Kaplan College

Forensic Focus


Subscribe | Media Kit | Testimonials | | | Contact Us | Archives

Forensic Nursing Pioneers Ponder the Future
By Kelly M. Pyrek

Editor's Letter
Championing Forensic Science

Clinical Update
DNA Testing Identifies Long-Term Missing Child

Life & Death
Applying the Nursing Process to Death Investigation

Perspectives
Forging New and Exciting Trails as a Forensic Nurse

Corrections
Prison-Rape Elimination Act is Signed Into Law

subscribe today! and get access to this exciting content:

News & Views
News, Datebook, Off the Bookshelf

Training Nurses for the New Demands of Forensic Science

Forensic Analysis of Blood Protein and DNA: A Brief History

 

Auditor General Conducts Performance Audit of Pennsylvania's Compliance With Megan's Law
Posted on: 08/07/

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Auditor General Robert P. Casey, Jr., today announced that his office is conducting the first-ever performance audit of the Commonwealth's compliance with the Pennsylvania Registration of Sexual Offenders Act, commonly known as Megan's Law.

The purpose of Megan's Law is to protect the safety and general welfare of the public by providing for registration of "sexual offenders" and for registration and community notification of "sexually violent predators" scheduled to be released into the community, according to the Pennsylvania State Police web site.

Casey said his audit was prompted by reports of an Associated Press investigation earlier this year that found California had lost track of at least 33,000 sex offenders. Following the AP investigation, a non-profit child advocacy group known as Parents for Megan's Law surveyed all 50 states about the accuracy of their Megan's Law databases. According to a February 7, , AP story by Kim Curtis, the survey found that "states, on average, could not account for 24 percent of the sex offenders who were supposed to be in their databases." In addition, "18 states, including Pennsylvania, said they were unable to track how many sex offenders were failing to register, or simply did not know."

"Convicted sex offenders cause devastating lifetime damage to their victims and to their victims' families," Casey said. "They also reportedly have high rates of recidivism. It is imperative that the Pennsylvania State Police and other responsible agencies ensure that Pennsylvania's registry of sex offenders and sexually violent predators is maintained; that these criminals are tracked and monitored; and that law enforcement, communities and victims are notified when child molesters and other sex offenders move into their neighborhoods."

Casey's audit will focus primarily on the performance of the State Police in enforcing Megan's Law, but will also examine the more limited roles of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

The objectives of Casey's audit, which will cover the period from July through June , will include, but not be limited to:

-- Determining if the State Police followed prescribed procedures for

maintaining a registry of sexual offenders and sexually violent

predators;

-- Determining if the State Police followed prescribed procedures for

providing notice about sexual offenders and sexually violent predators

to municipal police departments, the community, victims, the FBI, and

others;

-- Determining if the State Police followed prescribed procedures for

tracking and monitoring registrants;

-- Determining if the Board of Probation and Parole gathered required

registration information and forwarded it to the State Police before

releasing sexual offenders and sexually violent predators into the

community;

-- Determining if the Department of Corrections gathered required

registration information and forwarded it to the State Police before

releasing sexual offenders and sexually violent predators into the

community; and

-- Determining if the Department of Corrections notified the State Police

or local police that a sexual offender or sexually violent predator

refused to provide registration information.

According to the Pennsylvania State Police, sexual offenders and sexually violent predators are required to register all current and intended addresses, employment information, and student enrollment information with the state police. Sexual offenders and sexually violent predators who are incarcerated in a correctional facility are required to register with the State Police prior to their release. Sexually violent predators are subject to lifetime registration, while sexual offenders are generally subject to a 10-year registration period. However, a sexual offender convicted of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, or incest (if the victim is a minor) is subject to lifetime registration. Also, a sexual offender with two or more convictions for any sexually violent offense is subject to lifetime registration.

Sexually violent predators are sex offenders who have been determined by the Court, after evaluation by a statewide Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, to possess a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the individual likely to engage in predatory sexually violent behaviors.

Megan's Law is named for 7-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and murdered in by a twice-convicted sex offender who had moved across the street from her family without their knowledge.

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Auditor General

Click here to Subscribe


HOT NEWS

11/25/

Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Presents Governor's Victim Service Pathfinder Awards

11/19/

Grief Counseling Not Always Effective, New Report Concludes

11/18/

Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Sponsors Fifth Annual Victim Services Conference

Repeat Massachusetts Sex Offender Sentenced in Federal Child Pornography Case, Reports U.S. Attorney

11/17/

Crime Victim Advocates Complete PCCD's Leadership and Professional Advancement Course

11/14/

Sheila Wellstone Institute Launches Inaugural Event; Conference Examines How Domestic Violence Affects Battered Women's Custody, Visitation and Child Welfare Encounters

Verizon Wireless Launches Annual 'Kids In Need Holiday Drive' to Collect Toys for Domestic Violence Shelters Throughout New England

More News

 

 

Copyright © by
Please read our before using this site.

 







Polaroid
Wallach


related sites

EndoNurse

Forensic Forcus

Infection Control Today

Today's SurgiCenter

Forensictrak