From bad to worse Sex offender law will just drive them underground BY MICHAEL C. EIDENS For The Sunday Gazette
All of us can agree: Nothing is more important than protecting our children. However, the sex offender residency restrictions recently passed by the Schenectady County Legislature will do nothing to increase the safety of our children. The restrictions, which forbid registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of places where children congregate, may be politically popular but are likely to result in greater risk to children and other potential victims in our community. Emotionally reactive legislation based on fear and anger, rather than research and data, is not the answer. Iowa was the first state in the country to establish residency restrictions for sex offenders, but is now looking to repeal their residency restrictions. The number of sex offenders who are unaccounted for in Iowa has doubled since the residency restrictions went into effect. There is no research that proves that residency restrictions work. Our county should have considered the practical implications of passing this legislation. It will effectively force all sex offenders to establish residences outside of the city of Schenectady, Niskayuna, East Glenville and much of Rotterdam. The geographic areas included in the prohibited 2,000-foot zone are so extensive that realistic opportunities to find affordable housing in this county are virtually eliminated. This kind of subject requires careful analysis and discussion in order that we come up with something that is sane, reasonable, enforceable, and really does make our community safer. This is “feel good” legislation, because it makes us feel we are doing something to make our children safer. But it is shortsighted, bad policy, and will make our children more vulnerable. It will give us a false sense of security. Why? We have sex offenders in our community. We know who they are, and where they are. Now, we will drive many of them underground, and then we won’t know who they are, or where they are. Does that make us safer? Of course not. We all want our children to be as safe as possible. So let’s go about doing that in an effective way. Let’s not pander to the media or bow to political pressure by giving ourselves a false sense of security. Sex offenders have always lived in our community, but until recently, we didn’t know where they were living. Now we do. And law enforcement and our county government share that information with the community. This new legislation is likely to make that information inaccurate or not available, which does threaten community safety. DANGEROUS POLICY Chasing sex offenders from location to location is dangerous for many reasons. It decreases our ability to track them and treat them. It increases the potential for vigilantism. It will severely impact law enforcement’s ability to track the offender. It will make it vastly more difficult for effective community notification. It is likely to lead to many sex offenders changing locations frequently. And it is likely to lead to sex offenders being more willing to hide and fail to register. The new law prohibits level 1, 2 and 3 sex offenders from living within a 2,000 foot distance from a school, playground, public park, public swimming pool, youth center or licensed day-care center. If 2,000 feet protects our children, why wouldn’t 2,500 or 3,000 feet protect them even more? My point is that 2,000 feet is arbitrary and can’t stand up to analysis. We need to keep in mind that research shows that as a general matter, in 90 percent of offenses against children, the victim knew the perpetrator. The most frequent location in which sexual abuse occurs is in the victim’s home. The key component to community safety is effective community education and notifi - cation. Clearly, we can’t notify people that a sex offender lives near them if we don’t know where those sex offenders live. A tight web of supervision, treatment and surveillance is more important in promoting community safety than where the sex offender lives. Residency restrictions are bad policy. Research shows that there is no correlation between residency restrictions and reducing sex offenses against children or improving the safety of children. In fact, these restrictions may make our children more vulnerable to sexual predators. We are at increased risk when sex offenders are homeless or at unknown addresses. Some people believe that chasing the sex offender out of town makes the community safer. Whose town do we chase them to? West Glenville? Duanesburg? Princetown? Are there jobs, housing, mental health services and family support in West Glenville? Or do we drive them out of the county? Isn’t a victim in Schoharie, Montgomery, Saratoga or Albany County the same as a victim in Schenectady County? Our position should be simply — no more victims — anywhere. ONE-UP APPROACH Some argue that because Albany and Saratoga counties have adopted residency restrictions, we must also, or else their sex offenders will come to live in Schenectady County. If that argument seems persuasive, then let’s take it a step further. With our 2,000-foot restriction applicable to all sex offenders, our legislation is more restrictive than Albany’s and Saratoga’s. Following this rationale, since those counties won’t want our sex offenders moving there, they can adopt a 3,000-foot restriction. We can follow with a 4,000-foot restriction. As each county tries to one-up the other, we end up with each county trying to be tougher than the other, until of course no sex offender can legally live anywhere. Will that make any of us safer? Of course not. It will force many sex offenders to go underground, where no one will know where they are or where they live. If every county in New York state makes bad policy, it is still bad policy. The answer lies at the state level, and New York has dropped the ball. Let’s start by recognizing that not all sex offenders are the same. We should be exploring the feasibility of designated halfway houses with shared living arrangements, strict supervision and monitoring with GPS, educating the community about protecting our children, stronger monitoring for Level 2’s and 3’s, and sex offender treatment. I voted against this new legislation because it is bad policy. Our efforts would be better spent joining with other counties, pooling our resources and efforts, and demanding that there be an effective statewide solution to the problem.
County’s sex offender law misguided, and probably illegal
The New York Civil Liberties Union is gravely concerned about the residency restricts on ex-sex offenders adopted by the Schenectady County Legislature. These laws, which virtually ban ex-offenders from living anywhere in the county and which require relocation of individuals who have made homes for themselves in the county, are ill-conceived, Draconian and irresponsible. Residency restrictions have been shown to make communities less safe because they tend to drive ex-offenders underground and away from the support networks and law-enforcement monitoring that have been shown to be successful deterrents to recidivism. New York already has comprehensive legislation that ensures public safety. Megan’s Law establishes a law-enforcement tracking system. For Level 3 and Level 2 ex-offenders, the state requires a 1,000-foot residency separation from day-care facilities, schools and other places where children congregate, and it has established post-incarceration civil confinement for the most dangerous ex-offenders. The Schenectady legislation will not hold up in court. Our laws cannot force people to leave their homes and families merely because of a perceived threat that does not exist. Complex problems require complex solutions. The residency legislation is not a realistic or effective means for making sure the community is safe from predators. It is political pandering at its worst and the Schenectady County legislators who voted in favor of these laws ought to be ashamed of themselves. MELANIE TRIMBLE Albany The writer is executive director for the NYCLU Capital
Across the hall, a sex offender Albany County lawmaker says welfare authorities placed children at motels where registered violators reside
By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer First published: Tuesday, July 3, 2007
COLONIE -- An Albany County lawmaker called on welfare authorities Monday to immediately stop housing families with children in Central Avenue motels where registered sex offenders live. Legislator Christine Benedict said conditions are deplorable at three of the motels that she looked into, and town records show numerous building code violations along with police calls for crimes ranging from assault to patronizing prostitutes.
"Despite previous denials, Albany County has provided housing for sex offenders in the same building and in the same area that it provided housing for homeless families and children," Benedict said at an afternoon news conference outside the Skylane Motel. "They all were placed there with public monies."
For a time, the Skylane "was home to both convicted sex offenders and families with children," said Benedict, whose 28th Legislative District encompasses the stretch of Central Avenue in which three motels are separated by a trailer park.
Acting on complaints from constituents, the Legislature's Republican minority leader began her own investigation this year of four motels in the 1900 block of Central Avenue, just west of Route 155.
At issue are the Skylane, Best Value Inn, Blubell Motor Inn and the Tompkins Motel. The Tompkins is across Central Avenue from the other three and not used much by the county Department of Social Services.
Benedict's and several others' homes are close to the motels, and some residents' backyards butt up against the back lots of the motels. Parents are afraid to let their children play outside, the legislator said.
She said she believes that after she began poking around, families that may have been living at the Skylane, which is where sex offenders are placed, were quickly removed. Yet the nearby Best Value Inn has families, and so may the other motels, she said.
County Social Services Commissioner Elizabeth Berlin conceded later in the day there are no quick resolutions to the sex offender problem.
"Our agency, like many agencies, is struggling with the issues surrounding sex offenders," Berlin said.
She has been part of a multiagency work group over the past three months to make recommendations on issues dealing with sex offenders living locally. A report was forwarded last week to the County Legislature, and one suggestion is to create a housing task force, Berlin said.
"One of the most difficult issues is where sex offenders live," she said. "Certainly, the Department of Social Services was involved in those conversations, and we will continue to be involved. We have a mandate to house individuals when they are homeless and eligible and that includes individuals with criminal records."
Berlin said there have been past emergency circumstances when families were placed in a motel with sex offenders "as the absolute last resort, and the family was moved out of there as quickly as possible."
A man who identified himself as a resident of the Skylane said he is a registered Level 1 offender, the lowest on the registry. The man said he agreed with Benedict that children should not be housed near sex offenders and he has "seen kids every now and then" at the Skylane, where he has lived off and on. Many of the motel residents are registered levels 2 and 3, he said.
"Parents need to do what parents do, watch their children," he said. "Maybe families with children should not come here. Why would you put the fox in the henhouse? That's the bottom line." The man said he didn't commit any crime but had no choice with the way the criminal justice system works but to plead guilty in Albany County Court in 2003 to having sexual contact with a young teen. He received six months in jail and five years' probation.
Benedict said she obtained information showing that from Jan. 1, 2006, to March of this year, 272 children were placed in the four motels as were 28 sex offenders. The lawmaker said she was subsequently told that the number of children dropped to 96, calling the information contradictory.
"Ms. Benedict did not receive contradictory information," Berlin said. She was given information "above and beyond what she requested," and the 272 figure included a Super 8 Motel on Central Avenue. When Super 8 is eliminated, the number drops to 96, Berlin said.
Skylane is used only for "individuals," Berlin said, and no family has been placed there since October 2006. The Best Value was used in 2006 for children, but not this year, Berlin said.
Joining Benedict was County Comptroller Michael Conners, a Democrat, who was asked to conduct an audit of where families and sex offenders are housed. He said an audit is under way and has been expanded to include all motels in the county used by social services.
A preliminary report by his office showed that Alex Patel, who owns the Skylane Motel, told auditors the county paid him $65,000 in 2006 for the Skylane Motel. From January through March of this year, Patel was paid $10,000 for use of the Skylane.
Patel, who also owns the Blubell Motor Inn, could not be reached Monday despite repeated attempts.
Benedict suggested the county develop a housing policy that bars homeless families from being placed on the same property as convicted sex offenders and mandates that sex offenders cannot be placed within 500 feet of a residential zoning district.
Months ago, she introduced a resolution in the County Legislature calling for a sex offender management plan. The measure was sent to committee, where it remains.
Last year, the County Legislature passed a local law restricting Level 2 and 3 sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools.
Within the last month, the Schenectady County Legislature passed a more restrictive law that would force sex offenders at every level to leave their homes starting Oct. 1 if they live within 2,000 feet of public parks, pools and playgrounds, schools, day care and youth facilities. Another law says offenders cannot move within 2,000 feet of such areas.
Benedict is concerned that the new Schenectady County law "could push sex offenders into Albany County."
At the Best Value Inn, owner Carlos Barrera was on vacation. His daughter, Rita Brink, said there are no sex offenders living in her motel. "If we know, we don't accept them here," she said.
She said the South Colonie Central School District sends fliers to inform residents about sex offenders in the neighborhood. Brink expressed sympathy for her residents. "People are down and out, and they need to come to motels to live and they need to be safe."
Legislator Shawn Morse, a Cohoes Democrat and one of the sponsors of the law restricting sex offenders, said, "It's really a twofold issue. On one level of county government, we have strived to protect our children from sex offenders with the law that prohibits them from living within 1,000 feet of schools, and the other level of government is allowing sex offenders and children to be placed in the same building.
"I'm very disturbed to think that people who have struggles -- our poorest people -- are forced to live in hotels that are deplorable," Morse said.
Through Freedom of Information requests, Benedict obtained records from the town of Colonie that showed code violations she called "most disturbing:" exposed electrical wiring, bug infestation, sewage on site, feces on floors, no updated fire alarms and mold in bathrooms.
"We don't have the right to go in there and close them down," she said. "But we do have the right if they don't bring them up to code."
DeMare can be reached at 454-5431 or by e-mail at cdemare@timesunion.com.
ALBANY No loophole in sex crime registry All convicted offenders subject to registration laws BY MICHAEL GORMLEY The Associated Press
New York’s highest court on Monday rejected a sex offender’s attempt to avoid being placed on a public state registry, a ruling that will keep some sex offenders from trying to avoid publicity in the communities where they live. The Court of Appeals decision comes after a convicted sex offender, Todd North of Jamestown, argued that he committed his crime before the applicable state law was adopted and that the federal charge he was convicted of didn’t equal the state charge upon which mandatory registration is based. He argued those loopholes exempted him from registering under the state’s version of Megan’s Law. North pleaded guilty in federal court in 2004 to possession of child pornography for downloading computer images depicting children aged 7 to 17 years old in sex acts, according to the court decision. Federal agents seized his home computer in 2002. North was sentenced to five years’ probation. The state Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders decided North needed to register under Megan’s Law even though he was convicted of a federal charge. The court agreed, ruling that even though the federal charge was different from the state sex charge, the crimes shared “essential elements.” Federal law makes a crime of possessing pornography involving children under 18 years old, while the state law covers children under 16 years old. North also claimed that he fell within a ‘loophole’ because he committed his offense before the effective date of the 2002 state law, according to court records. Citing bill memos by the governor and Legislature at the time the law changed, the Court of Appeals found the measure was a “clarifi cation” of existing law, not a new law, and so North was subject to it. Monday’s ruling means any sex offender convicted outside New York, or at the federal level, of a crime that is essentially the same as New York’s sex offender statutes is subject to registration laws. There is no estimate of the number of sex offenders who would be affected by the ruling. Megan’s Law requires most sex offenders to register their address and any changes of address after they serve their sentences. This can allow local police and schools to inform residents about the sex offender. The most seriously charged sex offenders also are posted on a state Web site (http:// criminaljustice.state.ny.us/). More than 24,000 sex offenders are registered with the state.
By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer Saturday, July 7, 2007
A convicted child molester who skipped out on his parole last year will arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport Sunday morning under armed escort from India where he was arrested in May, a state Division of Parole spokeswoman said Saturday.
Alan Horowitz, 60, will be extradited from New Jersey under a New York arrest warrant issued after he ducked out of the U.S. after meeting with his parole officer on June 7, 2006.
"We're getting him back," said Carole Weaver, the division spokeswoman.
Horowitz was out on parole for his 1991 conviction for first-degree sodomy after he pleaded guilty to an incident involving a 9-year-old boy.
Horowitz, a former adolescent psychiatrist, served more than 13 years of his 10-to-20-year sentence before he was released on parole in 2004. He was in contact with state officials, saying he was living in an apartment complex in Israel. He said he would never return to the U.S. He then fled to India where he was arrested. U.S. marshals are escorting him back from India.
Horowitz will appear in a New Jersey court the week of July 16 for an extradition hearing, Weaver said.
He'll then head to Schenectady County, Weaver said, where he will face charges for parole violation. His original sentence for the sodomy conviction runs through June 28, 2011.
Where offenders live does matter BY SUSAN SAVAGE For The Sunday Gazette
Much discussion and misinformation has surrounded legislation recently enacted by the Schenectady County Legislature restricting where sex offenders may live. What has been missing from the discussion are the facts that led the county Legislature to approve this legislation. Over the past two years, many counties throughout the state, including our neighboring counties of Saratoga, Albany and Rensselaer, have adopted legislation prohibiting convicted sex offenders from living near places where children congregate. As a result, Schenectady County has come under increasing pressure to take more and more sex offenders being released from the state prison system. We have been contacted on several occasions to accept between 25 and 50 sex offenders scheduled for release from state prison. Although we have been successful in convincing state authorities that we are not equipped to handle more sexual predators, this situation has become increasingly difficult. Schenectady County has been targeted for two reasons. First, the city of Schenectady has an abundance of low-cost rental properties and a developed public transportation system, factors the state looks for when making placements in communities. Second, with neighboring communities such as Albany and Troy off limits because of residency laws those communities have enacted, Schenectady County has become the next choice. Critics of our proposal have said this legislation will force sex offenders to move into the less densely populated portions of the county. This has not occurred in other counties that have enacted these types of restrictions and it will not happen here. While I agree that a patchwork approach of county after county putting residency restrictions in place is not the best solution, it is the only available solution at this time. A statewide approach to sex offender management and residency restrictions is a preferred approach, but one that does not currently exist. PERIODIC CHECKS Another claim critics of this legislation have made is that it will result in sex offenders failing to register. We will work with law enforcement by performing periodic checks to confirm the location of offenders released into our jurisdiction. Those who fail to register will go back to prison. Some critics, including town supervisors, are asking that we rescind this law and instead put in place programs to provide “treatment and community support” for sex offenders. This will only serve to make Schenectady County an even more attractive placement for convicted sex offenders leaving our prison system. Schenectady County taxpayers would be given more sex offenders to “manage,” and left to pay for these services. There are 208 convicted sex offenders living in Schenectady County. A review of the State Sex Offender registry revealed that of the 115 Level 2 and 3 offenders living in the county, 35 were arrested outside of Schenectady County and another nine were arrested outside of New York state. Eleven of these Level 2 and 3 offenders live in Glenville, Niskayuna or Rotterdam, with the remainder concentrated in the city of Schenectady. Town supervisors who believe that residency legislation will move sex offenders into the towns must understand that sex offenders are already living in their communities. A check of the Department of Criminal Justice Services Web site (http://www.criminaljustice.state. ny.us/nsor/search_index.htm) will be a sobering experience for those who think that sexual predators are, as one caller to our offi ce put it, “simply individuals who made a mistake.” The state sex offender database details unthinkable crimes committed against children as young as 2 years old. I urge every resident who questions this legislation to learn about the sexual predators in this community. What you will find is horrifying and saddening and will certainly lead you to the conclusion that Schenectady County should not be a dumping ground for sex offenders. TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT In the city of Schenectady, 13 convicted sex offenders live within 200 feet of Lincoln Elementary School. Twelve live within two-tenths of a mile of Hamilton Elementary. In Niskayuna, a convicted sex offender lives .08 miles from a day care facility and one-tenth of a mile from another. Sex offenders do not have a constitutional right to live near schools and day care centers. Our children should be able to go to school, a day care or the playground without having sexual predators watching. Finally, our critics have said this legislation was not researched and was not given proper consideration. This is untrue. The county Legislature and our staff reviewed volumes of information and studies — which often contradicted each other — pertaining to this issue. We reviewed similar laws and listened to hundreds of county residents. MANY VOICES We have heard from sex offenders and we have heard from victims of sexual assault and their families. We have heard from parents who live next door to a sex offender and from a person who has brought a sex offender into his home. An overwhelming majority of those we heard from are in favor of this legislation. After much review and debate, the county Legislature approved the local laws not only because we were called upon by county residents whose lives were directly impacted by sex offenders living in their communities, but because we are a legislature made up of parents, grandparents, doctors, lawyers and business owners who work to protect the children and families that live in all of our communities. We recognize that this legislation may not be perfect. But it is the best available option to prevent Schenectady County from becoming a dumping ground for sex offenders that other communities don’t want. We will continue to push the state to address this issue, and we will continue to use all means available to protect children and families in our community.
He'll then head to Schenectady County, Weaver said, where he will face charges for parole violation. His original sentence for the sodomy conviction runs through June 28, 2011.
Who gets to be his neighbor???? I hope the guardians of the the 9year old.....then they could exact their justice......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Please Ms.Savage...this article you had printed is clearly a narrow minded view without thought or consideration of your surrounding neighbors not the mention the ACLU. When this law was put into place, not a one of them met with the leaders of their surrounding communities to see how it would impact them...nor did they care. Just another ploy to get votes for Mr. Kosiur. Believe me people...that is all it was!
Clearly, I am NOT a fan of sexual offenders...but this surely is NOT the answer! I stand by my opinion, 'tracking devices on all of the'...PERIOD!
And I love her statement about how Schenectay will not be a dumping ground for sexual offenders. What the heck is she talking about, the entire city is a dumping ground from crime and violence and prostitution and drugs. (not to mention the corrupt police dept) And these issues are just escalating! Sure, let's move the sex offenders to your surrounding neighbors to protect the kids, but let the drug dealers go from school to school and playground to playground, with guns and make your kids drug addicts, prostitutes and criminals! NONSENSE!
So Ms.Savage, start dealing with the subject matters at hand here.
And when the ACLU starts their engines on this one...we'll see what happens!
THIS WAS JUST FOR VOTES BUILT ON THE PLATFORM OF FEAR. IT'S A LIBERAL THING!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Good point there senders.....Walmart does pride themselves on taking care of the 'underserved'!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I'm sure they are in secret negotiations with Mr.Kosiur right now.......this might include a "minority report" kind of thing for all of us...should their little devices come into our homes via products......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Gee I wonder where Ms.Savage lives! I'll have to look into that one!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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