Senators Issue Urgent Call To Track New York's Missing Sex Offenders

Senator Bill Larkin (R-C, Cornwall-on-Hudson) and members of the New York State Senate Majority Conference today called on Governor Eliot Spitzer to implement a three-point plan within the next sixty days to help identify the whereabouts of the more than 1,000 convicted sex offenders who have failed to comply with address verification requirements.

Senator Larkin said the plan does not require legislation and could be implemented by the Governor’s order if he so chooses.

"The fact that we do not know the whereabouts of more than 1,000 convicted sex offenders is completely and utterly unacceptable," said Senator Larkin. "None of them should be allowed to just disappear and blend into our local communities and neighborhoods where they pose the highest risk. Our plan will help law enforcement track down these missing sex offenders. These steps need to be taken, and they need to be taken now."

In an effort to more effectively track these dangerous missing sex offenders, members of the Senate Majority have proposed a three-point plan that would: 1. establish a new investigative unit specifically tasked with tracking these criminals; 2. launch a new Missing Sex Offender Website to keep the public informed about sex offenders whose whereabouts are unknown; and 3. create a new "Predator Alert" information sharing system to quickly inform law enforcement, the media, and the public when an offender goes missing.

New York currently has a "100 Most Wanted" website, www.nysmostwanted.com, which contains some of the state’s most dangerous sex offenders. The site has already received more than two million hits and led to the capture of more than 100 violent criminals statewide. It includes the fugitive felons’ names, pictures, county of conviction or location of criminal activity, and the crime committed.

In addition to the proposals announced today, members of the Senate Majority have introduced a number of bills designed to combat the problem of sexual predators.