Sexual Offender Registries and Communities of Faith
By Monica Applewhite, Ph.D.
In the United States today, there are more than 700,000 registered sexual offenders. Registration means that law enforcement officials have a tool to gain knowledge about the whereabouts of convicted sexual offenders. Individual states may require registry for a variety of sexual crimes, but federal law requires each state to maintain records of the whereabouts of individuals who have been convicted of criminal offenses against minor victims and those who have been convicted of sexually violent offenses. Over the next several years, many faith communities will be confronted with situations in which registered sexual offenders are involved or would like to become involved with the community.
Expert in standards of care and the dynamics of abuse in educational and religious environments
In the United States today, there are more than 700,000 registered sexual offenders. Registration means that law enforcement officials have a tool to gain knowledge about the whereabouts of convicted sexual offenders. Individual states may require registry for a variety of sexual crimes, but federal law requires each state to maintain records of the whereabouts of individuals who have been convicted of criminal offenses against minor victims and those who have been convicted of sexually violent offenses. Over the next several years, many faith communities will be confronted with situations in which registered sexual offenders are involved or would like to become involved with the community.Background
Although the concept of sexual offender registry has existed since the 1940’s, access to the information by ordinary citizens is a relatively recent development of the law. In 1990, Washington State passed the Community Protection Act which contained a number of strategies for improving community safety, including longer sentences, mandatory registration of sexual offenders who are convicted, and—perhaps most innovatively—community notification. The community notification dimension of Washington’s law represented the first effort to use sexual offender registries to inform the public of a potential threat by a sexual offender. Prior uses of the registries were limited to law enforcement and the information was considered private and confidential. The Community Protection Act authorized the release of information to the public about offenders who were judged to be “high-risk” to re-offend.
The Washington law became the model for similar legislation in several other states and, in 1993, the National Child Protection Act was passed. This federal statute permitted individual states to pass legislation that would allow entities within their own states to access national criminal records through the FBI’s finger-print based repository. States were not required to pass their own laws in this regard, but the opportunity was available to them. Most states did not quickly pass their own statues and, in the absence of such a state law, most private organizations and citizens still did not have access to the FBI’s criminal records.
It wasn’t until the Congress passed the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act (42 U.S.C. 14071) that all states established sex offender registries. The Jacob Wetterling Act required all states to create registration for violent sexual offenders and offenders who are convicted of sexual crimes against children. All states were given until September of 1997 to comply with the new Federal requirements or forfeit 10 percent of their federal funds for state and local law enforcement. Today, all fifty states and Washington, D.C. have sex offender registries and the Department of Justice has established a public website which allows every citizen to access information on registered sexual offenders.
Registered Sexual Offenders and Communities of Faith
Now that private citizens and private organizations have access to the information about registered sexual offenders, we have to figure out how best to use the information. Studies on sexual offender recidivism demonstrate that when a sexual offender has a support network, he or she is less likely to re-offend, therefore those who work with offenders are actively seeking environments in which offenders can build healthy pro-social relationships. Communities of faith are often considered to meet the need. How would your parish respond to such an inquiry? What if it is the parent of a child in your school?
Below are three strategies for addressing the situation when a registered sexual offender is already or has asked to be involved in a faith-based community.
Check the record. Depending on who is giving you the information, oral descriptions of the crime(s) may be exaggerated or minimized to suit a particular purpose. Until you have seen the record, you cannot be sure what the conviction was, how many convictions there have been, when crimes were committed or the age and gender of the victim or victims. All of this information is available online for the purpose of community safety. Take the time to check the record for yourself instead of taking someone at their word.
Obtain information about the community supervision officer. Any level of involvement in a faith community should be coordinated with the community supervision officer. If the individual is registered as a sexual offender, the state has assigned a probation or parole officer. Tell the individual that it’s the policy of the parish to work with community supervision on these matters and that you will need to be in contact with the officer directly. In some cases, the community supervision officer may be the one to initiate the contact with you initially, in which case you already have the contact information. Refusal to provide contact information for the community supervision officer is not a good sign and may indicate the individual is not in compliance with registration or community supervision requirements. A registered offender may also have a trained “chaperone” who is willing to attend Mass with the individual. Contact with a chaperone may also prove valuable, but does not replace contact with the community supervision officer.
Find out about the requirements for community supervision. Particularly with respect to a school parent, whether the individual is allowed to be present at school functions may not be left to the school to decide. Many convicted sexual offenders are not permitted to be within a particular distance from a school, much less actively involved. Some registered offenders may not be permitted to be in contact with their own children or contact may require supervised visits. Curfews, restricted travel, limits on internet access, residence restrictions, and prohibitions on contact with children may all be imposed by community supervision. Failure to adhere to the guidelines of supervision may lead to incarceration or re-incarceration. Before spending too much time trying to decide whether a register offender can attend his child’s school play or attend Mass, find out whether any involvement at all would be considered a probation or parole violation. Once you are connected with the community supervision officer, you will be able to plan appropriate strategies for risk avoidance.
Sexual offender registry is a criminal justice strategy designed to protect the public by making information available to parents, other caring adults, and decision-makers in organizations. Clearly, involvement in schools, children’s programs, or any form of service ministry is not advisable for registered sexual offenders. However, many Catholic Dioceses and other religious organizations are beginning to develop protocols for registered offenders to attend Mass with chaperones or under other prescribed conditions. Decisions such as these need careful consideration from a variety of perspectives. Perhaps beginning the conversation while it is still theoretical can help a community make a thoughtful decision when the reality comes to pass.
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