Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is "Community
Notification" all about?
A. When anindividual who has been convicted of a sex / kidnapping
offense, has been released from a prison, work release, or other secure
facility, the community has a right to know. Washington statutes provide
the opportunity for the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office to give you
the information you need, so that you may make good decisions with regard
to the safety of yourself and those around you. The purpose of the information
contained in this packet is to provide you and your loved ones with
additional strategies for crime prevention and detection. Strategies
you may not have thought about if you were unaware of the background
of this offender, or had no knowledge of his/her release, or place of
residence.
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Q. Why are you only telling me about
this offender and not all of the other people who get out of prison?
A. The Community Protection Act of 1990, only involves those
offenders who have violated the criminal sexual conduct statutes, the
kidnapping statutes, or other statutes with a finding of sexual motivation.
The Washington Department of Corrections (DOC), Indeterminate Sentence
Review Board, Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration and the Department
of Social and Health Services utilize a sex offender screening tool
that was developed by the state of Minnesota. Based on past behaviors
demonstrated by these convicted individuals, this screening tool determines
whether an individual, or group of persons, poses a high risk to the
public when released. This does not necessarily mean that they will
commit a new crime, but that they are part of a group of persons who
are most likely to. A majority of the individuals in this group will
not commit another crime; however, the DOC has determined that some
of these persons have a greater likelihood of future offenses than do
others.
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Q. Doesn't this
mean that it is just a matter of time before the offender commits another
crime?
A. The actuarial risk prediction process, is much like the
process insurance companies use when determining the insurance costs
of a particular driver. If the driver has speeding tickets, they will
pose a greater risk to be in a traffic accident than drivers who have
not; thus, they will pay more for their insurance. When someone gets
enough tickets, they have to buy "risk" insurance because they have
the greatest risk of being involved in an accident. Not all speeders
get into accidents. In fact, most of them will not even have accidents;
it's just that they are statistically more likely to have an accident
than are other drivers.
Similarly, not all offenders with a high score on the
risk test, or even most of them, will commit another crime. They are
just more likely to commit another crime than an offender with a low
score. Individuals who score really high on this screening process
are referred to the county attorney for civil commitment to a state
hospital after they are released from prison.
There is no known way that anyone can accurately predict
the future behavior of another person. The process of screening individuals
in prison places them into risk categories. This doesn't mean that
there is a scientific way to evaluate an offenders past behaviors by
comparing their past behaviors with other individuals who have been
out of prison for awhile. This shows how offenders might act once they
are released.
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Q. Why is this offender moving into my community,
shouldn't he stay in prison?
A.Washington is one of the states that have specific sentence
lengths for each crime. When this offender was sentenced to prison by
the judge, the length of required prison time was previously established
for that offense by the Washington State Legislature, and it applies
to anyone convicted of the same offense. At some point in time, the
offender will have served the sentence required by law and must be released.
Once the sentence is finished, neither the Whatcom County Sheriff's
Office, nor the court has the power to tell the offender where to live
or work
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Q. Don't most of
these offenders get sentenced to long prison terms and just get right
back out again?
A. This is simply not true. Washington sex offenders are sentenced
to more time, and serve more of that time in prison, than in almost
any other state. In Washington, approximately 23% of the prison population
is incarcerated for committing sex crimes. In Washington, sex offenders
must serve at least 80% of their sentence in prison, and then they serve
the remainder of their sentence in the community, in a situation called
"community supervision." They are supervised by a community correction
officer, and are required to report regularly. In addition, they must
fulfill other requirements of the conditions of release, in order to
stay out of prison.
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Q. Don't these offenders just go to prison and
sit around all day?
A. When an offender goes to prison, a number of important activities
are initiated to ensure that the offender gets the kind of controls
and support required. These activities are based on the type of offense
for which they have been convicted and help identify the type of criminal
behavior an offender committed in the past (if any).
Many offenders have problems with chemicals, and many
of those individuals have an opportunity to participate in chemical
dependency treatment. Other offenders are found to be illiterate, and
are offered basic education programs. Those convicted of a sex offense,
or another crime, which is related to a sex offense, will generally
be offered an opportunity to participate in sex offender treatment if
space is available. The SOTP has limited availability and can not support
treatment to every qualifying sex offender.
All inmates must either work or participate in treatment.
They do not sit around all day and do nothing. If they do not participate
in their assigned treatment, they can be forced to do more time in prison.
If they refuse to work, they will be disciplined.
All of these activities are designed to provide offenders,
who want to avoid future problems with the law, an opportunity to learn
the things they need to know in order to stay out of trouble. The most
important reason the offenders are encouraged to participate in these
programs is to reduce the likelihood they will fall into the same patterns
of past behaviors; hopefully, preventing them from committing another
crime and victimizing another person.
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Q. Now that
I know a sex offender lives in my neighborhood, what should I do differently
to protect my family and myself?
A. Open communication between parents and children are vital
components of family safety. In general terms tell your children that
this person has hurt someone before. Explain to them that they should
stay away from this individual. Review safety tips. And be aware of
common lures. Remember that the purpose behind community notification
is to reduce the chances of future victimization of persons by this
offender. The information gained through this notification should assist
you and your family in avoiding situations that allow for easy access
to victims. Don't harass your neighbor. An offender put in a stressful
state is more likely to relapse. Let's help them succeed; we all win
with fewer victims.
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Q. What do I tell my children about this
offender?
A. Avoid scary details. You may know more than your children
need to know. Keep information general, Explain the importance of avoiding
dangerous situations in general, rather than trying to teach them how
to be safe from just the one person you know about. Someone known to
the victim commits over 80% of all sex crimes; family members commit
many of those incidents.
Some basics about this one offender:
DON'T accept a ride from the offender.
DON'T go into the home or yard of the offender.
TELL your parents if this person offers you toys,
money, or gifts.
TRY to use the buddy system when children play
outdoors.
CALL 911 if your parents aren't home and this offender
approaches you.
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Q. What does "risk level" mean?
A. Washington State utilizes a tier designation of three classification
levels based upon science and a multidisciplinary perspective using
objective scoring criteria to determine the offender's potential to
re-offend within the community. Low risk offenders or Level 1 offenders,
are considered least likely to re-offend. Moderate risk offenders or
Level 2 offenders are considered to have a greater likelihood of re-offense.
High risk offenders or Level 3 offenders are considered most likely
to re-offend.
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Q. What information will I get about High-Risk
sex offenders?
A. The State of Washington has strict laws that govern the
information that can be disclosed about registered sex/kidnapping offenders.
In accordance with these laws, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office provides,
name, date of birth, and physical description information along with
address approximations for Level 3 offenders. Physical description
information includes race, sex, height, weight, hair color and eye color.
Conviction information includes the crime, date, and location of conviction.
Victim information is limited to the number of victims, their ages,
sex, and whether they were related or not related to the offender.
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Q. Should I be overly concerned about level
3 offenders?
A. While you should be concerned about level 3 offenders, keep
in mind that only a very small percentage of offenders are classified
as level 3. In fact, many areas of Whatcom County have few, if any
registered level 3 offenders. There are approximately 28 level 3 offenders
in Whatcom County. The total population of Whatcom County is over 170,000.
Level 3 offenders represent less than 1% of our total population.
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Q. Is there a way to find out who are the
most dangerous offenders in our area?
A. Yes. If you live within an incorporated city you can contact
your local police department for additional information. If you live
in the unincorporated county you can contact the Sheriff's Office for
information regarding offenders living in the unincoproprated Whatcom
County.
The general public is welcome to view the list of all registered sex/kidnap
offenders living in Whatcom County. Only the level 2 and level 3 offenders
will be listed with addresses. The Sheriff's Office also maintains
copies of the sex/kidnap offender community notices that were distributed
by this office for public viewing. Please make your requests with the
Records Division.
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Q. Are you going to tell us if the offender
moves out of this neighborhood, so we don't have to worry anymore?
A. No. The information shared about sex offenders is basic
safety information that we should all be aware of. There are many sex
offenders in Washington, as well as in every other state and just across
our borders in Canada. It would serve no purpose to have people relax,
or not follow safety measures because the sex offender they knew about
moved from the neighborhood. Sex offenders, like anyone else, establish
friendships and business relationships in the area where they are living.
There is no reason to believe they would give up these relationships
just because they have moved to another part of town or county.
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Q. Why are sex offenders allowed to live
near schools?
A. Currently there are no laws governing where a sex offender
can or can not live. The exception to this is only when there is a
court order in existence that places restrictions on the offender.
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Q. Is there anyone I can talk to about other
sex/kidnap offender questions?
A. Every Police Department in Whatcom County has an officer
assigned to their sex/kidnap offender program. You may call your local
Police Department for additional information. Citizens living in the
unincorporated county may call the Sheriff's Office and ask for the
detective coordinating the sex/kidnap offender program (360) 676-6650.
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Q. Why are lists of all registered sex offenders
posted on web pages in many states and not here in Whatcom County?
A. Federal legislation set certain mandates for all states
concerning the registration of sex offenders. Most states were affected
differently by this legislation. Many of the states already had some
form of a registration program in place. Many states also had some
form of public disclosure mechanism, which is associated to an offender's
probability of re-offending.
The Washington State Supreme Court has held that public disclosure
of offenders must be geographically based to the community in which
the notification occurs. Prior to the year 2001, posting sex offenders
on the Internet would not satisfy the court's interpretation of being
geographically based since dissemination would be available to anyone
outside of the geographical area of the offender. The content and scope
of dissemination is restricted by the standards set forth by the legislature
and interpreted by the Washington State Supreme Court in State v. Ward,
123 Wn. 2d 488, (1994).
The Washington State legislature modified our sex offender laws in
1997 to be in compliance with the latest federal legislation. During
2001, the Washington State Legislature mandated every sheriff's office
in the state to publish on their web sites all level 3 sex/kidnap offenders
registered in their counties. Some cities and counties in this state
have chosen to release information on other sex/kidnap offenders living
in their perspective jurisdictions. The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office
believes this to be contrary to state law.
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Q. What are Sentencing Alternatives?
In Washington State, adult felons are sentenced within standard sentencing
guidelines. This standardized sentencing system went into effect in
1984. Various sentencing options are available to the court for sex
offenders:
- Jail or prison terms within state sentencing guidelines.
- Exceptional sentence (higher or lower than the sentencing guidelines).
- SSOSA (Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative), a suspended
sentence requiring outpatient treatment that is paid by the offender.
Under state law, most persons under age 18 charged with a crime fall
under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and may be held in an institutional
program up to the age of 21 (some juveniles who are 16 and 17 are
prosecuted as adults if they are charged with certain offenses –
RCW 13.04.030)
SSODA (Special Sex Offender Disposition Alternative), a suspended
sentence requiring outpatient treatment that is funded by government
programs.
Juvenile offenders sentenced to more than 30 days are committed to
the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration (JRA) within the Department
of Social and Health Services. Juvenile offenders sentenced to less
than 30 days, and those placed on community supervision, remain under
local jurisdiction. Certain juvenile can be sent to a diversion unit
where they are directed to fulfill certain conditions in lieu of prosecution.
JRA provides residential programs for youths committed to its custody,
parole supervision of youths released from its facilities, and community
corrections' resources to youths under county authority.
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