To each of you, wishes for the happiest of new years from NARSOL. SandySandy, a NARSOL board member, is communications director for NARSOL, editor-in-chief of the Digest, and a writer for the Digest and the NARSOL website. Additionally, she participates in updating and managing the website and assisting with a variety of organizational tasks.
Read MoreYear: 2021
Why person-first language is right for those with sexual crime convictions
By Sandy . . . Earlier this year the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board made the decision to adopt person-first language and change the nomenclature with which their clients are identified from “sex-offender” to “adults who commit sexual offenses.” Person-first language has value. It does away with the long-known dangerous practice of labeling people, and especially labeling them with what…
Read MoreEquality should be for everyone in New Jersey
By Joe . . . In a speech right after his razor-thin victory in last year’s election, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said that he and his administration would now move forward with a “deeper sense of fairness and equality.” However, the equality and fairness the Governor spoke of does not appear to apply to everyone in the state. Those…
Read MoreTransparency Laws Let Criminal Records Become Commodities
For millions of people, details from an arrest—even a mistaken one—live on after being sold to data brokers. And the state profits. In April 2018, Adnan (a pseudonym) was wrongfully arrested in Newark, New Jersey, on the basis of an incorrect arrest warrant. A brief period in jail led to the criminal […] [Read More]
Read MoreCurrent sexual offense registration and notification policies are nothing but “window-dressing”
By Meghan M. Mitchell, Kristen M. Zgoba, Alex R. Piquero . . . There are roughly half a million sexual assault incidents in the United States every year — and more than 11,000 in Florida alone. These numbers are troubling. So it’s no surprise that people search the sex offender registration website to make sure that no one convicted of a sexual…
Read MoreOcala man torches neighbor’s home because of rumor victim was a pedophile, police say
Ocala police arrested a man Monday who they believe started a fire that damaged a mobile home in early December. Kenneth Bryant, 42, was arrested at Wagon Wheel Mobile Home Park. According to the arrest report, Bryant told police he couldn’t remember the incident because he was too intoxicated but said he was not fond of the victim because of…
Read MoreWhat will the new federal SORNA regulations mean?
By Larry and Sandy . . . Not since the initiation of International Megan’s Law (IML) has anything raised such a level of anxiety, confusion, and questions as have the new federal SORNA/AWA guidelines that will become effective January 7, 2022. The only consensus seems to be that whatever happens, it won’t be good. These recent amendments are not anything…
Read MoreWhy Person-First Language?
By Sandy . . . The Colorado Sex Offender Management Board has instituted a policy that will replace the words “sex offender” when referring to their clients with “adults who commit sexual offenses.” This has met with a negative reaction from many. The editorial board of the Denver Gazette exhibits this negativity in an extremely well written and persuasive piece…
Read MoreTo catch the real predators of online entrapment and illegal searches
By Lois . . . Bonnie Burkrhardt’s 2020 book, Manufacturing Criminals, Fourth Amendment Decay in the Electronic Age is compelling for anyone interested in criminal justice matters – but it’s also a jarring read for anyone who cares about effectively reducing crime, especially sexual crime against children. Burkhardt describes the rampant interception of electronic communication between private citizens by law…
Read MoreIowa Supreme Court says State has ‘no duty’ to end what sex offenders call ‘silent mandatory minimum’
12/7/21 Do prisoners have a right to be paroled? And if so, do they have a right to access programming required to be eligible for parole? As a new decision from the Iowa Supreme Court shows, there’s no easy answer to either question. The court’s ruling, issued before Thanksgiving, denied an effort by […] [Read More]
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