The creation of Sex Offender Registry Act in 1996 gave the public and law enforcement greater tools to identify those convicted of sex offenses. But 15 years later legislators are still working to toughen the registry and close loopholes that have put the public at risk.
Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) was the prime sponsor of A7950, which Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law last Friday, which requires Level 2 sex offenders to register their employment address with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).
The DCJS categorizes sex offenders as low risk (Level 1), moderate risk (Level 2) or high risk (Level 3). Level 3 offenders must provide a working address to DCJS, but until Miller’s law was signed, Level 2 offenders only had to provide a home address. The state publicly releases some information about Level 2 and 3 offenders online at criminaljustice.state.ny.us.
Miller’s bill also updates some practices regarding the directory. Previously, a printed directory was provided to law enforcement, but as the list grew the process was discontinued. Miller said that since law enforcement was directed to the public directory, it must be updated.
“This bill is part of a comprehensive package of bills I have in the Assembly aimed at keeping our children safe from predators,” Miller said. “I am glad to see Governor Cuomo sign this legislation; however there are still more issues to address and I hope the Senate and Governor pass my other bills as well.”
Miller is also pushing to prevent convicted sex offenders from acquiring jobs that require substantial contact with children and for the state to determine the risk level status of convicted sex offenders within five days.
