State’s Database on Sex Offenders Is Gathering Dust

Families on Natal Drive in Westminster went to bed last night unaware a convicted rapist was living just a few houses away.

Residents of the blue-collar neighborhood would have learned about him months ago, had they taken a few minutes to go to the city Police Department. There, gathering dust, is the agency’s Megan’s Law computerized database, listing every serious and high-risk sex offender registered in California. It’s open to the public.

“It’s hardly ever used,” Westminster Police Lt. Bill Lewis said. “We’ve had a couple people come down and do school projects on it. That seems to be the most common use lately.”

When Megan’s Law was adopted in California in 1996, the public gained access to information about convicted child molesters, rapists and other sex offenders living in their communities. Police agencies in Orange and Los Angeles counties were flooded with requests from thousands of concerned parents, employers and school and day-care administrators.

Three years later, those same police departments report that only a trickle of people are coming in. To make matters worse, detectives say, some of the information provided by the Megan’s Law database is incorrect or outdated, in some cases listing sex offenders as living in cities long after they move, die or land back in prison.

The Santa Ana Police Department averages five to 10 visitors a month. Long Beach has seen 40 people all year. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which has Megan’s Law computers in Santa Ana and Aliso Viejo, has had 300 citizens stop in this year, the same number as the Los Angeles Police Department has seen.

“It’s pretty disappointing,” said Anaheim Police Sgt. Bob Conklin, head of the agency’s sex crimes unit. “Think about all the people who have children in day-care, or involved in sports, or who have baby-sitters or Sunday school teachers. And we only have three people a month checking them out.”

Taking It to the Streets

To keep the public aware, more police departments are turning to a second, highly controversial weapon created by Megan’s Law--the authority to post fliers, go door to door and hold community meetings to alert residents that a sex offender has moved into their neighborhood.

Authorities believe going door to door is most effective. Orange County Sheriff’s deputies arrested three child molesters in the past three years when deputies notified residents about nearby sex offenders--and found new victims.

Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, charge the tactic opens sex offenders to vigilantism and harassment, or forces them into hiding.

Even within the law enforcement community, the tactic is hotly debated. The Los Angeles and Pasadena police departments don’t notify the public directly. The LAPD instead focuses on keeping tabs on sex offenders, visiting them at home and making sure they are properly registered.

‘Megan’s Flight’

Reports of retribution have been rare both in California and nationwide, according to criminologists and the California Department of Justice. The biggest fear, they say, is that sex offenders will move rather than risk harassment brought on by public exposure, a phenomenon detectives call “Megan’s flight.”

Chris Decker fled to Westminster’s Natal Drive for that very reason.

Decker, convicted of raping two Orange County women in 1977, was forced to move out of his Costa Mesa apartment building last fall after police posted fliers in his neighborhood identifying him as a “high-risk” sex offender. Decker was evicted at the insistence of other tenants.

Decker landed in Westminster a short time later. He registered as a sex offender with local police--as required by a 1947 law--and has been living there unnoticed. But not for much longer. Westminster police said they are preparing a flier campaign to alert his neighbors.

“This man committed a rape 22 years ago. He’s not a risk, but he’s still being punished,” said Decker’s attorney, T. Matthew Phillips of Hollywood. He has filed a lawsuit against Costa Mesa alleging police don’t have authority to target his client.

Seeking More Access

California’s version of the federally mandated Megan’s Law requires all county sheriff’s departments and police agencies in major cities to provide public access to a CD-ROM database of registered sex offenders. Many smaller cities also provide computer access voluntarily. The law is named after a New Jersey girl killed by a repeat sex offender who, unbeknown to residents, moved into her neighborhood.

The state also provides a “Sex Offender Identification Line,” a 900, pay-per-call telephone number that allows the public to check if an individual is a rapist or child molester. The call costs $10, and citizens can inquire about two people per call. In July, the hotline received 636 inquiries.

The CD-ROM database in police stations is more flexible, and allows residents to check their community and look at photographs of the sex offenders. The database includes the offender’s name, description, sex crimes, birth date, ZIP code and, in most cases, a picture.

“A woman came in a little while ago because she had a bad gut feeling about a coach at a local youth center,” said Sgt. Diana Walton of the Long Beach Police sex crimes unit. “She put his name in and, sure enough, he was on the CD-ROM as a child molester.”

Some victim-rights advocates who pushed for Megan’s Law complain that requiring residents to go to police stations limits access. They want California to post the sex offender database on the Internet as 15 other states already do.

“California’s Megan’s Law was good in its time, but there have been some pretty significant strides made since then,” said victim-rights advocate Marc Klaas, whose 12-year-old daughter, Polly, was abducted and murdered in Petaluma in 1993. “We need to move to the Internet.”

Using the Internet is a simple and efficient way to inform the public, but it also carries substantial risks, said Scott Madson at the Center for Sex Offender Management, a nonprofit research organization in Silver Springs, Md.

“What if a sex offender moved, as they often do? Then you’d be listing the address of some innocent person . . . who could be targeted by members of the community,” Madson said.

Outdated Information

Accuracy is also a major problem with California’s Megan’s Law database. The state estimates that up to 15% of the monthly CD listing may have inaccuracies, usually an outdated address, said Mike Van Winkle, a state Justice Department spokesman.

“This is the most accurate information we have on hand,” said Van Winkle, who pointed out that the state relies on local police agencies to provide accurate and updated information.

However, only two of the seven high-risk sex offenders that the Megan’s Law database lists as living in Anaheim’s 92801 ZIP code actually live there. The others have moved out of the city, and Anaheim police informed the state Justice Department of the moves more than a year ago.

The state database currently lists one of Orange County’s most infamous child molesters, Sid Landau, as missing. Landau has convictions for molesting boys, including one from Anaheim.

“The whereabouts of this person are unknown,” the database warns in bold red letters.

In fact, parole officers for the state Department of Corrections know exactly where Landau lives, and have known ever since he was released from prison recently. But state law prohibits the department from disclosing his whereabouts to other agencies, including the Justice Department that handles the Megan’s Law database, said corrections spokeswoman Margot Bach.

Landau was the first sex offender in California targeted by the full force of Megan’s Law. In 1997, he bounced from motel to motel in north Orange County--each time forced out when local police posted fliers identifying him as a high-risk sex offender, prompting angry protests by neighbors.

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Where Sex Offenders Live

Convicted sex offenders released from prison must register their home address with police. About 25% of such convicted felons in California live in Los Angeles County. Counties with the most registered sex offenders:

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LEGEND

High risk refers to those convicted of multiple violent crimes, including at least one violent sex crime.

Serious refers to those convicted of at least one violent sex crime.

Other refers to those convicted of less serious crimes, such as indecent exposure.

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Source: State attorney general’s office