Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Off The Streets



Have you ever wondered who lives in your area? I have, like who they are and what there history is. Maybe you want to know the criminal records of your neighbors or if they have one. Basically you just want safety for yourself and your children. I’m talking about sex offenders living in our neighborhoods and nothing we can do about it.

I went to Google.com and I typed in “Sex Offender Search.” Many sites popped up, where you could search states, cities, and streets for register sex offenders. You could even search names on most sites. It all looked very helpful indeed.

My real question is, “Why are there big time sex offenders living in our neighborhoods?” These people molest or rape people and then they go to jail for a few years. After there very short sentence they are released into our towns. This is very unsafe for our children because you never know when they are going to strike again. Released rapists are more than 10 times more likely than other ex-cons to be rearrested for the same crime. Also the suspect is known to the victim in OVER 90% of sex crimes. In other words, the suspect is a parent, relative, caretaker, neighbor, co-worker or significant other. It is estimated that less than 10 percent of all sex crimes result in a criminal conviction.

I read an article on the Internet describing how a man was being released from prison after just 4 years. He kidnapped two young girls and molested one of them. It said the police was warning our community that he was freed and at very HIGH-RISK. What is this going to do, we can protect our children but not nearly enough to know that we are completely 100% safe. After these people serve there sentence, I think they should have to go get some help at an institute of some sort. Also they are more likely to be rearrested again for the same crime so why let them back into our community’s so quickly. What is the rush? I asked classmate Brett Waston what he thought on this important topic and he replied, "I just hope they are not living by me when I have children, hopefully they have a little stricter rules by that time in our lives."

Alaska is number one in the nation for rapes and sexual abuse per year. They have over 4,300 registered sex offenders in the state. So the governor decided to do something about it. He introduced a Senate Bill 218 to protect Alaskans. This bill would increase the sentences for the most horrific sexual felonies to a minimum sentence of 25 years. It will increase the sentences for all sex crimes. The bill keeps sex offenders in prison longer and protects the public better once they are released. They will have zero tolerance for sex offenders. I think this is one very good idea and other states should follow this lead to protect our citizens from sex offenders. These people are very dangerous and could affect your life forever. I hope to see troubling states making an effort to protect the public in the future because I think everyone will appreciate it.

By: Sean Thomforde

1 comment:

Brett Watson said...

this article was very informative! I really love your writing, you are so witty! I just hope no sex offenders live near me someday! Keep up the good work!