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State Representative Michael Beard
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8872
For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640
NEWS COLUMN
EXAMINING SEX OFFENDER LAWS
Greetings!
As you probably by now know, the Legislature met in a special session yesterday (September 11) to pass a disaster relief bill to deal primarily with the floods in southeast Minnesota. The bill also put up the state’s share of some matching funds related to the aftermath of the 35W bridge collapse. I’m glad we could get this done, especially for the folks whose homes were washed away and who lost their jobs because their business fared no better. I’m very pleased to say the House passed this bill unanimously.
The case of a Level III sex offender registering to live in Prior Lake sparked a larger discussion throughout the community about how to handle the knowledge that a sex offender wants to live amongst us. A lot of attention focused on the notification requirements that flow to nearby residents through local law enforcement and the Department of Corrections (DOC). As it stands, the law requires sex offenders to register their address with the DOC. The DOC then has five days to notify local law enforcement, which then has 14 days to notify residents.
In this case, those timeframes didn’t work. Fortunately, the offender was caught for numerous other crimes and will now live in prison. But the case pointed out a glaring problem with the notification methods. Senator Robling and I are looking into a potential fix that would require an offender to not move in until after a certain time period, perhaps 7 to 10 days, so that the state has time to notify local cops, who then would have time to notify residents. When the laws passed in 1997 and 2002 (before I took office) they left the methods and tactics of notifying residents up to local discretion. Whether or not the state needs to step in and set some sort of standard practice is something else we are looking at.
The issue of residency ordinances also came up. Some cities prohibit offenders from living a certain distance from playgrounds, schools, day care centers, etc. While the city considers the issue, I can offer a perspective on why the state has not adopted such a plan: It would be very bad for suburban communities like ours. Here’s why: The core cities are so densely populated and have so many gathering places for children that offenders would essentially be banned from the cities entirely. Where would they end up? You guessed it – suburbs, where things tend to be more spread out. We don’t want offenders living anywhere near children, but we also don’t want state laws that force them into our neighborhoods.
I also want to point you to an online resource that has shown to be very effective. Run by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the online sex offender database helps track down offenders that have not registered. The site – https://por.state.mn.us – allows the public to view non-registered offenders and give tips that help law enforcement find them. It is effective; our compliance rate is at or near all-time highs.
We dodged a bullet with the sex offender intent on coming to Prior Lake, but it is still clearly an issue that the Legislature needs to look at.
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