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08-17-2005, 11:18 AM
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http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifPosted on Wed, Aug. 17, 2005http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifhttp://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gif
A third of offenders don't give right address
BY STEVE PAINTER
Eagle Topeka bureau
TOPEKA - A third of offenders don't give right address
One in three registered sex or violent crime offenders in Sedgwick County fails to provide law enforcement authorities with accurate information about where they live, Sheriff Gary Steed said Tuesday.
The figures are the result of an effort started July 7 to determine whether offenders are complying with state law designed to warn residents that a sex offender may be living in their neighborhood or near a school.
Separately, Attorney General Phill Kline released results of a statewide audit showing that one in five offenders statewide failed to provide accurate addresses.
Kline said he will ask the Legislature to change state law to require prison time, rather than probation, for offenders who fail to comply with registration requirements.
The statewide audit was a sampling of 5 percent of the registered offenders, covering 43 counties.
In Sedgwick County, however, Steed's department, the Wichita Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies attempted to find all 661 offenders registered in the county at the time.
"We think it was a good way to let sex offenders know they need to comply with that act," Steed said.
They found 410 lived at the addresses listed on the state's offender Web site. Of the remainder, Steed said, the department intends to present 78 cases to the district attorney for prosecution.
The balance of the original 661 are either back in prison, deported or have not yet been found, he said.
More than 4,000 people are required to register as offenders under Kansas law. Kline said 63 percent committed sex crimes against children, 34 percent committed sex crimes against adults and 3 percent committed other violent crimes.
The offender registry is a valuable tool in preventing sex crimes, said Kathy Williams, executive director of the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center.
"Accurate information is certainly what we need to be looking at," she said.
She cautioned, however, that the registry does not ensure safety.
"It doesn't mean that you can let your guard down because the undetected ones are a huge threat as well," she said.
Publicity about the Sedgwick County effort to verify offender accuracy resulted in some calls from offenders themselves, asking where they needed to go to register, Steed said.
The statewide sampling of 190 offenders found 21 percent had not given accurate information about their current address during the week of July 25, Kline said.
Follow-up efforts the next week still resulted in 13.7 percent, or 26 offenders, whose whereabouts were unknown to law enforcement officials, he said.
"I think it shows where we need to improve," Kline said.
That sampling showed that four of 26 offenders in Sedgwick County could not be found. One in three was missing in Butler County. All 10 in Harvey County were found.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation tracks offenders by sending them registered letters every 90 days. The agency notifies local law enforcement officials when a letter cannot be delivered.
Kline said he is assembling a task force of sheriffs, prosecutors and lawmakers to find better ways of tracking offenders.
Other findings of the state survey:
• 29 percent of offenders did not provide current employment information.
• 21 percent did not provide current driver's license information.
• 24 percent did not provide current vehicle information.
The registered addresses of offenders and other information can be found on the KBI's Web site, www.accesskansas.org/kbi (http://www.accesskansas.org/kbi).
Reach Steve Painter at (785) 296-3006 or spainter@wichitaeagle.com (spainter@wichitaeagle.com).
© 2005 Wichita Eagle and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
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http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifPosted on Wed, Aug. 17, 2005http://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gifhttp://www.kansas.com/images/common/spacer.gif
A third of offenders don't give right address
BY STEVE PAINTER
Eagle Topeka bureau
TOPEKA - A third of offenders don't give right address
One in three registered sex or violent crime offenders in Sedgwick County fails to provide law enforcement authorities with accurate information about where they live, Sheriff Gary Steed said Tuesday.
The figures are the result of an effort started July 7 to determine whether offenders are complying with state law designed to warn residents that a sex offender may be living in their neighborhood or near a school.
Separately, Attorney General Phill Kline released results of a statewide audit showing that one in five offenders statewide failed to provide accurate addresses.
Kline said he will ask the Legislature to change state law to require prison time, rather than probation, for offenders who fail to comply with registration requirements.
The statewide audit was a sampling of 5 percent of the registered offenders, covering 43 counties.
In Sedgwick County, however, Steed's department, the Wichita Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies attempted to find all 661 offenders registered in the county at the time.
"We think it was a good way to let sex offenders know they need to comply with that act," Steed said.
They found 410 lived at the addresses listed on the state's offender Web site. Of the remainder, Steed said, the department intends to present 78 cases to the district attorney for prosecution.
The balance of the original 661 are either back in prison, deported or have not yet been found, he said.
More than 4,000 people are required to register as offenders under Kansas law. Kline said 63 percent committed sex crimes against children, 34 percent committed sex crimes against adults and 3 percent committed other violent crimes.
The offender registry is a valuable tool in preventing sex crimes, said Kathy Williams, executive director of the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center.
"Accurate information is certainly what we need to be looking at," she said.
She cautioned, however, that the registry does not ensure safety.
"It doesn't mean that you can let your guard down because the undetected ones are a huge threat as well," she said.
Publicity about the Sedgwick County effort to verify offender accuracy resulted in some calls from offenders themselves, asking where they needed to go to register, Steed said.
The statewide sampling of 190 offenders found 21 percent had not given accurate information about their current address during the week of July 25, Kline said.
Follow-up efforts the next week still resulted in 13.7 percent, or 26 offenders, whose whereabouts were unknown to law enforcement officials, he said.
"I think it shows where we need to improve," Kline said.
That sampling showed that four of 26 offenders in Sedgwick County could not be found. One in three was missing in Butler County. All 10 in Harvey County were found.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation tracks offenders by sending them registered letters every 90 days. The agency notifies local law enforcement officials when a letter cannot be delivered.
Kline said he is assembling a task force of sheriffs, prosecutors and lawmakers to find better ways of tracking offenders.
Other findings of the state survey:
• 29 percent of offenders did not provide current employment information.
• 21 percent did not provide current driver's license information.
• 24 percent did not provide current vehicle information.
The registered addresses of offenders and other information can be found on the KBI's Web site, www.accesskansas.org/kbi (http://www.accesskansas.org/kbi).
Reach Steve Painter at (785) 296-3006 or spainter@wichitaeagle.com (spainter@wichitaeagle.com).
© 2005 Wichita Eagle and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.kansas.com