Saturday, July 16, 2011
(Updated 9:57 am)
By Dioni L. Wise
Staff Writer
GREENSBORO — It takes a village to catch a predator.
Since a federal law was enacted in 2006, local law enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have collaborated more often to catch sex offenders who don’t comply with registry requirements.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act makes it a federal crime for registered sex offenders to knowingly fail to register when moving from state to state and allows the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute them.
Starting later this month, a new component of the act kicks in: All 50 states must comply with minimum standards of sex offender registration and notification set by the federal government or lose grant money.
The act aims to ensure uniformity among registries across the country and requires more disclosure from offenders.
They still must register their home address, like before. But they must also tell where they work, where they attend school, their car description, and their email addresses and Internet usernames.
The intentions are good. But it could cost North Carolina millions of dollars and hundreds of hours to become compliant.
North Carolina legislators are studying ways to pay for the changes. States that do not meet the criteria for “substantial implementation” of the new act’s rules by July 27 will lose 10 percent of federal law enforcement assistance grants.
It’s not a matter of if, but when North Carolina complies, said Cpl. J.F. Daniel, half of the two-person team that monitors nearly 700 sex offenders registered with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office.
“When the law ultimately passes, I am sure the word will come down from on high — 'Hey, (he snaps his fingers), 'We want it done now.’
“We don’t have the resources.”
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County sheriff’s offices are supposed to register and monitor sex offenders. If deputies lose track of an offender, then they can ask the U.S. Marshals Service to locate the person inside or outside the state.
If the person is found out of state, the U.S. Marshals Service investigates and consults with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to consider prosecution.
Updating the registry isn’t a big burden on sex offenders, said U.S. Attorney Anand P. Ramaswamy, who works in Greensboro.
“But there are some people who just don’t want to make the effort,” he said.
Anonymity is one reason offenders flee.
“If I’m here and if I’m registered, then my neighbors know,” said Bill Stafford, U.S. Marshal in Greensboro.
“I can’t move next to the school; I can’t do all those things. I think, 'OK, I’ll move to South Carolina and nobody will know the difference.’”
Not anymore.
In May, a judge sentenced the first defendant under the act in the U.S. Middle District in Greensboro.
Former Alamance County resident David Alan Heming, 48, pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex offender.
He moved to Pennsylvania twice without registering, making him subject to the federal law.
He was sentenced to 27 months in prison, and was ordered to serve 15 years of supervision after his release.
Ramaswamy is prosecuting at least four other offenders.
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Cpl. Daniel and Cpl. K. H. Lunsford share an office above the jail in downtown Greensboro.
Their desks sit side by side, covered in stacked files.
A blueish-gray background screen stands next to Lunsford’s desk. That’s where registered offenders take mug shots during required visits.
They verify information, change addresses, collect fingerprints and knock on doors to check on registered offenders in at least two blitzes a year with the help of other deputies.
For a pair that Daniel said is already “extremely busy,” complying with more requirements to monitor sex offenders is not feasible.
They keep up with 583 people who live in Guilford County and an additional 104 who list the county as their residence while they’re in local jails or state and federal prisons.
Daniel said he’d love to be compliant with the federal law. But that would mean an untenable workload for him and his partner.
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North Carolina could lose 10 percent of its Edward Byrne law enforcement assistance grant, which was about $7.1 million in the last fiscal year, if it doesn’t comply by July 27.
Before state legislators decide to comply with the act, they need answers: How much would the new law cost? Would it cost less than what the state would lose from the grant?
In 2009, the nonprofit Justice Policy Institute estimated North Carolina would pay nearly $14.7 million in the first year to implement the act. If it didn’t comply, the state would have lost more than $546,000 in grants.
At some point, the state will get tired of losing grant money, so it will eventually spend the money necessary to comply with the act and appease the federal government, Daniel said.
In fact, a state committee is studying the changes required in state law to comply with the act and the cost to implement it. The lawmakers will report their findings and any recommended legislation to the General Assembly during its next session, which starts in January.
“The intent (of the act) is excellent,” Daniel said. “And once we get over that huge headache ... we will be able to get into a rhythm of knowing all the things we need to do, and I think it will ease up, but that’s going to take some time.”
Contact Dioni L. Wise at 373-7090 or dioni.wise@news-record.com
