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2nd & 4th Monday Every Month
Hoquiam Ciy Hall
7:30 PM
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Q...What is "Community Notification" all about?
A...This means that an individual who has been convicted of a sex offense, kidnapping offense, or another related offense, has been released from a prison, work release, or other secure facility, and is living in the area where you live or work.
The purpose for community notifications is to provide you and your loved ones with additional strategies for crime prevention and detection. These are strategies you may not have thought about if you were unaware of the background of a particular offender, or had no knowledge of his/her release, or place of residence. Washington statutes provide the opportunity for the Hoquiam Police Department 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.
These offenders have been convicted of a crime that requires registration with the county sheriff's office where the offender resides: in this case, Grays Harbor County. By registering, law enforcement is apprised of any changes in an offender's residence. This information is regularly updated and maintained on a computer system by the Washington State Patrol, and Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office. This information provides local law enforcement agencies with essential information as to the nature and whereabouts of certain convicted criminals who reside in their jurisdictions; more specifically Level 2 and Level 3 type sex offenders.
Q...Why is the offender moving into my community?
A...This individual has committed a crime that has been reported to a police agency. That agency investigated the report and arrested the individual. The local prosecuting attorney for that jurisdiction determined the criminal statutes violated. They charged the suspect with those violations and went to court to convict this individual of those crimes.
The offender was either found guilty by a judge or jury, or as happens in some of these cases, pled guilty to the offenses with which he or she was charged. When an offender is released from prison, he or she usually returns to the same area of residence from which they lived when the crime was committed. Most offenders are released to the jurisdiction that originally gained the conviction. Sometimes offenders are released to another jurisdiction because they may have family support there, additional treatment to complete at a program located in the other jurisdiction, or they may have found a job in the area that will lead to a productive lifestyle.
Q...If this offender is so dangerous, why are they letting him out in the first place?
A...Washington is one of the states that have specific sentence lengths for each crime. These sentence lengths are called presumptive sentences and are determined by the Washington State Legislature (this is called determinate sentencing). When an offender is 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.
Someone with no previous offenses has a shorter sentence than someone who has been in trouble before. A person, who has a previous offense against a person, will be sentenced to a longer term than someone whose previous offense was a property crime. The possibilities are included in the sentencing guidelines.
On some occasions, judges don't follow the guidelines. This is called an exceptional sentence. When a judge has a compelling reason to depart from the sentencing guidelines, he or she must submit the reasons for the departure into the court record.
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 Hoquiam Police Department, nor the court has the power to tell the offender where to live or work. The information provided in this article is supplied to inform you of the location an offender has chosen to reside, and/or those other places the offender is most likely to conduct legitimate activities.
Q...Don't most of the offenders who get sentenced to long prison terms 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, 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 corrections 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. These requirements may include, but are not limited to: no consumption of alcohol, regular attendance at AA or other help groups, holding a steady job, having no contact with the victim(s) or witnesses, no contact with minor children, and the must comply with sex offender registration.
Q...Do 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 chemical dependency. The will 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 other crime that is related to a sex offense, will generally be offered an opportunity to participate in sex offender treatment.
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. Discipline usually entails being segregated from the other prisoners in solitary confinement.
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.
Q...Why do you tell us about these offenders, and not all of the other people who get out of prison?
A...IThe Community Protection Act of 1990 only involves those offenders who have violated the criminal sexual statutes, the kidnapping statutes, or other statutes with a finding of sexual motivation.
The End of Sentence Review Board utilizes a sex offender screening tool that was developed by clinical psychologists who are experts in the field of sex offender recidivism in the United States and Canada. Based on past behaviors demonstrated by convicted sex offenders, this screening tool determines whether an individual poses a high risk to the public when they are 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 experts have determined that some of these persons have a greater likelihood of future offenses than do others.
There is a group of items in this screening tool that receive scores, assigned by the End of Sentence Review Board, before offenders are released from prison. The total of these scores determines which "risk" category the offender will be assigned. Level 1 offenders are deemed least likely to re-offend, and Level 3 the most likely to re-offend. This process is called "Actuarial risk prediction." This means that there is some statistical basis for public concern about the future behavior of people identified as part of this group.
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. Those drivers who have had DUI convictions pay more for their insurance, because they are deemed more likely to get into an accident than speeders. 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 or persons convicted of DUI 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 assessment tool, 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 the screening process are referred to the county prosecutor for review for civil commitment after they are released from prison. This process usually involves offenders who are deemed highly prone to predation and violence, and/or have a severe mental illness.
There is no 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 the End of Sentence Review Board has devised a way to predict future behavior. Rather, it means that there is a scientific way to evaluate an offender's past behaviors by comparing their past behaviors with other individuals who have been out of prison for a while. This shows how offenders might act once they are released.
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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, 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 re-offend. We need to help them succeed. We all win with fewer victims.
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, as it may protect them from others who would try to harm them as well. Explain the importance of avoiding dangerous situations in general, rather than trying to teach them to be safe from just the one person you know about.
Over 80% of all sex crimes are committed by someone known to the victim; many of those incidents are committed by family members or someone who is NOT a stranger to the victim. For children under 12 years of age, the percentage is 90%.
Some Basics;
- 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 are playing outdoors.
- CALL 911 if your parents aren't home and the offender approaches you.
Q...Are you going to tell us if the offender moves out of the neighborhood?
A...No. The information shared about sex offenders is basically safety information that we should all be aware of. There are many sex offenders in Washington, as well as in every other state. 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 the country.
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