By Oct. 1, colleges nationwide will have received information from the state regarding sex offenders who are enrolled, employed or somehow affiliated with the campus.
In turn, colleges will then be in charge of notifying students, faculty members and administrators where they can obtain the information.
The Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act “provides the tracking of convicted sex offenders enrolled at or employed by institutions of higher education.” Colleges are not required to ask for information regarding a person’s past experience upon application. The gathering of the information is the sole responsibility of the offender as well as the state.
The University of Wisconsin is already in compliance with the new law. The UW Police Department’s website has a link to the sex offenders registry maintained by Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections.
Captain Brian Bridges said offenders are required to report where they’re working and going to school; however, they are currently having a hard time receiving compliance because no one is actively supervising.
UW’s system involves allowing someone to search the registry via zip code or name through the website.
“The website is designed to enhance public safety by making the information contained in the Sex Offender Registry easily accessible to the public,” reads the Department of Corrections website.
Bridges said the list provides access to sex offenders who are living and working in the midst of the community in a relatively efficient way.
Although, the new updated registry has good intentions, many are citing potential problems with it. One of the first problems cited is the issue regarding common names. UW attempts to combat this problem by providing pictures on the website for the majority of the offenders listed. It is even difficult to locate certain offenders due to the number of aliases they have been know by throughout their criminal life.
State Representative Mark D. Gundrum cites a major problem with this issue being the lack of punishment they receive for failing to register. He has proposed legislation to make it a felony when a sex offender fails to register rather than a misdemeanor. He also wants to make it illegal for sex offenders to change their names and ultimately lose their past offense.
Other universities are currently battling how to deal with the new law and present the information to their communities. The State University of New York at Binghamton has a registry similar to UW’s in that it is available on the Internet. Other universities are insisting on keeping a paper copy of the list of offenders at a campus office or police department.
Regardless, of how universities decide to present the information, it is also common for the public to be notified if serious offenders have moved into the community.
Bridges said it depends on the level of seriousness, and people can be notified in forms of town meetings, e-mail notifications, etc.
“It can be many things,” Bridges said. “There’s no one notification tool.”
Bridges also commented that the system is by no means perfect but that nothing is. However, he believes it is a step in the right direction and that it really helps “folks” who live in smaller areas.
“However, ten years from now, who knows if this will work,” Bridges said.
