Sex Offender Registry Access To Get Hearing Attorney General Spokesman Tells Panel Of People’s Frustration

In an effort to address the concerns of parents and schools trying to identify convicted sex offenders, a Senate committee agreed Friday to hear two bills strengthening the state’s registry system.

“People are frustrated because they can’t get access to registry information,” William von Tagen of the state attorney general’s office told the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee.

He cited a recent incident in Coeur d’Alene in which a sex offender parked near a school, but nobody could get access to the man’s name.

“Parents are going wild because they can’t find out the name of the man,” von Tagen said.

One measure the committee will debate later in the session would revise the current law by requiring sex offenders to register with local law officials after establishing residency in a county. Offenders also would have to re-register annually, which would include a new photograph and fingerprints.

People interested in having access to the sex offender registry would have to provide their name, address and driver’s license number.

The legislation, which would cost $120,000, also would mesh Idaho’s law with federal laws.

If the Legislature fails to pass the measure, von Tagen said the federal government will revoke about $300,000 that Idaho receives for local and state law enforcement.

The committee also will hold hearings on a bill that would create a juvenile sex offenders registry.

About 38 percent of Idaho’s sexual offenses are committed by juveniles, von Tagen said.

, DataTimes