Jessica's Law initiative is misguided public policy

Apparently Fourth District county Supervisor Gary Ovitt wants to enter a national contest and make San Bernardino County the county with the toughest sexual offender regulations. ("S.B. preps for Jessica's Law," Daily Bulletin, April 21.) Along with others supporting and funding the Jessica's Law initiative, he is feeding the public misinformation.

Two aspects of the initiative are so seriously flawed that passage of the initiative will make California counties less safe from sexual predators. Yet, Supervisor Ovitt and other supporters pouring money into the initiative are unwilling to look at the research. In California, an initiative must be voted on in its entirety. We cannot choose to accept some portions and reject others. Unfortunately, the residency restrictions and GPS monitoring components of this legislation are without merit in terms of efficacy and have already proved counterproductive to community safety in other states. Moreover, they confuse important facts regarding child sexual abuse. [...]

A Department of Justice study of 73,000 incarcerated sex offenders found that fewer than 7 percent of them molested a child who was unknown to them. The simple truth is that GPS will not protect the vast majority of children who are molested in their own homes or the offender's home. Furthermore, the prohibitive cost of such a program will take resources away from real protection - both by law enforcement and prevention programs. [...]

The 2,000-foot exclusion zones around parks, playgrounds, schools, etc., may make us feel safer but really have the opposite effect. When Iowa recently enacted such legislation, large numbers of registered offenders simply disappeared. Others became homeless, living in cars, at truck stops, in cheap motels or concentrating in rural areas.

source: Column 'Jessica's Law initiative is misguided public policy' by By Niki Delson (chairwoman of the Education Committee for the California Coalition on Sexual Offending, based in Stockton); www.dailybulletin.com/opinions/ci_3766652; DailyBulletin.com; 2006