SAN MATEO -- States have come up with all sorts of ways to deal with residents convicted of a sex crime: Ohio proposed putting pink license plates on their cars, California spends $65 million a year for GPS monitoring and many others have housing restrictions that force sex offenders into homelessness.
But these are bad ideas, Seattle police Detective Bob Shilling said Thursday. All these approaches spring from fear and misinformation, and they exacerbate efforts to keep convicted offenders from hurting more victims, he said.
Shilling, the keynote speaker at a training conference in San Mateo held by the California Coalition on Sexual Offending, worked for 21 years as a sex crimes detective. He was also part of Washington state's pioneering, but initially messy, effort to notify residents of sex offenders in their midst.
His experience left him with the conviction that educating the public is the surest way to avoid bad laws, a terrified populous and more victims.
During his address to the law enforcement and mental health professionals in the crowd, Shilling pointed to some startling evidence. A 2007 study of Florida residents found that 74 percent believed convicted rapists would strike again once of out prison, and 76 percent thought the same of child molesters.
But a 2004 study that followed 4,724 sex offenders over a period of 15 years found only 24 percent were charged with or convicted of a new sexual offense, he said.
"Is that good? No," he said. "But this type of thing makes a difference."
The 31-year veteran of law enforcement said high recidivism numbers have been used to make the argument for harsher laws. But he said this kind of legislation -- such as the Adam Walsh Act, signed into law in 2006 by President George W. Bush -- does nothing to keep convicted offenders from abusing more victims. The law, among other things, mandated the creation of a national sex-offender registry.
"We use the fear of sex offenders to pass legislation, to get legislators elected because they talk tough, to get legislators unelected if they don't and perpetuate the public hysteria about sex offenders," he said.
Shilling, who is himself a victim of childhood sexual abuse, went on to say he is not an advocate of letting offenders off with a slap on the wrist. Rather, he is concerned with keeping them from doing it again. He said treatment works, but so does creating an environment where offenders can get back on their feet.
"Offenders need stability," he added. "If you see something that is a concern, call (police)."
Much of his experience comes from Washington state's rollout of the nation's first law on sex-offender notification. He said police would drop fliers on the doorsteps of homes or stick them in door handles.
In one case, officers in Snohomish County sparked a violent reaction after handing out fliers on a man named Joseph Gallardo, who was about to be released from prison. The document said he had "sadistic and deviant sexual fantasies which include torture, sexual assault, human sacrifice, bondage and the murder of young children."
"Here's what happened," Shilling said, bringing up video footage of the man's home in flames. Angry residents burned his house down, forcing police to review how they release information to the public.
Public information sessions, of which Shilling has conducted hundreds, are the best way to avoid a reaction of this sort, he said.
In San Mateo County, these types of gatherings have been done on a case-by-case basis, said Stephen Kaplan, interim director of behavioral health. They have come in response to residents raising concerns about an offender moving onto their street. The last one was two years ago in East Palo Alto.
So before embarking on widespread meetings, like Shilling has suggested, county leaders would need to see whether the gatherings would stir up fears rather than calm anxious people, Kaplan said.
"We would have to weigh the pros and cons," he said. "It's hard to say it whether it would be effective."
a tale of two studies
There is a discrepancy between public perception
and the actual recidivism rate of convicts, according
to Seattle police Detective Bob Schilling:
2007 study of the perceptions of Florida residents
74% Portion of people surveyed who believed convicted rapists would strike again
76% Portion of people surveyed who thought child molesters would strike again
2004 study of the recidivism rate of sex offenders
24% Number of offenders charged with or convicted in 15 years of a new sexual offense
