CALIFORNIA
SF Gate
Melody Gutierrez
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Sacramento — The state board that oversees California’s sex offender registration laws wants to thin out and overhaul the registry because they say it has grown too big and does not help law enforcement or the public differentiate between offenders who pose significant risks and those not likely to reoffend.
The California Sex Offender Management Board is recommending to the Legislature that only high-risk offenders, such as kidnappers and sexually violent predators, should be required to register for life. Others could be removed from the registry 10 to 20 years after the offense.
The list of almost 100,000 sex offenders is unwieldy, they said, because California requires all sex offenders, regardless of the type of offense, to register for life.
The result, according to a board report last month, is that the list includes many offenders “who do not necessarily pose a risk to the community,” including almost 900 whose last sex crime was more than 55 years ago.
Some law enforcement officials and lawmakers are supporting the recommendations acknowledging that public opinion is not on their side and risking the dreaded “soft on crime” label that has caused some politicians to avoid lending support.
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