Police Can’t Be Censors For City
Every once in a while you see them; short stories in the newspaper that notify the community a sex offender has moved in.
For parents and women, those notices can be terrifying. Just knowing a predator has moved in nearby - whether it’s on the same block or halfway across town - can make people feel uneasy.
Lately, it’s become just a little more scary.
The Spokane Police Department has stopped revealing the exact whereabouts of our newest, most dangerous neighbors; more often than not lately, they’ve declined to even provide the part of town when issuing their press releases.
They have their reasons and, to be fair, they make some sense. Police say they prefer not to release an address or neighborhood because those who don’t live in that area may be lulled into a false sense of security. He’s downtown, they think, and I’m in Mead. No need to worry, right?
Well, no. Sexual predators can get around just like anyone else - by car, bus or foot. Those likely to re-offend will be drawn to school yards, day cares and to vulnerable women, regardless of where they are. They’ll find a way.
In addition, police say it’s counterproductive to release an address or part of town because sex offenders move so often. But the Spokane police department, through its sexual exploitation unit, has been increasingly successful in keeping track of sexual offenders’ whereabouts by doing periodic checks. They now find 70 percent of the offenders living where they say they do, as opposed to the 30 percent of about four years ago.
Spokane police say they haven’t changed their policy, that they’ve never revealed the location except when they decide, on a case-by-case basis, that it’s relevant. This inconsistency can be troubling. Less than a year ago, press releases regularly were specific, including some that cited the block the sexual predator had moved to. Now, we’re lucky to find out what side of the river they’re on.
Police say it doesn’t matter exactly where the predators live. It’s enough to know the offenders have moved in and what their patterns and proclivities are.
As a newspaper aiming to inform its readers, we don’t think that’s good enough. Granted, law enforcement must walk a delicate line between informing communities of incoming sex offenders and preserving the privacy of people who have served their time. But the law gives police discretion regarding when and how to notify. Police should use that discretion in a way that places the safety of innocent neighbors and children ahead of the offenders’ desire to be invisible.
By refusing to consistently disclose even the neighborhood these sex predators live in, police are deciding for the community what it needs to know and what it doesn’t.
In doing so, police are denying the public the right to make its own decisions about what precautions will keep children and neighborhoods safe. And denying everyone peace of mind.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Anne Windishar/For the editorial board