Complete List of Truths and Factoids

Click Truths, Questions, Factoids, Opinion for Complete Explanation
A RSOL and eAdvocate Collaboration:

• "Moving Toward Facts and Empirical Evidence"

CONTACTING CONGRESS:

• Contacting ALL Lawmakers in Washington DC: Representatives and Senators
• Writing a LETTER to Your Lawmakers in Washington DC: Representatives and Senators
• Another GREAT way to Contact Lawmakers in Congress about a Bill that Concerns You

CONGRESSIONAL TUTORIALS:

• How to access Bills on the Congressional website Thomas

TRUTHS:

• Sex Offender Laws: Collateral Consequences - Killings and Murders
• Tracking Registry Compliance Rates
• ALERT: CERTAIN Registered Sex Offenders and The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Reauthorization Act of 2010
• Educating Inmates Reduces Crime
• Stress on sex offenders increases risk of re-offending
• UN Resolution on the Promotion, Protection, and Enjoyment of Human Rights on the Internet
• 96.5% of new sex offenses are committed by someone who has never before committed a sex offense!
• A Canadian Public Safety study found re-offense rates reach 24 percent after 15 years of release
• Children and young people (13 through 19) are at a greater risk of ending up on the registry than be harmed by someone on the registry.
• There are over 8 Million people who regularly commit sex offenses and will escape the registry!

QUESTIONS:

• Sex Crime Statistics: What do we know about the alleged High Court's Crucial Mistake?
• Does a Public Urination conviction require registration as a sex offender? And, if so, which states require registration?
• Are States Harassing Sex Offender Registrants?
• How many juvenile sex offenders are there nationally, TWO VIEWS?
• Why Are Cops Asking for Twitter, Google User Data?
• New app checks friend requests for registered sex offenders. Really?
• Do Registries Help?
• Child Porn or Family Photos?
• How many -child abductions- are caused by registered sex offenders, annually?
• What is the biggest myth about child abductions?
• Real Estate Values -v- Registered Sex Offenders: Home Sale Prices Affected by Registrants or Unfounded FEARS?
• Is it constitutional to FORCE sex offender registrants to carry the governments message?
• Do you believe Tiers and Levels have the same meaning and purpose?
• Do sex offenders who live together or in close proximity to each other re-offend at a higher rate?
• Do sex offenders commit murder or homicide more frequently than other types of offenders?
• What Is SARATSO?
• Can Failure to register as a sex offender get expunged?
  

FACTOIDS:

• Are there only189 ways to end up on the sex offender registry?
• There are 100,000 Missing Sex Offenders!

Part FACTOID -and- Part TRUTH:

• Sex offenders are on the move
• Study reveals when rapists reoffend

OPINIONS:

• Indiana Sex Offender Statistics: How to make good statistics look bad
• Challenge to PA Sex Offender Law Begins: National Group Cites Costs and Unconstitutional Provisions
• Press Release: Sex Offender Registration Requirements to be Challenged
• Press Release: Where are the Results? New Mexico Sentencing Commission Study Fails to Deliver
• How to file a Postal Complaint
• Verbal Vigilantism - In Politics and by Public Speakers
• Understanding OBAMACARE and SORNA: Undue influences?
• NEWS RELEASE: Blanton and Ray Murders Emphasize need for Policy Change
• Press Release: Murders of Gary Blanton and Jerry Ray blamed on Sex Offender Registry
• Reform Sex Offender Laws creates legal fund in response to murders of Gary Blanton and Jerry Ray in Washington State

DOCUMENTING HISTORY:

• The Truth: Recidivism and Smith v Doe, What went wrong?
• The 111th Congress, Bills Affecting Sex Offenders, and Congressional Gremlins!

IMPORTANT COMMENTS FOUND IN NEWS ARTICLES & RESEARCH:

• Authority for principles being discussed.:

TRANSCRIPTS:

• Smith v Doe 538 US 84 2003 - Transcript of Oral Argument

More coming as time permits.. For now have a great day and a better tomorrow. eAdvocate

96.5% of new sex offenses are committed by someone who has never before committed a sex offense!

TRUTH:

Many folks have disputed this claim, saying, you need to ask victims to get the truth!
Today when sex offenders are released from prison, back into the community, they are required to register with their local police. Legislatures and the general community believe that, new sex offenses are committed by these former offenders. That for the most part is a myth, and now we can present some hard facts to prove our claim.

To make sense of this issue we searched for a "Victim Study" which showed the number of offenses according to victims. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has a report called "Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1994," published in May of 1997. In 1994 victims reported 432,750 incidents.

Although that report has later versions, we used 1994 to be consistent with the latest sex offender recidivism statistics of the same year, "Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994, also published by the DOJ in November 2003.

The DOJ reported 3.5% of those released sex offenders were RECONVICTED for another sex crime within 3 years following their release. (DOJ Pg-24)

Accordingly, victims reported 432,750 incidents. 3.5% of sex offenders released committed another sex offense (recidivated within 3-years of release).

The math: (100% - 3.5% = 96.5%) 96.5% of 432,750 = 417,603 committed by someone other than a former sex offender released from prison.

What more needs to be said?

Important Note:
We do recognize that the 3.5% reconviction rate is over 3-years. However, when switching between rearrest, reconviction, recidivates, recidivism etc. all this muddys the waters and requires a careful read of what is being said.

Part of the explanation is, when a person "recidivates" -that act whenever committed-, is rarely taken to court in the same year, reconviction -if any- would more likely be in the next year. Also, most recidivism (actual acts) occurs in the first year or so following release from prison. (DOJ pg-16). We also didn't feel a simple divide by 3 was fair either, so we just erred on the side of caution, and used 3.5% as an yearly figure.

Who are the 96.5%?
What is their relationshionship, if any, to the victim?
The DOJ, in the above study, found out. Most are related to the victim or within the victim's daily circle of activities. The DOJ reviewed 73,116 cases and found the following, but it is easier to see in our chart (Click on it for a larger chart):

Notice the percentages, at the top of the chart, break down into "All Offenses," "Offenses Against Adults," and "Offenses Against Minors." As to those under 18 (minors) 93.3% of the offenses are committed by family members, friends and acquaintances. Lawmakers need to wake up and stop claiming and enacting "Stranger Danger" legislation! Stop the false hysteria!

eAdvocate

A Canadian Public Safety study found re-offense rates reach 24 percent after 15 years of release.

TRUTH: But, depends on how it is used..

Far too many folks try to use this Canadian Study (Sex Offender Recidivism: A Simple Question 2003-2004) showing 24% recidivism to refute the Dep't of Justice study which shows 3.5% recidivism rates.

Now the truth as to why it cannot be compared.

First the Canadian study is a Meta Study obtaining its input from other studies, and thats where the problem starts.

A review of Table-1 (pgs 2-4) (A list of the studies used as input) will reveal, 5 of the 10 studies used, include "Charges and Convictions" in their recidivism numbers, that alone will raise the output percentage. Then one of the studies uses "Investigations" of sex crimes, in addition to "Charges and Convictions" again raising their final recidivism percentages; its mathematically impossible to compensate for that.

Secondly, the Canadian meta study is using TWO studies from the 1980s, before any known therapy existed, obviously a high recidivism rate would be expected from that them. I'm sure if you combined "Charges and Convictions" in the DOJ study the final recidivism rate would be higher, but not everyone charged is convicted; in-between the two is where justice and truth is applied.

Accordingly, given the padding (as it were) of the input in the Canadian study, it can only arrive at a higher recidivism rate. This is like comparing rocks to eggs, they simply do not computer!

PS: Also, they did not follow folks for 15 years, each study followed folks for a different number of years, from 2 to 23