Sex offenders clustered in Tri-Cities' neighborhoods
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TRI-CITIES, Wash. -- The ease and accessibility of knowing where to find sex offenders has improved over the years. You can just log on and look at a map. But you may not take a wider view to see where sex offenders are often clustered together.
Eric counts the pins on his computer screen. "3, 4, 5.. 17, 18, 19...about 20 registered sex offenders near us."
Eric and Arlene Peterson actively check who's in their neighborhood on Franklin County's sex offender registry. Arlene looks at her backyard, "When you look at it, it is right next door.. One hop-skip-jump and away across the alley."
Like many parents, they get a little more anxious about strangers whenever school starts. Eric and Arlene live right near Pasco High School. Arlene explains, "Probably about two blocks from being a really nasty part of town."
In fact, the family lives in a part of Pasco where more than ten sex offenders are within a one-mile radius.That's the area between Agate St. and Court St. In Kennewick, it's a similar story, the high density neighborhoods for sex offenders are just east of Kennewick High School, near Layton Park. In Richland, KEPR found most level two and level three sex offenders live in the area west of George Washington Way, from Aaron Drive to Jadwin.
Police are aware of these hot zones. In Pasco, they've assigned detectives specifically to track offenders.
Captain Jim Raymond with Pasco Police says, "With the touch of a finger, they know where the offenders are. Level one to level 3, we generally know where everyone's at."
You can track sex offenders on your own anywhere with your smart phone. KEPR stood in this Pasco neighborhood and found more than 160 sex offenders were in the city of Pasco.
Despite these numbers, police tell KEPR that offenders in everyday neighborhoods like this are usually low risk offenders, level one and two.. With very little likelihood to re-offend.
That's still little comfort to Arlene. She sighs, "They still make me nervous. It's the same for any level for me."
Level three offenders are considered the most likely to re-offend.
And police tell KEPR, these people typically have a hard time finding a landlord or neighborhood who will keep them. So overall, the *most saturated areas are hotels and temporary living units.
Eric counts the pins on his computer screen. "3, 4, 5.. 17, 18, 19...about 20 registered sex offenders near us."
Eric and Arlene Peterson actively check who's in their neighborhood on Franklin County's sex offender registry. Arlene looks at her backyard, "When you look at it, it is right next door.. One hop-skip-jump and away across the alley."
Like many parents, they get a little more anxious about strangers whenever school starts. Eric and Arlene live right near Pasco High School. Arlene explains, "Probably about two blocks from being a really nasty part of town."
In fact, the family lives in a part of Pasco where more than ten sex offenders are within a one-mile radius.That's the area between Agate St. and Court St. In Kennewick, it's a similar story, the high density neighborhoods for sex offenders are just east of Kennewick High School, near Layton Park. In Richland, KEPR found most level two and level three sex offenders live in the area west of George Washington Way, from Aaron Drive to Jadwin.
Police are aware of these hot zones. In Pasco, they've assigned detectives specifically to track offenders.
Captain Jim Raymond with Pasco Police says, "With the touch of a finger, they know where the offenders are. Level one to level 3, we generally know where everyone's at."
You can track sex offenders on your own anywhere with your smart phone. KEPR stood in this Pasco neighborhood and found more than 160 sex offenders were in the city of Pasco.
Despite these numbers, police tell KEPR that offenders in everyday neighborhoods like this are usually low risk offenders, level one and two.. With very little likelihood to re-offend.
That's still little comfort to Arlene. She sighs, "They still make me nervous. It's the same for any level for me."
Level three offenders are considered the most likely to re-offend.
And police tell KEPR, these people typically have a hard time finding a landlord or neighborhood who will keep them. So overall, the *most saturated areas are hotels and temporary living units.
There is such fear expressed in this article and it is fear not based on fact. As others have stated in earlier comments, the fear is based upon three myths. Myth #1: stranger danger. The fact is that most children are assaulted by people they know not by strangers. Myth #2: sex offenders re-offend. The fact is that about 95 percent of sex offenders never repeat their crime. Myth #3: sex offenses occur in public places. The fact is that more than 80 percent occur in private places such as homes.
This is what happens when we let emotions and anecdote run our country rather than research and fact. Registrants are clustered because no one wants to rent to them or hire them. Society cheers when registrant are pushed to the brink of society, but they don't realize that there are serious consequences to such short-sightedness... such as "clustering" and higher rates of re-offense.
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Sadly, the media also likes to forget about the collateral damage - behind each registrant's face is usually a family. Children and women are being forced to live on the street and in poor, high-crime areas because of these laws. How about you report on THAT, KEPR?
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Learn the truth: www.endsexcrime.org/theproof.html
I would think parents would be more anxious when school is out for the summer because children are not confined to a classroom setting all day. They are outside playing, riding bikes and generally having fun. So, the police need to begin talking about the "stranger danger myth" and how registered former sexual offenders who's re-offense rate is of a lesser concern than the others below like family, friends and those associated as mentors, instructors, etc..
 The research showed that almost half (49 %) of youth under age six and 42 % of children ages 6 to 11 were sexually assaulted by a family member. (JUSTICE POLICY INSTITUTE, P 15)
* The study concluded that 34% of youth victims (0-17 years old) were
sexually assaulted by a family member and 59% were assaulted by
acquaintances. (JUSTICE POLICY INSTITUTE, P 15)
⢠A study reviewing sex crimes as reported to police revealed that:
  93% of child sexual abuse victims knew their abuser;
  34.2% were family members;
  58.7% were acquaintances;
 Only 7% of the perpetrators of child victims were strangers;
  40% of sexual assaults take place in the victimʼs own home;
  20% take place in the home of a friend, neighbor or relative
(Lynn University, p. 6)
 About three-quarters (72.6%) of children were victimized by people they knew. (JUSTICE POLICY INSTITUTE, P 15)
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You do realize there are over 763,000 men, women and children required to register across the states for everything from urinating in public, streaking, mooning, exposure, sexting, viewing suggestive or abusive images of anyone up to the age of 18, playing doctor, prostitution, false accusations by a soon-to-be ex-wife, ex-girlfriend or angry and immature student, Romeo & Juliet consensual sexual dating relationships, endangering the welfare of a child, rape and many other "crimes." You are weaving a horrible web. Please do the math... 763,000 multiplied by 2 or 3 family members you can clearly see there are approximately 2,000,000 wives, children, mothers, grandmothers, girlfriends, aunts and other loved ones that are suffering the collateral damage by being harassed, ridiculed, threatened, beaten, wives lose their jobs, asked to leave their church and other organizations, have to move, have signs placed in their yards, have flyers distributed throughout the neighborhood....all because they are trying to provide a support system for someone who has paid their debt to society and wants to work and support their family....that's all. Keep adding more laws and "you" or someone you love will soon be awarded a place on the registry. Education is the key! Use these funds to teach parents, teens and children about sexual safety to include behavior that is appropriate toward them as well as behavior that is appropriate coming from them.
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Vicki Henry
Women Against Registry dot com
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And you must add the fact that the vast majority of those are false allegations by other family members against the person who gets persecuted and is 100% innocent.
Residency laws and social ostracism creates "clusters" as an obvious consequence.Â
Well, once again, the news media is contributing to the fear mongering and hysteria that accompanies any news about "sex offenders". Â The fact is, your children are more in danger of being molested by a family member or a close neighbor. Â Parents should be teaching their children about 'good touching -vs- bad touching' instead of buying into the myth of stranger danger. Â Your child is more likely to end up on the Sex Offender Registry than to be molested by a person on the registry. Â The recidivism rate for SOs is the lowest of any crime. Â Do the research and learn the facts. Â