Garcia's plan to track sex offenders so far is the best one out there

The Desert Sun
February 2, 2006

The old saying "Something is better than nothing" certainly applies to Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia's bill creating special enforcement teams that would visit sex offenders at their homes. While state Democrats and Republicans can't seem to agree on a plan to track more than 17,500 missing sex offenders, Garcia's bill appears to be the best proposal lawmakers now have to address this problem.

The Cathedral City Republican's bill would spend $15 million to establish Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement teams statewide. She proposes competitive grants of up to $1.6 million for regional teams. They would collect DNA samples and update pictures of offenders while making sure they are living at their registered address and not violating terms of their release. Call it a parole program on steroids. Such teams already exist in four counties, including Los Angeles and San Diego.

The bill comes as Democratic lawmakers last year blocked passage of a state "Jessica's Law," which would have required Global Positioning System monitoring of all sex offenders not in jail or prison, strengthened sex offender penalties and increased the zones where sex offenders cannot live within 2,000 feet of schools and parks.

Democrats said Jessica's Law was expensive to implement and so broad that it invaded privacy. Gov. Schwarzenegger and Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Palm Desert, now are working to place the plan before voters as a proposition in the November election.

Tracking system needed
A problem certainly exists in tracking the state's 100,000 convicted offenders. Of those, 63,000 offenders must list on the state's Megan's Law Web site either their address or the ZIP code where they reside.

Yet the actual locations of more than 1 in 4 of those who should be on the Web site were unknown in early 2005, Garcia's office reports.

Last summer's case of Joseph Duncan, who was arrested in August for kidnapping two Idaho children then killing one of them after bludgeoning their parents, certainly brings home the serious threat of repeat sex offenders. Duncan was linked to the abduction and death several years before of 10-year-old Anthony Martinez, whose body was found in Indio.

An effective plan to keep convicted sex offenders from re-offending is needed, and Garcia's bill offers a partial solution through tracking. It is a more direct approach than what is now on the books - the state follows the offender rather than society waiting for the offender to tell where he is.

Support for Garcia's bill exists
Garcia's bill marks a good way to cut through the political rhetoric and posturing. Indeed, late last week Republican lawmakers in the Assembly stalled the Democrats' alternative to Jessica's Law. That plan would have spent $15 million on SAFE teams, increased penalties for some offenses against children, created treatment programs and required a few high-risk sex offenders to wear GPS monitors.

Republicans said it was a soft version of Jessica's Law that wouldn't go far enough. Democrats on Tuesday were able to get the bill sent to the Senate, but it faces an uncertain future there.

If the Legislature can't pass Jessica's Law or the Democrats' alternative, certainly Garcia's bill shouldn't languish. Indeed, there is support for it. Among the bill's second co-authors is a Democrat. Meanwhile, the governor included $6 million in this year's budget to create three regional SAFE teams. Some Democrats say more money is needed for SAFE teams, however; indeed, the Democrats' plan blocked last week set aside $15 million, which is Garcia's amount of spending.

Regardless if Jessica's Law makes the November ballot, something needs to be done now to start keeping track of offenders. Short of lawmakers compromising on a bill that includes dollars for SAFE teams, they ought to pass Garcia's proposal.

THE ISSUE: Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, proposes spending $15 million on special teams that would track released sex offenders.

WE SUGGEST: Short of a stronger law to keep sex offenders from recommitting their crimes once released, lawmakers should pass Garcia’s bill.

GO ONLINE
Read Garcia's sex offender bill and follow it through the state Legislature: Read Garcia’s sex offender bill
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/port-postquery?bill_number=ab_784&sess=CUR&house=B&author=garcia

SEX OFFENDER NUMBERS
*63,000 - Sex offenders in California required to register with law enforcement

*33,500 - Offenders in California required to provide their full address to law enforcement

*30,500 - Offenders listed on the state Megan's Law site solely by the ZIP code in which they are residing

*22,000 - Offenders whose addresses are not listed on the state's public list but who law enforcement knows addresses of

*17,500 - Offenders whose whereabouts are unknown

SOURCES: Office of the Attorney General; Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia's office

Copyright © 2006 The Desert Sun