Senator Fuschillo Proposes New 3 Point Plan To Track Down Missing Sex Offenders
Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (8th Senate District) today proposed a new 3 point plan to help track down sex offenders that have failed to comply with the Megan’s Law address verification requirements. The plan, which can be implemented by the Governor without legislation, would help law enforcement officials track down these missing sex offenders, while also heightening awareness among members of the media and the general public when a sex offender might be on the loose in their community.
"Convicted sex offenders cannot be allowed to endanger others by dodging Megan’s Law reporting requirements," said Senator Fuschillo. "This is a threat to public safety that needs to be addressed immediately. I call upon the Governor to implement this plan so that dangerous sex predators will not live among us undetected."
"The State created Megan’s Law to make sure that parents knew when a sex offender moved into their neighborhood so that they could protect themselves and their children. Allowing sex offenders to roam our streets unsupervised places the community at great risk. We must implement these reforms to track and locate these missing predators," said Laura Ahearn, Executive Director of Parents For Megan’s Law and the Crime Victims Center.
The plan would:
Establish A New State Police Unit to Track Sex Offenders:
The proposal calls for a new investigative unit, the NYSAFE (New York Sex Offender Apprehension and Felony Enforcement) Office, within the State Police that would be focused solely on tracking the location of registered sex offenders; verifying residency compliance; and notifying the public when a sex offender’s whereabouts can no longer be determined.
Create New "Missing Sex Offender" Website:
A new "Missing Sex Offender" website would be created to help track down level 2 or 3 sex offenders who have gone missing. The website would contain information about the missing offender, and would be displayed until the offender is located and complying with the law. It would be similar to New York’s "100 Most Wanted" website, which helps capture dangerous fugitive felons in New York State by posting information such as their name, picture and the crime they committed.
Create the PREDATOR Alert System (PREDATOR - Protect, Deter, Alert, Track, and Report System):
The plan also calls for a new State PREDATOR Alert System that would immediately notify local law enforcement agencies and the media of registered level 2 and level 3 sex offenders who have gone missing. This would be similar to the existing Amber Alert system, which sends out information about missing children.
Making this information available to the public would make it much easier to track down a missing sex offender.
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