Release of Sex Database Defended

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren on Friday defended the release of a computer database of the identities and whereabouts of California’s convicted sex offenders, saying that despite its inaccuracies, it would lift “the veil of anonymity” under which paroled rapists and child molesters may hide.

The database, compiled from the records of police departments statewide and published by the Department of Justice in a CD-ROM that becomes available for public viewing Tuesday, was created as a part of Megan’s Law. The controversial statute, named for a 7-year-old New Jersey girl who was killed by a paroled child molester living across the street, also allows police to publicize the whereabouts of sex offenders.

“Now law-abiding members of the public as well as law enforcement can know the identity of sex offenders who are in their communities,” Lungren said at a Los Angeles news conference. “We have the ability to shine a bright light on the identity and whereabouts of registered sex criminals.”

California law requires convicted sex offenders to register their addresses with their local police departments annually once they leave prison.

But Lungren acknowledged that about 40% of the state’s offenders have dodged registration, and that the database offers outdated or incomplete information on thousands. Police in Long Beach, Anaheim and San Francisco who have seen test versions of the CD-ROM said they found address listings for offenders who have been dead or incarcerated for years.

Lungren said the state’s sex offenders registry has become dramatically more accurate in recent years--but state estimates of the database’s accuracy have varied widely in the past.

Lungren said Friday that accuracy has improved from 25% to 60%-65% since about 1990. But that contradicts what his own staff told The Times earlier this year, when a spokesman said accuracy had been “50%-60%” around 1990 and had improved to 80%.

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“We’ve done about as good a job as we can,” Lungren said, adding that he expects accuracy to improve in later editions of the database.

Packaged with a picture of Megan Kanka, for whom the law is named, the CD-ROM will be available Tuesday on computer terminals in 18 Los Angeles County sheriff’s stations, four LAPD stations and the Long Beach police station.

Viewing hours differ among the departments. Users must be at least 18 years old and cannot have been convicted of a registerable sex offense.

The CD-ROM contains files on 63,920 convicted sex offenders, of whom 1,617 are considered “high risk” because they have been convicted of multiple or violent crimes. It includes photographs of about 55% of all listed offenders and 80% of the high-risk offenders. Users may search the database by an offender’s name, physical description or by county or ZIP Code.

Each file lists the sex crimes of which each offender was convicted. A separate section of the CD-ROM, for use by police only, includes addresses.

At the news conference, Lungren downplayed concerns that the law is self-defeating because the public availability of the information may drive sex criminals further underground or encourage vigilantism.

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In other states that have enacted versions of Megan’s Law, authorities report that some citizens have sought retribution against offenders when they learn their whereabouts, and in at least one case, burned down a paroled offender’s house.

“It’s just a question of whether or not you trust the public,” said Lungren. “I do.”

Elizabeth Schroeder, associate director of the Southern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, does not see the release of the database in the same light.

“So many of the people contained in this database committed offenses 10, 20, 30 years ago,” Schroeder said. “They are married. They have homes. They have families. They have jobs. They’re terrified of it shattering their rebuilt lives, and it runs counter to every policy of rehabilitation that this country has.”