Limits on sex-offender list criticized
Minnesota posts less information online about offenders than neighboring states.
Pat Doyle, Star Tribune
Last update: February 11, 2006 – 1:04 AM
When Ron Hunter learned that five sex offenders from Iowa were living in his southern Minnesota city, he wondered if ex-convicts were flocking to the state to avoid detection and supervision.
But there was another explanation:
It's easier for Minnesotans to find information about sex offenders from other states than it is to locate released Minnesota sex offenders.
Iowa, Wisconsin and North Dakota post the names and locations of more than 10,000 sex offenders on their state websites. Minnesota discloses about 100 online.
For thousands of less dangerous Minnesota offenders, notification is limited to victims, witnesses, local police and sometimes schools and day cares. There is no broad public notification.
Minnesota officials say their policy provides the most pertinent information, but Hunter and others say broader online disclosure would provide a better picture of potential threats.
"You wonder how many are flying under the radar," said Hunter, a radio commentator in Albert Lea whose on-air complaints about the Minnesota policy have recently fostered discussion there.
As states increasingly make government services and information accessible over the Internet, what to post and how to do it are creating a public policy debate.
State law enforcement officials are scheduled to meet with local authorities on the issue this month at a high school in Albert Lea. State Rep. Dan Dorman, R-Albert Lea, said he favors having Minnesota's sex- offender web policy reconsidered during the legislative session beginning March 1.
State defends limits
Iowa and North Dakota not only disclose many more sex offender names but are preparing to overhaul their websites so viewers can type in an address and see a map pinpointing offenders living nearby. Minnesota has announced no such plans.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections defends the state's restrictive approach, saying the state posts only ex-convicts deemed most likely to reoffend. Posting thousands of people without regard to the seriousness of their crimes or risk of reoffending would overwhelm the public and obscure serious offenders, they argue.
Minnesota uses a statistical method to identify people mostly likely to commit additional sex crimes -- called Level 3 offenders -- and puts their names, photos, city and street names on a site run by the state Department of Corrections. The method is similar to that used by insurance companies to determine which drivers pose the greatest risks.
Sex offenders under age 30 with multiple convictions and victims and a history of chemical dependency and use of force are among those considered more likely to reoffend. The state hasn't studied the effectiveness of its method but says Level 3 sex offenders have about a 9 percent recidivism rate, compared with 4 percent and 3 percent for lower-level offenders.
Other states post thousands
Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have online sex-offender postings, but policies on identification vary widely. According to Familywatchdog.us, a private online registry that compiles data from states, only Rhode Island appears to have a more restrictive posting policy than Minnesota.
Iowa had a policy more like Minnesota's a few years ago but concluded that predicting behavior was difficult and time-consuming, said Gordon Miller, a spokesman for that state's sex-offender registry. Iowa started posting nearly all sex offenders after deciding, he said, that "maybe our best bet is just to let the public ... decide how to use that information."
Iowa posted roughly 5,500 released sex offenders on its site in early February. The policy is so inclusive that a man convicted of burglarizing an unoccupied home was posted on the Iowa site because he was seen earlier looking through a window at a woman who lived there, Miller said.
Wisconsin has about 11,100 on its site.
"The law in Wisconsin is quite strict and has many sex offenses that require registration and all registrants, minus juveniles ... are for publication on Wisconsin's website," said Grace Roberts, supervisor of the state's sex-offender registry.
Minnesota has roughly 17,300 registered sex offenders, according to a state spokesperson. About 100 are posted on the state website at any given time.
"If we have thousands of people on the website, how do the citizens in the neighborhood identify those that they really need to be concerned about and those that don't present a particular risk?" asked William Donnay, director of risk assessment for the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
He said treatment professionals have argued that identifying lower-level criminals only makes it harder for them to integrate in society and avoid committing another crime.
And he said it would be more expensive to update the accuracy of addresses and other information for thousands of released offenders.
"Is the investment worth the outcome?" he asked. "That's a question for the Legislature to decide."
Former state Sen. Dave Kleis, a St. Cloud Republican, pushed for posting all sex offenders when plans for the website were being discussed. "The department and the Legislature weren't willing to go that far," said Kleis, now mayor of St. Cloud. "What it got down to in the compromise was Level 3 sex offenders."
Hunter learned of the Iowa sex offenders from Familywatchdog.us, which provides a mapping function similar to what Iowa and North Dakota plan to offer. Though Familywatchdog doesn't post a comprehensive list of offenders, it identified 172 living in Minnesota who are registered in other states.
Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210
Minnesota posts less information online about offenders than neighboring states.
Pat Doyle, Star Tribune
Last update: February 11, 2006 – 1:04 AM
When Ron Hunter learned that five sex offenders from Iowa were living in his southern Minnesota city, he wondered if ex-convicts were flocking to the state to avoid detection and supervision.
But there was another explanation:
It's easier for Minnesotans to find information about sex offenders from other states than it is to locate released Minnesota sex offenders.
Iowa, Wisconsin and North Dakota post the names and locations of more than 10,000 sex offenders on their state websites. Minnesota discloses about 100 online.
For thousands of less dangerous Minnesota offenders, notification is limited to victims, witnesses, local police and sometimes schools and day cares. There is no broad public notification.
Minnesota officials say their policy provides the most pertinent information, but Hunter and others say broader online disclosure would provide a better picture of potential threats.
"You wonder how many are flying under the radar," said Hunter, a radio commentator in Albert Lea whose on-air complaints about the Minnesota policy have recently fostered discussion there.
As states increasingly make government services and information accessible over the Internet, what to post and how to do it are creating a public policy debate.
State law enforcement officials are scheduled to meet with local authorities on the issue this month at a high school in Albert Lea. State Rep. Dan Dorman, R-Albert Lea, said he favors having Minnesota's sex- offender web policy reconsidered during the legislative session beginning March 1.
State defends limits
Iowa and North Dakota not only disclose many more sex offender names but are preparing to overhaul their websites so viewers can type in an address and see a map pinpointing offenders living nearby. Minnesota has announced no such plans.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections defends the state's restrictive approach, saying the state posts only ex-convicts deemed most likely to reoffend. Posting thousands of people without regard to the seriousness of their crimes or risk of reoffending would overwhelm the public and obscure serious offenders, they argue.
Minnesota uses a statistical method to identify people mostly likely to commit additional sex crimes -- called Level 3 offenders -- and puts their names, photos, city and street names on a site run by the state Department of Corrections. The method is similar to that used by insurance companies to determine which drivers pose the greatest risks.
Sex offenders under age 30 with multiple convictions and victims and a history of chemical dependency and use of force are among those considered more likely to reoffend. The state hasn't studied the effectiveness of its method but says Level 3 sex offenders have about a 9 percent recidivism rate, compared with 4 percent and 3 percent for lower-level offenders.
Other states post thousands
Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have online sex-offender postings, but policies on identification vary widely. According to Familywatchdog.us, a private online registry that compiles data from states, only Rhode Island appears to have a more restrictive posting policy than Minnesota.
Iowa had a policy more like Minnesota's a few years ago but concluded that predicting behavior was difficult and time-consuming, said Gordon Miller, a spokesman for that state's sex-offender registry. Iowa started posting nearly all sex offenders after deciding, he said, that "maybe our best bet is just to let the public ... decide how to use that information."
Iowa posted roughly 5,500 released sex offenders on its site in early February. The policy is so inclusive that a man convicted of burglarizing an unoccupied home was posted on the Iowa site because he was seen earlier looking through a window at a woman who lived there, Miller said.
Wisconsin has about 11,100 on its site.
"The law in Wisconsin is quite strict and has many sex offenses that require registration and all registrants, minus juveniles ... are for publication on Wisconsin's website," said Grace Roberts, supervisor of the state's sex-offender registry.
Minnesota has roughly 17,300 registered sex offenders, according to a state spokesperson. About 100 are posted on the state website at any given time.
"If we have thousands of people on the website, how do the citizens in the neighborhood identify those that they really need to be concerned about and those that don't present a particular risk?" asked William Donnay, director of risk assessment for the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
He said treatment professionals have argued that identifying lower-level criminals only makes it harder for them to integrate in society and avoid committing another crime.
And he said it would be more expensive to update the accuracy of addresses and other information for thousands of released offenders.
"Is the investment worth the outcome?" he asked. "That's a question for the Legislature to decide."
Former state Sen. Dave Kleis, a St. Cloud Republican, pushed for posting all sex offenders when plans for the website were being discussed. "The department and the Legislature weren't willing to go that far," said Kleis, now mayor of St. Cloud. "What it got down to in the compromise was Level 3 sex offenders."
Hunter learned of the Iowa sex offenders from Familywatchdog.us, which provides a mapping function similar to what Iowa and North Dakota plan to offer. Though Familywatchdog doesn't post a comprehensive list of offenders, it identified 172 living in Minnesota who are registered in other states.
Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210
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