You've seen and heard them.....the sensational headlines, provocative radio and talk shows and one-sided newscasts about sex offenders and their registration. While provocative and graphic may be interesting, it does not represent the complexities of this issue, which often inspire a diverse web of facts, opinions, and feelings. In this edition, we will attempt to raise awareness and educate our readers about the complexities of sex offending behavior, registration and community notification. Our focus will be on community and victim safety as we delve into this new and un chartered territory for many in our state.

Most commonly referred to as Megan's Law, sex offender registration is the legal requirement that sex offenders, as statutorily defined, register their name, address and other identifying information with the Department of Public Safety upon their re lease into the community. Community notification, on the other hand, is a set of policies and practices designed to collect, maintain and disseminate information about sex offenders, minimally, to victims and their families, the offender's family, and the local police.

As of October I, 1998, Public Act 98-1 I I, An Act Concerning the Registration of Sexual Offenders, went into effect and greatly expanded the list of individuals required to register as sex offenders. This Act also requires the Governor to appoint a committee to make community notification recommendations for the entire state and allows for sex offender registration lists to be made available on the internet.

While both sex offender registration and community notification are designed to promote community and victim safety, we are concerned about the false sense of security they may cultivate in our communities. For example, members of a community may feel that they are safe and do not have to worry about their children's safety as long as they keep their children away from the one identified sex offender in their neighborhood.

What we know, in fact, according to the Rape in America Report, is that only about 16% of sexual assaults are ever reported to law enforcement. Additionally, according to the 1993 Senate Judiciary Committee Report, 98% of victims of sexual assault will never see their attacker caught, tried and imprisoned.

Therefore, it is clear that the majority of sex offenders never come to the attention of the criminal justice system nor fall under Megan's Law. It is these sex offenders who pose a greater risk to our communities because they have not received treatment nor have they been held accountable for their behavior.

As referenced in the Rape in America Report, we know that victims will be acquainted with their offender about 78% of the time. If the victim is under 12 years of age, that percentage rises to 90%. It is these victims whose voices have long been silenced by the shroud of secrecy surrounding incest and child sexual abuse in our society. It is these frightened and anxious victim's voices we want you to hear as we address the complexities and intricacies of widespread, and oftentimes, inconsistently administered community notification. The broad-based availability of sex offender registration information, may in fact, discourage some victims from reporting their abuse and/or encouraging some victims to recant out of fear for the offender's well-being or the disclosure of their own identity.

It is neither cost effective nor feasible to keep all sex offenders incarcerated indefinitely, as some would like it. Therefore, we think the answer lies in collaborative, victim-centered approaches to sex offender management and treatment. This should include victim input throughout the criminal justice process from the initial investigation and arrest, to the trial, sentencing, incarceration, probation/parole, treatment recommendations, and other post-incarceration conditions placed on the offender. Additionally, offender accountability, victim empathy education, and victim and community reparation must all be included in order to manage sex offenders in communities comprehensively and holistically with a focus on ensuring ongoing community and victim safety.