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
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