Despite growing concerns and efforts to curb sexual predation on the University of Wisconsin campus and other communities around the state, many find that their efforts are ineffective because of a law that makes Wisconsin the leading state in the release of sexual offenders.
Wisconsin’s Chapter 980 law, passed in 1994, allows for the placement of sexual offenders in securely monitored homes within residential communities once they have served a portion of their criminal sentences and have received treatment at some sort of secure facility. Others, however, are released outright, with no restrictions or police jurisdiction.
Wisconsin’s Chapter 980 was designed specifically for those sexual predators who were predisposed to crime, such as those with mental disabilities and those convicted of assaulting children.
Since it became law in 1994, the state has released 39 people, and many have been incorporated into communities. Community members are often left in the dark as to where the offenders are placed. The result has been an outcry from locals citing a concern for their safety within their respective communities.
Many community leaders have filed petitions to block the state from placing the offenders in their neighborhoods.
Despite such action, several government officials believe the system is safe and does more good than harm.
According to Gary Freyberg, assistant attorney general for the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the law serves a dual purpose.
“Its primary purpose is to protect the public from future crimes,” Freyberg said. The law allows for additional surveillance of those who have served their full terms if they may present a potential danger.
Freyberg added that its secondary purpose is “to give help and treatment to those that need it, namely offenders that have a mental illness that may predispose to recommit crimes.”
He said the procedure for deeming whether or not an individual was ready for release is very complex. The process of releasing the offenders can be difficult and has to be approved by three separate facets of the government.
Every year, Department of Health and Family Services psychologists determine whether inmates have made enough progress to be considered for jurisdiction under Chapter 980. The DHFS must devise release plans for those they recommend. The plan is reviewed and then accepted or rejected by the court.
The plan must address factors ranging from proximity to other defenders to hormonal treatments for sexual-drive suppression. Different levels of severity dictate the restrictions put on the released individual.
The state must also concede. If the state thinks the person is still a threat, it can be proven otherwise in a trial, which can overturn the decision.
Skeptics, however, find that the law is not working. Of the 32 people released into community commitment since 1994, 15 have been returned or face return for law violations.
Wisconsin is in a league of 16 states currently employing laws similar to Chapter 980. Although it is not the most populous state in the group, it has released the most sexual offenders.
