offenders is admittedly cumbersome: the KBI sends a letter every 90 days to offenders on the list.
If the letter is not returned in a timely manner, a certified letter is mailed. If the certified letter is returned unopened, the offender is considered an absconder -- someone who has broken contact with supervision -- and the sheriff's department is notified.
KBI Director Larry Welch told the Eagle last month that the location of up to 10 percent of the registered offender population at any given time is unknown.
Steed said the county's efforts this week to check the addresses instead of waiting to be contacted by KBI is "proactive."
"And we've been pretty successful so far, we have contacted quite a number of people on the list," Steed said Thursday.
In June, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline said the agency will audit the addresses listed in the registry in late July by doing face-to-face checks on about 150 offenders statewide.
Steed said failing to register is a low-level felony. If officers can't find offenders at the listed address, they will notify the district attorney's office for possible charges.
Failure to register is punishable by probation or, for people with two prior felonies, up to 13 months in prison.
Smith said offenders tend to be a "transient group" and that the average offender moves about four times a year.
"It is tough to keep track of them," Smith said.
Nevertheless, he said, the state registry, which was created in 1993, is a "great system" that keeps people informed of potentially dangerous people in their communities.
However, Smith said, people should remember that some offenders haven't been caught or convicted of a crime yet. They wouldn't be on the registry.
And though people may be afraid of strangers, Smith said, statistics show that 70 percent to 80 percent of victims are molested by people they know.
Reach Lilly Rockwell at 268-6404 or lrockwell@wichitaeagle.com (lrockwell@wichitaeagle.com).
© 2005 Wichita Eagle and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.kansas.com (http://www.kansas.com/)