Yearly Driver's License Renewal for Sex Offenders Bill Debated

[The Straight Story]

Yearly Driver's License Renewal for Sex Offenders Bill Debated

California lawmakers are considering a bill that would require convicted sex offenders to renew driver's licenses annually so that their whereabouts can be tracked.

California authorities do not know the current addresses of more than 17,000 sex offenders, according to the bill's author, Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn, D-Campbell.

Not only does AB 1788 require proof or verification of an offender's current residential address, but it bars offenders from providing post office boxes as their address.

Critics of the legislation say it penalizes law-abiding offenders by requiring license renewals in person as well as a $36 fee each year.

http://www.kxtv.com/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=16572

[Mythsaje]

1. On the surface it isn't a bad idea at all...

But the yearly fee does seem to be something of a Constitutional hitch.

[JHB]

5. It also depends on how "sex offender" is defined for this purpose

In some places, getting caught mooning someone counts as a sex offense (public lewdness).

Why would that rate such close scrutiny, especially years later?

[Mythsaje]

9. I know...I've got issues with that myself.

A lot of people are going to jump up and down in support of it, but I'm not sure they're ever going to look at the big picture.

[Warpy]

6. Right, prorate the fee so they're not paying that much more

because they're complying with public safety, surely we can afford to give the compliant ones a break.

Of course, it'll just encourage rogue males to drive unlicensed, but that's just another way to catch them and encourage them to obey the laws about registration.

Registering these guys is a public safety issue, a way for the police to rule them in or out when a sex crime happens that fits their particular MO down the line. I disagree with the publication of their names and addresses on vigilante lists. It doesn't make anybody safer and discourages compliance.

After all, the guys who register know they have a problem and want to obey the law.

[uncle ray]

11. males, guys?

hey, good thing there are no female sex offenders, huh?

and not having a liscense does not in any way make it easier to catch them, there is no way a cop can tell if a driver is liscensed or not until he actually stops the driver.

if they want to keep track of sex offenders, fine, make them check in yearly, but this proposal does nothing to help. as far as i'm concerned, the only time they should be able to restrict your driving priviledges is for driving related offences. being a sex offender has nothing to do with ones ability to operate a motor vehicle.

[Warpy]

14. Woops, my bad

However, female sex offenders are still so rare they rate front page columns in the papers and round the clock coverage on tabloid cable news shows.

Yes, they are included in that category.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. This makes no sense

If the whereabouts of the sex offenders is unknown, then how will sending them yearly notice to update their licenses make sure they re-register?

Seems the only way this whole weird idea would work would only be when any offender is caught in a routine traffic stop or a vehicle accident, or is naive enough to go to the DMV to renew their license.

Seems like a waste of money to create this when all the offenders have to do is keep driving with expired licenses, keep ignoring any forwarded mail...if they even get forwarded mail...and to avoid detection of being in any neighborhood/town/city by flying below the radar and not being stopped for any traffic reason.

[MadHound]

3. Sorry, but this is absolute nonsense

More piling on of sex offenders, even though they've paid their debt to society, let's penalize them some more. Oh, and while we're at it, we won't discriminate between real rapists, and people who got busted for statuatory rape back when they were seventeen, and their consenting girlfriend who was sixteen.

This is a huge blind spot people, wake up. What is happening here is that a precedent is being set, not just for future sex offenders, but for anybody who is convicted of any crime. This year, it is sex offenders who have to register for a list, and have to renew their license yearly. Next year, it could very well be applied to the guy who got busted for a couple of joints.

[MazeRat7]

4. agreed...

[BushOut06]

8. I agree, it would have more meaning if they cut out the bullshit

If your neighbor's kid peeks over your fence and sees you sunbathing in the nude, suddenly you're a "sex offender". Many of these laws don't make any distinctions between innocuous activities such as this, getting busted at a swinger club, etc and actual sex crimes like rape or child molestation.

[BiggJawn]

7. Why do they need to know where they're at if they're not re-offending?

Are these offenders who are currently on Probation, and if so, isn't there a clause in their Probation agreement to keep their PO aprised of any change of address?

What? they're out of jail, they're off probation, and they've dropped off the face of the Earth?
Given that your Average Joe thinks they should be burned at the stake without the complications of a trial and all that legal "stuff", can you blame them?

Grandstanding. More of this "Look! I'm REALLY tough on CRIME!" bullshit that comes out in an election year.

[The Straight Story]

13. I think it would all make more sense if

They actually (ie judges and prosecutors) made some intelligent distinctions on sex offender.

Those who are truly repeat types and whose crimes were pretty 'bad' (as it were) I could see keeping an eye on - same goes for killers and serial robbers and bush and his whole crew.

The system is broken, deeply. And people will keep buying into such things as this so long as politicians make them feel more safe (sadly).

We don't fix problems, we monitor them.

[JHB]

10. Backdoor tax hike

If there's 17K they can't find, how many are there who they CAN?

Want to raise some revenue? Target some easy-to-scorn group and charge them a "fee".

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. The one day every year they spend in the DMV

is one day they can't molesting children.