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| Keeping your children safe from sexual predators.
Knowing your rights can help you protect your children & grandchildren |
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| Westport Happenings Special Issue |
June 2008
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Greetings!
This e-newsletter isn't your usual Westport Happenings bi-monthly newsletter. For those of us with children and granchildren this is the "first official weekend of summer." Our children will be visiting friends, taking rides on their bike, going to the beach and enjoying the usual summer activities at libraries and sports fields. Like me, you will be doing everything in your power to make sure your children are safe. From sun screen and life jackets to elbow pads and helmets you will be taking precautions to protect your children through out the summer.
This newsletter is being sent to you to let you know of your rights as a Westport resident in obtaining Registered Sex Offender (RSO) information and exercising those rights in order to protect our children. Several states post pictures of their RSO's on-line to inform the public, Massachusetts is not one of them.
In Massachusetts the only RSO's that are posted in public places such as schools, libraries and post offices are Level 3 Sex Offenders. If you think your child is safe because you have memorized the faces, names and addresses of the RSO's on display at the post office, think again. Those are Level 3 Sex Offenders. Westport has another 22 Level 2 RSO's that you can only get information about by going to the Police Department.
This procedure to obtain information pertains to all cities and towns in the Commonwealth, please take a moment to read it and pass it on to as many other parents as you can. This is one email they won't mind getting several copies of. Better to receive several than none. |
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Talk to your children about preventing sexual assault
Courtesy of The Children's Trust Fund
As a parent, you may feel a variety of emotions when you learn that a convicted sexual offender lives or works in your community. You may also have questions. Should you share this information with your children? What can you say that will not frighten youngsters?
The facts about child sexual abuse:
- Most children (90 percent) know their offender.
- Half of all attackers are members of the child's family.
- Nearly all attackers (92 percent) are men and one quarter is age 40 or older.
- Juveniles (under age 18) make up 40 percent of offenders of young children.
- One out of three girls and one out of five boys experience sexual assault before age 16.
- The average pedophile has 244 victims in his or her lifetime.
The experts say that you need to talk to your children about protecting themselves from sexual assault. But, do not focus on one stranger in the neighborhood. Instead, teach children the personal safety skills that will keep them safe in various situations. To learn how to talk to children about these important topics visit the Sex Offender Registry Board's Children's Trust Fund. |
Obtaining Registered Sex Offender Information
Massachusetts does not post RSO information on-line like many other states. Level 3 SO's can be posted in schools, libraries, post offices etc. Level 2 SO's are only viewable at your local police department. In order to find out if their is a RSO living or working near your home, or child's school, or town playground you must do the following:
- Call your local police department and tell them that you would like to review the RSO information on file and ask who you should see when you go in. This is a courtesy to the officer and will save you the hassle of going if they are not there. In Westport you need to see Lt. Holden or Deputy Chief Gifford. You can reach them at 508-636-1122.
- You will be asked to show your license as proof you live in town and they will record your license number.
- You will be required to sign a form called the Request for Sex Offender Information form. It is a basic form with your name and address, and instructions on how it is illegal to harrass any of these "upstanding citizens" or commit a crime using the information in those records.
- The form allows you to choose to look at RSO's by specific name, address or town. Choose town so you can look at all the records. You are shown pictures of the Level 2 & 3 RSO's who live in town. It is in the same format as the ones you see posted at the schools and post office.
- You can also look at the list of RSO's from out of town who work in Westport. There is NO picture on file for these fine citizens. Just their home address and work address in Westport.
It is a very simple procedure, the Officer I spoke to at the Westport Police Department was very pleasant. I called about 1/2 hour before I planned on going to confirm he would be in. I wasn't fingerprinted, photographed or grilled on why I wanted to look at the records. He allowed me all the time I needed to review the information.
Don't let the anxiety of going through the process keep you from getting the information you need to protect your children. That is what these RSO's are counting on. |
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Sex Offender Levels Explained
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS)
Sex offenders will be classified according to the degree of dangerousness they pose to the public and their likelihood for re-offense. An offender's classification will be:
Level 1 Sex Offenders or "low risk" offender
Where the Sex Offender Registry Board determines that the risk of reoffense by an offender is low and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public by that offender is not such that a public safety interest is served by public availability, the Board shall give that offender a Level 1 designation. Information on Level 1 offenders will not be available to the public. Neither the police nor the Board have authority to disseminate information to the general public identifying a Level 1 offender. Information identifying Level 1 offenders may only be given to the department of correction, any county correctional facility, the department of youth services, the department of social services, the parole Board, the department of probation and the department of mental health, all city and town police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for law enforcement purposes.
Level 2 Sex Offenders or "moderate risk" offender
Where the Board determines that the risk of reoffense is moderate and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a public safety interest is served by public availability of registration information, it shall give a level 2 designation to the sex offender. The public shall have access to the information regarding a level 2 offender through the Local Police Department and through the Sex Offender Registry Board.
Level 3 Sex Offenders or "high risk" offender
Where the Board determines that the risk of reoffense is high and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a substantial public safety interest is served by active dissemination, it shall give a level 3 designation to the sex offender. The public shall have access to the information regarding a level 3 offender through the Local Police Departments and through the Sex Offender Registry Board. |
| RSO's Working in Westport
RSO's who work in Westport must register with the Westport Police Department. They must give their home address (outside of Westport) and work address (in Westport). Pictures of RSO's who live out of town are not on file with the police department, something I find particularly disturbing. An RSO working in Westport can easily have access to our children while on their way home (out of town). That summer bike ride isn't so care free is it? |
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Resources For Parents
In the Quick Links Section to the right there are several links for parents.
NetSmartz® is an interactive, educational safety resource from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) for children aged 5 to 17, parents, guardians, educators, and law enforcement that uses age-appropriate, 3-D activities to teach children how to stay safer on the Internet. Also on NetSmartz is Dr. Sharon's video's addressing safety tips, cyber bullying, internet gaming and more.
NetSmartz411 is a parent and guardian's premier, online resource for learning about Internet safety, computers, and the Web. Search their knowledge base for answers to all of your questions about the online world! If you can't find what you're looking for, use the "Ask the Experts" tab to send them a question. Your question will be answered by professionals who know a lot about Internet safety - the real-life analysts at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Resources for Schools
The "Roary, Just be Aware" Program is put on in schools by the Department of Correction at no charge. A school counselor is required to be present during the presentation. Parents are also encouraged to attend and continue to promote the messages at home.
NetSmartz for Educators is designed to show educators and administrators how to use NetSmartz interactive materials in their classrooms, accumulate more information about Internet safety and technology, and take steps to bring their classrooms into the 21st century.
Resources for Law Enforcement
Law-enforcement officers often receive invitations to conduct Internet safety presentations in schools and communities. NetSmartz for Law Enforcement offers a variety of resources to law enforcement to assist them in their efforts to keep their communities safer. Whether the presentation is 10 minutes long or 2 hours, for children or adults, NetSmartz resources can accommodate the circumstance. |
| Warning:
As a parent and pet owner I have cleaned my share of "accidents". I have been puked on by my children at various ages. I have cleaned up more cat hairballs and dog crap than I care to remember. I do not go faint or queasy at the site of blood, I guess you can say I have a pretty strong stomach.
All that being said, I was not prepared for the physical reaction to the stack of RSO information I was shown. I had to take several deep breathes to keep my lunch from making an unwanted appearance on the floor of the police station. The people I recognized who unbeknownst to me are RSO's was shocking. I guess I expected an ogre or someone really creepy looking. Honestly, I guess I just expected someone...well...different. I wasn't expecting a well known person in the community or a former classmate. People who, on any given day, you would smile at as you passed them in the market.
If the shock of recognizing someone on the list doesn't make you want to retch in the nearest corner their list of crimes will. The crimes against children, some of them against their own children, are disgusting.
Please don't eat right before going, don't bring your children no matter how small they are. Having little Jon pulling on your sleeve while your trying to keep your lunch down will just make it more difficult. Allow yourself time to regain your composure after leaving the police station. You will probably feel like going home and taking a shower. You will definitely feel like going home and hugging your children. |
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Quick Links
NetSmartz 411
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Thank you for taking the time to read this email. It was not an enjoyable newsletter to write but it needed to be written. I hope you have found the information to be helpful and the links informative. This email is to inform you of your rights to protect your children and grandchildren. It is not encouraging you in any way to become a vigilante or picket RSO's houses or places of employment. Remember, you sign an agreement stating you will not harass or commit a crime with the information you obtain.
If you do not like the state laws that prohibit Level 2 RSO information from being easily obtainable online or that Level 2 & 3 RSO's can access areas frequented by children let your state reps know. Visit State Senator Joan Menard's Website. Visit State Rep. Mike Rodrigues Website. Send emails and call their offices to let them know this is not acceptable.
Former Selectwoman Veronica Beaulieu is working on a town bylaw that would limit where Level 2 & 3 RSO's can go in town. Under the rule, RSO's would be restricted from places like libraries, schools, day care centers, dance studios and playgrounds. I recently spoke to Ms. Beaulieu who stated the bylaw was on the warrant for the May town meeting, unfortunately it was tabled because there wasn't specific language detailing the punishment for a RSO breaking the proposed bylaw. Ms. Beaulieu is still working on the bylaw along with State Senator Joan Menard and State Rep. Mike Rodrigues. Westport Happenings will do what ever it can to help bring this bylaw to the 2009 Town Meeting. I will update residents via WestportHappenings.com and the bi-monthly newsletter as new information becomes available about the bylaw.
Sincerely,
Robin |
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