State Assembly Minority members today launched a statewide petition drive to force the Assembly Majority to act on civil confinement legislation and other measures to protect New York’s children from dangerous sexual predators.

"Civil confinement of the most dangerous sex offenders is an unfortunate necessity here in New York. Statistics show that most of these sexual predators simply cannot be rehabilitated and are likely to strike again if set free," said Assembly Minority Leader Charles H. Nesbitt (R,C,I-Albion). "We are confident that the groundswell of grass-roots support we gather through this petition drive will compel our Assembly Majority colleagues to finally bring civil confinement and other legislation to protect our children to the Floor of the Assembly for a vote."

Assemblyman Matthew Mirones (R,C,I-Staten Island, Bay Ridge), Ranking Member of the Assembly Mental Health Committee, said, "Over the past few years, I have discussed the need for civil confinement at numerous events both at home and in Albany. In that time, the status of our proposal has not changed, and I shudder to think how many paroled sexual predators have since repeated their crimes. Civil confinement would prevent these criminals from striking again. I urge the Majority to take action before yet another repeat offender claims yet another innocent victim."

Civil confinement would allow the courts to order the worst sex offenders held in a secure facility beyond their prison release date if, upon evaluation, there is significant reason to believe they may strike again. Under current law, sexually violent predators are released into our communities once their sentences are finished despite the fact that there is a strong possibility that they will recommit their heinous crimes.

Included on the Assembly Minority petition are also proposals to strengthen New York’s Megan’s Law by restricting sex offenders’ access to schools, monitoring sex offenders’ whereabouts through Global Positioning System satellites, providing more information about sexual predators to communities and requiring lifetime registration of offenders on the New York State Sex Offender Registry.

Assemblyman David G. McDonough (R,C,I-Merrick), Vice Chairman of the S.A.V.E.-NY Assembly Minority Task Force on Sex Crimes Against Children and Women, said, "It is the responsibility of government to ensure the safety of all of its citizens, and this legislation would provide parents and law enforcement with the tools they need to accomplish that. Preventing sexual predators from living near places where children learn and play is just plain commonsense, and so are our other proposals that would give communities more information about sex offenders and keep track of their whereabouts."

In the absence of stronger statewide laws to protect children from convicted sex offenders, numerous localities have had to take matters into their own hands. Over the past few weeks, media all over New York has been inundated with stories of local governments looking for new ways to protect citizens from sex offenders who have been released into their communities.

The City of Binghamton recently enacted a law preventing sex offenders from living or being within one-quarter mile of a school, day care center, playground or park. In Westchester County, satellite tracking devices were recently put into use to monitor freed sex offenders and legislators in Albany County are pushing for use of a similar system. Saratoga County recently appointed a Task Force to more effectively get the word out about sex offenders in the community, after four registered sex offenders were found to be living in a motel near a housing development and a community center.

Assemblyman Roy McDonald (R,C,I-Wilton) said, "Many communities have begun to pass their own legislation to deal with sex offenders, which tells me that we have not done enough on the state level. The problem with counties passing their own measures is twofold. First, we will be left with a confusing patchwork of local laws that do not conform to one another. Second, we run the risk of counties that do not take action being identified as havens for these criminals. We need to pass uniform, statewide legislation so that everyone is on the same page and our women and children are protected to the utmost."

Assemblyman James N. Tedisco (R,C,I-Schenectady, Saratoga) said, "The recidivism rate for sex offenders remains disturbingly high, but even more disturbing is that some of these criminals intentionally seek residences near schools after release for easy access to potential future victims. We have proposed legislation to bar sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare, or other facility frequented by children. It is imperative that action is taken immediately to eliminate even the possibility of this ‘fox-in-the-henhouse’ scenario playing out to tragedy."

"The Saratoga County Sex Offender Task Force is very pleased with the leadership being taken by these state legislators," said Phillip Barrett, Clifton Park Town Supervisor and Chair of the Saratoga County Sex Offender Task Force. "I look forward to working with them to protect our children."

"I was shocked at the recent discovery that a disproportionate amount of the most dangerous sex offenders live in the Hamilton Hill and Vale neighborhoods, as many as 14 in only six tenths of a square mile," said Frederic Lee, Vice President of Schenectady United Neighborhoods and a Hamilton Hill resident. "Many families in my community struggle to make ends meet while worrying about the safety of their children. These new laws would give parents the information they need to protect their children from sexual predators."

Assembly Minority members have been urging a civil confinement law since 1993. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of civil confinement, and a similar bill has repeatedly passed the state Senate with bipartisan support (this year the vote was 58-2). Governor Pataki has also said he will sign the legislation as soon as it reaches his desk. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia currently have civil confinement laws on the books.

Along with civil confinement, Assembly Minority members also propose the following measures to strengthen Megan’s Law:

• Prevent convicted sex offenders from living within 1000 feet of a school or school grounds. (A.1654)
• Require the most dangerous sex offenders to wear electronic devices linked to Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites in order to monitor their whereabouts. (A.8158)
• Expand the information available about sex offenders on the Division of Criminal Justice Services’ website to include information on all registered offenders. (A.1701)
• Require law enforcement to release information on Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders - those at the highest risk of committing additional crimes - to vulnerable populations in the community. (A.1654)
• Require lifetime registration for all sex offenders on the NYS Sex Offender Registry.