Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) communications officer Tan Heang Lee told FMT such a mechanism should serve to safeguard a community’s safety while recognising an individual’s right to mobility and privacy.
“We should study examples of registries available in various jurisdictions,” she said. “Each system has its strengths and weaknesses. It’s important that the system we adopt keeps the community safe, minimises the risk of re-offending, supports rehabilitation and prevents vigilantism.”
The idea of having a sex offender registry has been in discussion since 2007, following the brutal sexual assault and murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin. Recent high profile sexual offence cases have strengthened calls for such a registry.
FMT takes a look at the state of New York’s registry, one of many in the United States.
The registry was set up in 1996 and is governed by the Sex Offender Registration Act.
It is mandatory for anyone on parole or probation or imprisoned or convicted for a sex offence to register with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). This applies to New York natives as well as those moving there from another state or country.
A number of offences are defined as sex offences and these include possessing or promoting a sexual performance of a child, rape, sodomy, patronising and/or promoting prostitution, sexual abuse, sexual assault, sex trafficking, disseminating indecent material to minors, incest and unlawful surveillance.
A sex offender’s risk level – low (Level 1), moderate (Level 2) or high (Level 3) – as well as a designation assigned to him or her, such as sexual predator, sexually violent offender or predicate sex offender, would determine how long the offender must be in the register.
Low risk offenders (except those with designations) must register for 20 years while moderate and high risk offenders must register for life.
A registered sex offender is required to tell the authorities where he or she lives and have a current photograph taken.
Offenders must also inform the authorities where they are studying or working and provide internet service providers with their internet screen names and email accounts.
An offender who does not comply with registration obligations is guilty of a felony.
The Sex Offender Registration Act does not restrict where a sex offender can live but other laws may provide for such a restriction or limit his or her distance from a school. The act also bars a sex offender from certain jobs, such as working on an ice cream truck or driving a school bus.
Members of the public can access information about Level 2 and Level 3 offenders on the DCJS’s website but not information on Level 1 offenders.
The information available on offenders include their names, photograph, physical description, address, offences, known aliases as well as scars and tattoos, among other descriptions.
The public can also sign up for alerts whenever a Level 2 or Level 3 sex offender moves to or from a community.