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news
Sex offenders
must register
By Jamie Rogers
On-line Forty-Niner
Gov. Gray Davis
filed legislation with the secretary of state last week that
extends the reach of current sex offender laws.
Assembly Bill 4, which will go into effect in October 2002,
will require all convicted sex offenders to register with
campus police if they are students or employees in the California
State University system, the University of California or a
California community college. The bill also applies to any
person working on a campus, whether or not they are employed
by the university itself.
If convicted offenders fail to register, they will be punished
with a misdemeanor. If a campus fails to comply with the law
it will face losing 10 percent of its federal crime prevention
grant money due to a similar federal statute.
According to University Police Capt. Stan Skipworth, CSULB
will be ready to implement the law when it goes into effect.
"As I understand, the chancellor's office will provide
direction on a systemwide policy which we will comply with,"
Skipworth said. "We will have options to chose how to
inform people when the program comes into play. We will be
prepared."
The CSU system will be prepared to implement the law by next
October as well, said Colleen Bently-Adler, spokeswomen for
the chancellor's office.
"The systemwide police chief said we will be developing
guidelines to comply with the law," she said. "We
have to look at it and see what kind of databases need to
be set up."
The bill passed the Assembly unanimously and had only one
vote against it in the Senate. However, it has been met with
some opposition from groups like the American Civil Liberties
Union and the California Defense Attorneys for Criminal Justice.
"In general, we oppose the use of registration for the
way it has been amended," said Scott Ciment, legislative
advocate for the attorney's group. "Originally, having
sex offenders register with the local police was to notify
neighbors so they are aware that a potentially dangerous person
is near. What it has become over the years is a whipping post
for whenever legislators want to look tough on crime."
Ciment also said they disagree with the broadened definition
of a sex offender.
"This is no longer somebody who committed violent acts
or molested children," he said. "It now extends
to crimes considered by most to be much lower on the scale."
The law covers crimes such as public lewdness, flashing or
having sex in public.
"The law is going to apply to a bunch of people you never
thought it would," he said. "There are many tragic
stories of over prosecution."
Thuc Luu, a senior women's studies major at CSULB, said she
too is concerned about infringing on sex offender's freedom.
However, she said she thinks the law is a good one if it is
implemented solely to promote safety on campus.
"I think in terms of the safety of the campus, as a woman
it would give me peace of mind," she said. "I think
it is okay as long as [the offenders] are still given the
opportunity to be employed and to be students."
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