Sex Offender Placement in Our
Communities
Monroe County
Probation
NYSAC
February 10, 2009
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Sex Offender PSI
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Presentence Investigations (PSI)
Assist Judge in making sentencing decision
State Mandated (but only 15% funded)
Enhanced Sex Offender PSI (in jeopardy per State
Aid cuts)
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One (1) Probation Officer (2008 = 136 enhanced PSI)
Detailed interview regarding sexual history
Investigate computer use, pornography history etc
Home/neighborhood visit (children? items used to attract
children? Day Care or schools in neighborhood? vehicles
used by defendant etc)
Enhanced PSI (cont.)
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Extended Victim Impact process
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More sensitive letter to victim & multiple attempts at
victim contact
Where plea bargain, explain probation conditions,
restrictions, treatment, GPS etc.
Addendum for Sex Offender Registration Act
determination (assist Judge with Risk Assessment)
Check Email, MySpace, Facebook etc. names & info
SORA Risk Assessment
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Probation Supervision
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Seven (7) Probation Officer Sex Offender Specialists (in jeopardy due to State
Aid cuts)
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Enhanced Conditions of Probation
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Specialized treatment (limited to 2 agencies)
No contact <17
Disclosure to landlord, employer, school administration, those with whom intimate etc
No pornography, no social networking, no internet w/o Probation Officer approval.
No cell phone w/camera, no camcorder, no 900 calls
No children’s clothing, toys etc;
No law enforcement clothing
No post office box
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Polygraph examinations
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Regular Police Collaboration
Supervision (cont.)
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GPS/Sex Offender Pilot (state $ in jeopardy)
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Global Position System (GPS) on all sex offenders until
stable; all SORA 3
Exclusion zones
Real-time monitoring - Probation & 911 Center; ‘Crime
Scene Inquiry’
Probation Officer teams: nights/weekends, immediate
response to alerts, surveillance, home visits, victim safety
checks, Order of Protection checks etc
Sex Offender Housing – State
Mandates
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2006: Penal Law 65.10(4a) – Mandated
Probation Condition
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Where victim is <18, refrain from knowingly
entering area 1,000 from school ground etc. (with
some exceptions)
9/17/07: Supreme Court ruling permits
‘…innocent transit in a moving vehicle within
1,000 foot public area around school grounds…’
Sex Offender Housing – State
Mandates (cont.)
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2008: Executive Law 243(4) -- Requires State Probation
Director to establish rules for local Probation regarding SORA
Level 2 or 3 housing (‘instruct local probation’)
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Draft Probation Rule 365 -- Where SORA 2 or 3 sentenced to
Probation, an investigation shall consider:
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Concentration of sex offenders in certain area or municipality
The number of sex offenders at a specific property.
Proximity of vulnerable populations
Accessibility to family, friends, sex offender treatment etc
Availability of permanent housing
Sex Offender Housing – State
Mandates (cont.)
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Draft Rule 365 – Local Probation should consider…
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Victim address, age, relationship
Known Orders of Protection
Known presence of persons <18 in residence
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Local Probation should summarize findings and
make recommendation to Court as to
appropriateness of residence
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Same rules apply when probationers seek change of
address
State Mandates – Local
Challenges
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Lawmaker intent genuine & understandable – protect children
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But, not developed by practitioners (police, probation, DA, sex offender
treatment specialists)
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Judges didn’t ask for this additional guidance or task
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Not evidence-based, as State agencies now demand of local government when
applying for grant funding
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SORA imperfect…
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Complicated & confusing to public
Level 1, 2, 3; Sexually Violent Offender; Predicate Sex Offender; Sexual Predator
Plea bargains
SORA Level 2 & 3 misleading – many lower level sex offenders at higher risk
Recent AP article – not a deterrent
State Mandates – Local
Challenges (cont.)
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1,091 Registered Day Care Providers in
Monroe County (OCFS)
Unknown thousands of unregistered day
care providers
22 School Districts in Monroe County
120 individual schools just in the City of
Rochester
State Mandates – Local
Challenges (cont.)
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316+ sex offenders on probation in Monroe
County
Most sex offenders reside in City of
Rochester
Residency restrictions promote relocation to
suburban/rural – less concentration of
offenders and ‘vulnerable populations’
Sex Offender Probationers
February 3, 2009
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State Mandates – Local
Challenges (cont.)
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Sex Offender residence restriction – unreasonable task for local
Probation
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Most probationers already residing at, or returning to, their own
residence upon sentencing, not looking for housing…decisions
relate to removing the probationer from his home
Most victims are family members or associated, but…
Other offenders are best monitored if they can remain in their
family
Sex Offender treatment programs are near schools & day care
centers
Probation offices are near schools & day care centers
Court is near schools and day care centers (Day Care inside some
Courthouses)
State Mandates – Local
Challenges (cont.)
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Examples of
Concentration
Zip code area
Day Care
Providers
(1)
Sex
Offenders
on Probation
(2)
14609
123
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(2) Probationers only, not
including parolees or
Registered Sex Offenders
14621
not under supervision
133
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(1) Registered centers only
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State Mandates – Local
Challenges (cont.)
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How many sex offenders = ‘too many’?
Rare cooperative landlord, resulting in
several sex offenders residing in same
building
Vulnerable entity definition -- no common
agreement
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Penal Law 220 (drug free school zones)
Original DPCA definition (colleges, nursing
homes, places of worship etc)
State Mandates – Local
Challenges (cont.)
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Local Probation agencies in peril – State Aid reduced
from 46.5% to current 15% while state mandates
expand
Vacant Probation Officer positions, mandated
overtime, high caseloads, Probation Officers perform
data entry & prepare court reports
New Law/Rule creates:
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Need for home visit where none was required before
Additional interview items for Investigating Probation Officer
Additional report to the Court
Case Example
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Bi-polar male, convicted in Texas of attack on 14-year old
neighbor while residing alone and while ‘off meds’
Transfer to Monroe County to reside with parents in affluent
suburb; classified SORA Level 3; stable when in treatment, on
meds, with full time job and supervised by Probation and his
parents; no problems since his move to Monroe County
Private day care opens in residence just behind probationer’s
family home; neighbors demand ouster & contact media
Relocated to a series of motels, moving each time other motel
tenants complained or where children moved in…continues to
reside alone in motel room; stable, but risk is higher due to lack
of permanent housing
Monroe County Reentry Task
Force
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Sex Offenders released from prison – greater
challenge
Same 2008 sex offender housing law to State Parole
(impact on County Social Services Commissioners
also)
Lack of housing prompts extensive use of
emergency housing facilities ($42/day public cost)
Risk remains high due to unstable housing &
residing in proximity of other sex offenders
Solutions?
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Stabilize State Aid to Probation – allow local
Probation to adhere effectively to state mandates
and reduce sex offender caseloads to allow intensive
intervention; or, implement a moratorium on all new
mandates
Restore GPS/Sex Offender funding for pilot counties
(Monroe, Onondaga, Rensselaer, Westchester…)
State Parole, Probation, Reentry take the lead in
identifying safe, secure, stable permanent housing
for sex offenders.
Questions?
Bob Burns, Probation Administrator
Monroe County Office of Probation –
Community Corrections
33 N. Fitzhugh St, Suite 2000
Rochester, NY 14614-1233
585 753-3765
rburns@monroecounty.gov
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