FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 19, 2009

LANCMAN AND KLEIN ANNOUNCE PASSAGE OF SEX OFFENDER ALERT LEGISLATION

URGE GOVERNOR PATERSON TO SIGN INTO LAW

CONTACT:        Senator Klein: Adam Haight, 800-718-2039

                        Assemblyman Lancman: Brian Pugh, 718-704-9585

Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Queens) and State Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) announced the unanimous passage of sex offender email alert legislation in the Assembly this week. It passed the State Senate in May 2009.  The bill will next go to the Governor for his signature.  The legislation would establish an email alert system that would allow concerned parents and residents to receive instant email alerts every time a sex offender moves into their selected zip code. Both lawmakers propose using the statewide emergency communication system, NY Alert, which is managed by  the Department of Homeland Security, to notify New Yorkers. Currently, New Yorkers desiring up-to-date information on registered sex offenders in their communities must make daily searches of the Sex Offender Registry maintained by the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).

Currently there are 11,428 level 2-3 sex offenders on New York State's Sex Offender Registry, which classifies offenders according to their risk of re-offending: low-risk (Level 1), moderate risk (Level 2) and high-risk (Level 3).  Members of the public can access this database at local police stations or via a toll-free telephone number. Level 2 and Level 3 offenders are also listed on an Internet subdirectory at the DCJS website.  However, the information changes constantly as new offenders are added or existing registrants update their information. E-mail updates would allow New Yorkers to keep tabs on a specific geographic area, such as where they live or where their children attend school, and would save them the time-consuming chore of making regular visits to the subdirectory website.

“I applaud the members of the Assembly for unanimously passing this piece of important legislation, but our work is not done yet. The numbers are overwhelming. All the more so when you consider that more and more families with young children are choosing to stay in New York City and raise their families. It would be near criminal to deny New Yorkers the added convenience of better protecting our children from the kind of unsavory individuals who are, in many cases, our neighbors,” said Senator Klein, "I urge the Governor to sign this critical bill into law."

In New York City, an average of 15 level 2 and 3 sex offenders reside in each zip code. In addition, with more sex offenders subject to the 12-year-old registration requirements being released from prison every day and an increasing number of sex crimes, like sex trafficking, being added to the list of registerable offenses, the registry is likely to continue its expansion well into the future. 

“We already allow parents to know whether dangerous sexual predators move into our neighborhoods, so why not make it as easy for parents to know as possible? That's what this legislation does, it gives parents the information they need, in real time, to keep their children safe,” said Assemblyman Lancman.

Video of Assemblyman Lancman and Senator Klein's March 2008 press conference on the electronic alert bill is available at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVASZ4wz1hA&feature=channel_page