A battle is brewing in California between the right of privacyand the public’s right to know.

If passed, AB 488 will allow Sacramento State students andothers in the community with access to the Internet, a chance toview the names, photos, offensives and addresses of sex offendersin their neighborhood and beyond.

Under the current system, those interested in viewing thepredator database are required to visit their local police station,but the hours of availability are limited.

The Sacramento Police Department allows access to the databaseMonday through Friday, but only between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2p.m. Citizens can also access the information for a $10 fee bycalling a 900 number.

A recent search of sex offenders who are registered in the samezip code as Sac State revealed a list of 10 names. A search of thethree surrounding ZIP codes near the university produced a listwith a total of 221 offenders.

“There are currently nine persons registered with the CSUSPolice Department,” said University Police Investigator JohnHamrick.

Some argue that having the information widely available tothepublic is unnecessary and may lead to harassment or vigilantism.Since 1996, the Megan’s Law database has been used to tracksexual predators who have committed serious offensives.

The law is named after a 7-year-old girl who was abducted andtragically murdered by a habitual offender in 1994. Now, a push isbeing made to allow this information to be accessed via theInternet.

AB 488, written by Assemblywoman Nicole Parra D-Hanford, is thebill that could place California along with 33 other states thatalready have similar databases online.

“Information is power and this legislation will givepeople the power to protect themselves from sexualpredators,” Para said in a recent press release.

AB 488 would not only further public access to Megan’s Lawthrough the Internet, but the proposal would also give judges morediscretion in deciding what additional information will beavailable for the community to view. For instance, a judge couldorder that an offender’s place of work and vehicle licensenumber be placed on the list.

Paul Gerowitz, Executive Director for a non profit organizationbased in Sacramento called California Attorneys for CriminalJustice, strongly opposes the release of the database for accessonline.

Gerowitz said that having the information on the Internet mightcause vigilantism or harassment of people who have already paidtheir debt to society. He believes that the Megan’s Law iscompletely unnecessary.

“There’s no benefit for having this list,”Gerowitz said.

Gerowitz said that sexual offenders who have served their timein prison paid their debt to society and should not have anextended punishment. Once an offender is placed on the list theywill not be removed.

“There’s no way of getting off the list,”Gerowitz said.

Following other states

States like Florida have already implemented the online system.The names, pictures, addresses and offensives are all listed on theInternet for the public to view. Florida’s database allowsusers to search for convicted offenders in several ways.

A search could be done to cover an entire county or a person canbe looked up by first and last name. The Web site has norequirement for users to confirm whether or not they are convictedsex offenders before viewing the list.

All searches done in California require each individual tocomplete a form indicating that they have not been convicted of anysexual offensives. Police stations also require photoidentification.

Hamrick said that Sac State Police are currently working ongetting access to the Megan’s Law database on campus. The lawrequires that those working at or attending Sac State, but livingin a different area be register with campus police.

“We are in the process of obtaining online access toMegan’s Law information through the California Department ofJustice, but are not currently set up to receive it,” Hamricksaid.

In 2003, university police recorded two sexual assaults oncampus. Police said that one person was arrested in connection withboth assaults. Information for last year regarding sexual assaultsthat occurred on non-campus and public property near the universityis not due for release until later this year. However, Statisticsfor 2002 indicate that 13 forcible sexual offenses occurred withina one-mile radius of Sac State.

“I worry about the law giving people a false sense ofsecurity,” said Jessica Heskin, from the Women’sResource at Sac State about Megan’s Law. “Students tendto have an attitude of “it [sexual assault] can’thappen to me.”

Many offenders not caught

Heskin said that many sexual offenders are never caught andtherefore would not be on the list, but overall she is supportiveof using the information as a “tool” to help keeppeople aware of potential dangers.

“I think we have to have some controls in our society andthis is one of those controls,” Heskin said.

Currently, California has approximately 98,678-registered sexoffenders. Out of this total 82 percent are considered to bebetween serious or high-risk offenders.

Megan’s law does not require that every person who hasbeen convicted a sexual offense be placed in the database. Namesthat are kept off the list are usually people that have commentedcrimes such as possession of illegal pornography, incest, indecentexposure, misdemeanor sexual battery and spousal rape.

Nicole Winger, spokeswoman for Parra said that the idea behindthe new law is not promote vigilantism.

“That (vigilantism) is a rare occurrence,” Wingersaid.

Winger compares the list offenders to a number of safetymeasures available to the public. She cites information likeconsumer safety reports as ways of protecting the public and saidthat Megan’s Law is similar.

“People want to know a lot of information so they can lookat for one another,” Winger said.

AB 488 gained strong support when passed by the assemblyreceiving only two no votes. The bill is currently in theSenate’s Commission on Public Safety and should be acted onby June.