Ontario Sex Offender Registry and GPS

Tim Hudak, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, intends to, if elected, put gps devices on each of the 14,000 individuals currently on the Ontario sex offender registry and publish information about them online.

Why do Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, the Toronto Police Sex Offender Registry Enforcement Unit, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime and the Minister of Community Safety and Corrections NOT support Mr. Hudak's proposed legislation?

MR. HUDAK'S ARGUMENT FOR LEGISLATIVE CHANGE:

Mr. Hudak refers to indviduals on the registry as 'predators' and insists that the use of GPS and the online registry will improve community safety. Parry Sound-Muskoka Progressive Conservative candidate Norm Miller  has stated that 'the recidivism rate for sex offenders is 90 per cent' and that this legislation will serve as a deterrent and is 'going to prevent crime.' These statements are patently untrue. Mr. Hudak and Mr. Miller are either intentionally lying to the electorate or are willfully ignorant of the facts; either scenario is unacceptable for our elected representatives.

ARE INDIVIDUALS ON THE REGISTRY A CONTINUING THREAT?

Contrary to popular belief, former sex offenders are significantly less likely than other criminals to reoffend. Of those few former sex offenders who do recidivate, the majority are convicted of non-sexual offenses. The idea that sex offenders can’t be treated, or often commit further sex offenses, is a common myth. Mr. Hudak's proposed legilation reinforces these myths.

"... if we are to believe even half of the research that has been conducted across this nation in this field, then we can only conclude that, in general, sex offender registration… have little or no discernible effect on recidivism or public safety. The most prevalent threat to the public comes from those who have not yet offended or have not yet been identified and caught."

- Report of Iowa Sex Offender Research Council to the Iowa General Assembly, 2009     

"Most sexual offenders do not re-offend sexually over time. This may be the most important finding of this study as this finding is contrary to some strongly held beliefs. After 15 years, 73% of sexual offenders had not been charged with, or convicted of, another sexual offence.The decreasing rate of offending with age suggests that the rates observed after 15 to 20 years are likely to approximate the rates that would be observed if offenders were followed for the rest of their lives."

http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/cor/rep/2004-03-se-off-eng.aspx

WILL THIS LEGISLATION IMPROVE COMMUNITY SAFETY OR JEOPARDIZE IT?

• Most sex crimes are the work of first-time offenders, against who registries, and GPS offer no protection.

• Registries are designed to deal with situations where the victim does not know the offender, e.g. child abductions. However, such abductions are extremely rare. The Conservatives are enhancing the stereotype of sexual predators lurking in the bushes by the playground (Hudak: “If a convicted sex offender or child predator steps foot on a playground or near a school, I want the police to know").  In fact, the overwhelming majority of perpetrators of sexual crimes are family members or other acquaintances of victims. Since offences most often occur in the home, gps and online registries will not be an effective deterrent.

• Canadian registries currrently enjoy a 97% compliance rate, one of the highest in North America. Online registries in the United States however, have resulted in the murder of former offenders and a substantial reduction in compliance rates as offenders fail to register in an attempt to avoid physical assault and the constant harassment faced by themselves and their families.

• Failing to reintegrate former offenders back into the community has been proven to increase recidivism rates.

"Although many states are now reporting the use of GPS technology to monitor sex offenders, there are still very few evaluations of their usefulness in providing public safety and lowering of recidivism rates. There seems to be some anecdotal sentiment that is supportive of the usage of GPS monitoring, but very little statistical data to support its effectiveness in preventing re-offense.

- California State Sex Offender Management Board, 2010

“If you disclose where these individuals are living in the community, it is not unusual that they become harassed and that may cause them to move underground, so we would not be able to have any control of these guys.”  [Hudak's proposed legislation] is “not appropriate” for the sex offender registry. “Some of these people may have committed one act and they will never re-offend again.’

            - Sgt. Crone, head of the Toronto Police Sex Offender Registry Enforcement Unit.

EXPERTS ARE AWARE OF THE THREAT THIS LEGISLATION REPRESENTS

Experts are aware  of the facts provided above; which is why they oppose Mr. Hudak's proposed legislation. Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, the Toronto Police Sex Offender Registry Enforcement Unit, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime and the Minister of Community Safety and Corrections are just a few of the individuals and organizations that do NOT support Mr. Hudak's proposed legislation.

This proposed legislation is neither a deterrent nor a means to ensure sommunity safety. In fact, this legislation is not merely a blatant means to achieve political ambitions, it's a threat to the security of the community. Please take a moment to look at this information provided to you on the left. Individuals who sincerely wish to enhance community safety must begin by looking at the empirical research that some politicians would prefer to ignore.