Hey, good morning. The time is 6 1/2 minutes past 11. This is midday on Minnesota Public Radio Live. Finelli in today for Gary eichten. Will Minnesota sex offender notification law went into effect in January of 1997. The measure is intended to let people know when a sex offender is moving into their neighborhood and to provide a forum for them to discuss it with local police sex offenders are placed into three categories level three offenders are considered the most likely to commit another crime level 1 the least likely according to the law Community notification is required for level 3 sex offenders while schools churches and other institutions with potential victims are notified about level 2 offenders released in their areas. There have been no more than 50 battery notification meeting since the law went into effect will Alexander is the humidity notification coordinator for the Minnesota Corrections Department and has attended all the meetings. The latest was held last night in Bagley, which is near Bemidji where mr. Alexander joins us from our emperor NPR Studio their history.Good morning. Thanks for joining us today. I'll lister's I who have questions and comments about the sex offender notification law and its Effectiveness or lack of it may call in. Maybe you've been one to one term. You can share your experience with us. The number of the Twin Cities is227 6000 to 276 thousand. The number of the Twin Cities outside the metro area. The toll free number is one 802-422-8281. 800-242-2828 will start with the beginning that you've been to all these meetings have been held so far. I wonder if you could basically tell us have they have they all been kind of the same in terms of tone or do they differ depending on the location or some other factors?When the meeting's first began what we did see were people in addition to the residence of the community in which the offender was going to be released other people who were interested in the statute and how the meetings might work attending the meetings as well as a citizens in that area what we've seen over time as the meeting's draw back to where we expected that the most attention should be placed and where we hope most of the activity and that's the citizens in the community directly around or Jason to where the offender is going to reside I could have came to be a free-for-all sometimes or is it is a very orderly or give us some sense of how these meetings are are conducted.All of the meetings have reflected what one might expect from eating of this type in Minnesota very orderly very conscientious citizens coming to the meeting with some anxiety and some fear expecting information that they've been told by local law enforcement that they will receive at those meetings are the meetings generally start with the delivery of information about the Minnesota registration statute the notification statute and where it came from some general information about sex offenders and then information about the specific offender around who the meeting was called the information about their pattern of behavior. I'm some of the things that citizens might look out for but I think also real importantly is that some general safety tips to in regards to all sexual offenders are potential victimizing situations. So people don't leave those meetings just with information about a specific offender what was general information how to be more safe themselves and keep their family children safer. SoThat these meetings have been constructed so far and have achieved basically what what officials had hoped. I think that they've achieved beyond what the officials of hope we get the tremendous feedback and local jurisdictions from citizens days weeks and sometimes months after the meeting I'm seeking additional information are requesting law enforcement officials to come and talk to citizen groups or to help them start block Club. So great other forms outside of the meetings to discuss issues around Community safety and the intent of the statute was to develop that. Strength of communication between law enforcement and local citizens around specific offenders and issues involving victimization and that's been very successful. Is there anything that any changes you think need to be made to make them better or do you keep them just the same?So far, it's it's hard to look at something that's gone as well. As this process has and to intended to change or fix anything. What we do see is willingness by law enforcement agencies to listen to my experiences and others who have gone to many of the medians representative skoglund has been to many of the meetings throughout the state, as have others in the legislature and to listen to their comments and especially to listen to the comments and feedback from all of the citizens to come to the meetings. Most of the meetings. We ask people to fill out a form asking for them to pay particular attention to things that they expected to find at the meeting and weren't delivered the things that they thought were not necessary to listen to it those meetings that might be avoided and then to look at changing those meetings on an ongoing basis rather than have a pivotal point where we draw matically change what's going on. So it's an evolving process with the meetings with little small minor but important changes all along the way.I guess I midday today is Will Alexander. He is the humidity notification coordinator for the Minnesota Corrections Department or talking about the notification meetings that to have been under way for about a year-and-a-half now under the sex offender notification law and if you have any questions or comments for mr. Alexander, I'll give us a call in the Twin Cities. The number is 227-6002. Toll-free number is one 800-242-2828. How are people notified? First of all, when a level 3 sex offender moving into the neighborhood.First the decision for how that notification was to be made in the community was the legislature intended for the most local law enforcement jurisdiction where the offender intended to reside to make those decisions and I'll compare two different areas. The City of Minneapolis safe unit does notifications that a meeting is going to occur at a particular location at a particular time and place are they used Flyers delivered door-to-door to get that information to the citizens in a Precinct or in a neighborhood where they believe that that meeting should have the most impact the information contained in that flyer is only the that there is an offender about to be released or who has relocated to that area and where the meeting time and location is and that's worked very well for Minneapolis in some out State areas where communication is limited and citizens are more likely to be spread out over a wide area on the statute also allows law enforcement to use local me.To distribute information about the offender and in many cases law enforcement has distributed information including the Defenders name the general location where they're going to reside some of the information about their pattern of behavior and also announce the time and place of a meeting that people could come and discuss the issue. So it ranges from Justin announcement of the meeting to specific information about the offender being distributed. Is there a door to door or buy it through local media laser for level 3 offenders. I mentioned also that level 2 offenders also facing public scrutiny of these are places like schools and churches does is that working too differently? Well, that's the level to is the area where law enforcement is actually expected to make the most significant decisions how to deal with the level 1 or level 3 is pretty much set out in statute and the latitude with which law enforcement has to to move in there. I'm is pretty narrow, but but pretty successful so far the level 2 offenders.Offered in the statute calls for law enforcement to look at the pattern of behavior that the offender is exhibited. I'm not that the Department of Corrections provides them in an information packet and to determine what citizens are what groups of citizens should have that information would most benefit from it. It does not necessarily mean that every time an offender is released that day care centers and schools will be notified or churches. But what the what that level looks at is where groups or organizations have groups of individuals that fit the victim pattern of the offender and how police can most efficiently deliver the information to that group of people or individuals now do the Defenders ever show up or is it family members?We've had several meetings were family members have I have arrived in some cases have spoken on behalf of their family member who is being released or is relocated to the area. In other cases. They were just curious as to what kind of information was going to be delivered about their loved one or their relatives because these fenders do have families and and friends that care about them and they're just speaking as everyone else is the information that the police have frequently. I have relatives of offenders come up at the end of the meeting and talk to the chief law enforcement agent or myself and you know Express the fact that they were surprised with the the level in the tone of the meeting that they expected on angry mob and and we're real surprised by how civil the whole process was. We have had several offenders come to meetings, but it's been more of a reflection offenders that have been in the community for a while coming to another meeting because they wereAble to attend the one that that was held on on their regard and to observe. What a what a meeting is. Like do you do think that the offender should be there and I think it would help or hurt the situation. I don't think it's an appropriate form for the offender to be the laws intended to deal with offenders released from prison initially. So the first nine months or so about the first nine months of meetings all dealt with offenders for being released from prison. So the meetings occurred before they were even released from prison on now as we get into the second half of 1998, probably half of the meetings that occur are going to be on the fenders who are in the community, but I've relocated to another address since their release. I don't see a big benefit for the offender's to be there. I think that it allows the community may be to focus attention on a specific individual rather than sexual offending patterns of behavior and safety issues that they might better spend their time discussing sex offender notification meetings. If you'd like to join the discussion with Will Alexander, give us a call to 276 thousand in the Twin Cities. The toll free number is one 800-242-2828 Sarah, Minneapolis. Go ahead, please. Hi. I would like to find out if you know how many of the level three offenders have been re-arrested either with the violations or with new offenses. Thanks for your question we have right now. This is the time frame on the exposure in the community on these offenders is very very short. But we do have evidence that for level 3 offenders have committed new offenses. And when I say we have evidence we have to offenders who have been convicted of new sex or sex related offenses and two offenders who have been charged with or we anticipate will be charged with new crimes. We have one additional offender who left the state for whom we believe a warrant has been issued and we have a level 2 offender that's been charged with the offense assault in total 700 Fender six or seven offenders depending on how broad of a and that we'd like to look at have been charged with new crimes that are sex-related crimes are serious. Felony crimes of the level 3. We've also had 19 offenders that have been had to release revoked or Ben Reese truck. As we call it in Corrections back into an institution because they failed a treatment program. They have not arrived at work when they were supposed to they've had chemicals either alcohol or other chemicals in their system. So that's I hope those numbers are what you were looking for. How many sex offenders are living in the community that were released before the new law. Well, there's it's hard to tell going back forever. And that's what we would have to do because we've been releasing offenders from Minnesota prison since the first one was built in this state. It's pretty tough. But what we can relate to and what we mostly do is offenders that I have been asked to required to register since Minnesota's registration statute went into effect in 1991, the registration statute 1 into a fraction, why first a 1991 and as of April 15th of 1998, there has been 7158 cumulative offenders required to register that Statewide now that that statute was developed. The law enforcement would have a tool for investigating same or similar crimes in areas where offenders resided and actually without the registration statute requiring offenders to notify law enforcement where they're living notification couldn't exist. So that the that might give you a better handle as to what the Numbers that were looking at are we seeing more or fewer level 3 sex offenders? Right. Now the numbers breakdown as of July 2nd weed released information the Department of Corrections sex offender unit that releases this information to police. It released information on 770 offenders 480 of those were level ones at 62.3% 183 were level twos as 23.7 and 107 were level 3 13.9 14% We don't anticipate that number increasing in fact in October of this year, which is the second anniversary of when we began assigning risk level 2 offenders due to be released from prison the statue to also allows for offenders who have committed no new crime sorbate behaved in the community successfully completed their supervisor release program to petition the commissioner of Corrections to have their wrist level reduced. So where we may see someone returned to prison at 11 to be in rear At least as a level 3 will also see a Fenders that have been successful in the community as level 3 and level twos being reduced to level starting in October and how long does a typical level 3 sex offender a serve in prison? Minnesota has actually one of the highest three averages for sex offenses were looking at people that averaged about 80 months in prison. Now, we have level three offenders that are released would that serve very short periods of time comparatively and we have level three offenders that have been released serving an excess of 12 or 13 years and in prison, but the average is somewhere around 8 or so and why is there such a big range Minnesota? We see more first time offenders in prison now than we did five years ago and some of our younger offenders because of the short-term. They're short lifespan maybe have not accumulated a number of offenses that and which other individuals have it have been victimized where they've been convicted in and maybe on probation and fail or released from prison one other time of a decade ago, but people who is Criminal pattern of behavior and lack of cooperation or participation and not positive efforts within the institution. Lead us to believe that that offenders should be on a level 3 offender. So it may not be specifically on a crime that requires a long-term incarceration. But because of the information that that activity presents when they show up in prison, they need to be a level 3 and do these terms even though I suppose the short ones that a long enough for for them to deter these offenders from committing your thing. What we have some substantial evidence that offenders that successfully complete treatment do fewer new sex offense crimes than other offenders in our system who do not successfully complete treatment. It certainly create fewer new victims and offenders that are terminated or kicked out of treatment for one reason or another in prison the length of time involved to deter someone we have people who are who have committed they come to prison with one sex offense and we don't see them arrested or investigated for any other criminal activity after their release a number of years 5 6 7 years after release so it it's as with individual Behavior. It's on a case-by-case basis, but certainly that the incarceration does have an impact on offenders. Will Alexander is the humidity in notification coordinator for the State Corrections Department were talking about the sex offender notification meetings that have been taking place in Minnesota over the last year and a half before you'd like to join the conversation with a question or comment from history Alexander. Feel free to give us a call. The toll-free number is 1 800-242-2828 1 800-242-2828 in the Twin Cities. The number is 227-6002. 276 thousand neighbor should know the criminal background of somebody who's who has done his time. We've seen in Minnesota and into other real specific activities that a record that we're just egregious acts where parents of Gina North and North Dakota and parents of Megan kanka in New Jersey reflect on the fact that a criminal event occurred in which their child was victimized in the case of Gina North and and Megan kanka, they're both of their daughters were killed by offenders that resided close-by of whom they had no knowledge. They felt that they may not have been able to prevent the crime but they certainly would have advised their children to act differently in their neighborhood or around those particular offenders. If they'd have known that they existed in the community. So the intent of the statute initially was that neighbors close by the people that lived on both sides of the offender the people that lived across the alley or across the street with no one in Fender was there or in the block but in a modern-day Community the community expands a little farther than just that neighborhood for the offender reside. So that intent is that there is someone here put yourself on alert, but at the same time and delivering that information to let people know that for those of us who work with information about sex offenders and for those individuals that work with the offenders. The scariest ones to us are the ones that have never been caught that are still in the community that have continued their criminal Behavior without detection or certainly without apprehension. And so we're hoping that by delivering this information to the community we can tell him about a particular offender but enhance their safety by having them look at their General patterns of behavior citizens to see if they can improve their safety of themselves and their children as a sex offender any different from a murderer or other people who commit to know what Society has labeled is a heinous crime. And that's a very interesting question at that question is come up at about half of the meetings that we have. There's no good answer to that there. There's probably a higher degree of prevention that's available to two people. We have to keep in mind in Minnesota that aren't numbers at the Department of Corrections indicate from victim responses victim reports an artificial looking and record saw that we receive another friend arrives at 92% of the people that are incarcerated have victimized people they're related to or acquainted with so I think when you look at issues of how you can prevent crime that may not be as easy to do on a random robbery or a random act of homicide, but certainly something that someone could develop a safer pattern of behavior for themselves and their children based on what we know about sexual offending. Take a caller a Herald in Meadowlands. Go ahead please go but I love to level three sex offenders occasionally are going to put in those in organizations custody and put out on work release and I have my question is your employer employees these people if they are informed of the nature of the offense that the person has committed and if the organization that the that the employer has one Could you hear me? Okay. Yes. I did it Minnesota has a specific work release program mod at the current time. We don't have level 2 and level 3 offenders in that program having said that we have offenders that are released from prison who are required as part of their release conditions to find employment and work. And yes, the statute does cover where an offender resides works or is regularly found and local law enforcement generally shares with the law enforcement jurisdiction where the offender is working if it's different from the one that Nana and which shot he or she is residing that's that the offender is there the other thing of the offender is under supervised release conditions where they have a supervised release agent in every case that I'm personally aware of and most that I believe happened in the state. The agent makes it a requirement that the offender notify the employer of their status there criminal status before they accept employment there a place to To stay when they're released this release plan, what kind of goes into that the release planning a curse at an institution and can start upwards of a year before an offender is released. It is one of the difficulties in the community notification while that has pointed out too many people in the state and I'm going difficulty with no place for an offender being released from prison to live and something that has has been created with a little more magnitude as the notification meetings have continued with with people not being willing to rent or provide housing for level 3 offenders certainly and in some cases level 2 offenders. It's a very difficult position that the state the agents in the offenders themselves around right now to find housing. Kathy Minneapolis your question, please. my question weather evidence that and if they re-offend do it within their community in other words, is there a I realize that your guess is carrying out the will of the legislature. Is there a rational basis for registering in your neighborhood is the greatest risk to the people in the immediate community? Okay. Thanks. Certainly, when we discuss sex offenders were talking about a broad range of individuals of Ages and of activities. What we do know is that offenders are more likely to victimize people that they know or are related to what this does is provides an opportunity for those people who live closest to the offender where the offender is likely to spend the most time next to work or next to a place where they're being educated and allows that Community an opportunity to tell their children or other individuals likely to be victimized. This is may not be in a person that you want to develop a relationship right now. It's certainly is worth knowing if you have someone that's victimized to people that they've been in charge of through babysitting or childcare coaching or organized youth activities, but this is not someone you want to put in that position. So I think in regards to that this is certainly a benefit we don't have any Set in the case of a of an active young man who's got a history of assaulting strangers that those strangers are going to be selected within walking distance of their home. And so that's a population that's troubling. But the people that rely on developing trust and rely on a veil of secrecy to continue their their offending Behavior. I believe this is certainly going to have an impact on that behavior pattern. This is a midday on Minnesota Public Radio were talking today about the sex offender notification law in the state of Minnesota and we will continue our discussion in just a moment medical savings accounts were set up by Congress to provide small businesses and to self employed with an affordable way to pay for medical expenses. How do they work who should sign up find out on some money this week from MSA expert allen + Chris Ferrell Erica what cleaner and Coca-Cola Collectibles to all on somebody Saturday morning at 10 again Sunday afternoon at 5 on Minnesota Public Radio kuow, FM 91.1 Today's programming is made possible in part by The Advocates of Minnesota Public Radio contributors include 3M maker of Scotchgard brand protectors and the Honeywell Foundation providing the benefits of control worldwide coming up at noon today as part of a mid-day broadcast author Dinesh D'Souza. He was in the Twin Cities in February and I he has done a study about the former President Ronald Reagan and his legacy. His new book is titled Ronald Reagan how an ordinary Man became an extraordinary leader. He spoke at the center of the American experiment and is now a research scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and will hear his remarks said shortly after noon today Dinesh D'Souza afternoon here on midday stay tuned for that quick. Look at our weather forecast today pretty nice. Mostly cloudy skies for the north just a chance of showers in the Canadian border. Otherwise, I should be probably to mostly sunny high temperatures from the middle 60s in the North and the upper 70s in the South mostly clear tonight Lowe's in the 40s and 50s. Probably mostly sunny tomorrow eyes mainly in the 70s for the Twin Cities today. Mostly sunny high is 78 clear tonight Aloha 53 sunny tomorrow and a high of 77 degrees. It is now 27 minutes before 12 noon. This is midday from Minnesota Public Radio. Eichten Diaz away. I'm very fanelli. Thanks for joining us. We are talking about Minnesota sex offender sex offender notification law or gas is Will Alexander. He is the humidity notification coordinator for the Minnesota Corrections Department and we'll have some more questions for him. But we want to bring in David Lilah hog right now. He called in the course that he is. The former US attorney in is a candidate for Minnesota attorney general this little hike Let's see if this is a lie. Can you hear me? Okay, go ahead. Mr. Alexander. I'm glad to hear you reaffirm the importance of keeping track of predatory sex offenders, but I'm really concerned about a recent study that came out in Hennepin County that shows that when predatory sex offenders are prosecuted for failing to keep law enforcement and probation officers notified of their current addresses that only about 9% of them get any additional jail time for that and let the median sentence additional sense is only 29 days. How do we drive home to judge is the importance of keeping track of the sex offenders? That's a good question what we have discovered. I think that that study points out a couple of issues one is that often offenders need to be reminded in a serious manner within the criminal justice system that is statute like registration is serious that the law enforcement is taking it seriously and the judicial system is in a lot of the cases that have occurred in Hennepin County. And I know also in Ramsey County offenders who believe that if they had an address where they received a paycheck or receive their mail and stop by once in awhile, but we're living with a partner across town at that address were there mail came would be a place that would be okay to register to and they didn't really have to tell anybody that they were living with a friend across the city have been informed in court because of a gross misdemeanor conviction that that wouldn't be tolerated any longer. So I think in the mix of that we see that offenders that sometimes that that jail time is diminished by offenders being released on time served. Where the judge feels that are none management is going to be enough of a reminder and they're not going to see an offender. I attempt to avoid registration. We certainly have seen some more significant convictions around the state and as yet, I don't know if I have anyone that's been prosecuted at the second level which if one fails to register to the first time can be convicted of a gross misdemeanor, but if the second time fails to register appropriately register can be convicted of a felony. I'm not currently aware of any felony conviction Statewide on that. So there's a possibility that that gross misdemeanor conviction is being effective in getting a people reluctant to register in line. We are joint Now by representative West skoglund. He chairs the house Judiciary Committee and the co-author of the sex offender notification law representatives to Oakland High effect about a year-and-a-half now or we can hearing this about some of the meetings. I have been taking place. What what's been your impression so far above the effectiveness of the law and we'll does an excellent job. I have to say just an excellent job. I probably 25-30 meeting for the most part getting the messages that were trying to give them one about the particular offender who's being released how they can protect themselves from that offender to about the offender who's more likely to injure them tell their children and that's the sky in their midst of day as soon as the nicest person in the world in the truth is that he's grooming his victims. The data on shows that statistically seven out of eight people who are molested or injured are a blister injured by somebody who was acquainted with the victim. Corson no law is perfect. What are your major concerns or any proposed changes to the law? I think the smaller is fine. Let's actually we're learning is that we go along as they go to these meetings, for example, if nobody wants a sex offender in their Community reality is everybody has sex offenders plural living in their communities, but when we have these meetings people feel that they're being isolated they're being picked out in their Town. They're our area is being the one that I have to take this person a little things like maps not showing specifically where offenders list but may have to show they live all over the state. They live in the wealthiest communities Lavon Farms that live in a high-rise apartments and I think people realize we're all these people are living now. I can't today feel better, but they'd be more accepting of people notified and the chief benefit of notifications that now they know what they didn't used to know. the the law contains a lot of rules and regulations governing offenders is it you're feeling that that most of them are complying with these rules and that it's that it's working or Well, the level 3 offenders have a very short rain and the probation officers are monitoring the level three offenders that pretty closely and a number of them have been real I brought back to prison. I don't know of I think there may have been some who have who have committed a sex offense adopt-a-school on that, but most of them recommitted for drinking moving and not telling of their probation officer or other kinds of behaviors that are precursors to going back to their old ways crimes under the influence of alcohol second marijuana, and then after that to the other drugs, so it's very important that they remain chemical-free Weiser will thanks for your time today. He does a good job for guy gets yelled at everyday very well. Thank you. Thank you. And we are talking with all-wheel Alexander who is the humidity notification coordinator for the State Corrections Department regarding the Minnesota sex offender notification law and I feel like joining discussion. Give us a call to 276 thousand in the Twin Cities or 1 800 one 800-242-2828. Our next caller is a Fred in Minneapolis. Go ahead please send a comment. Basically. I personally feel that the sex offender notification law seems to me of my world like a scare tactic seems like everybody's kind of built up a big industry around hunting down pedophiles and everybody else. My question is what is what happens with these men and women that you don't ever talk about women what happens to these people when they're no longer in these programmed. I mean, basically you label them to the point that they can't get it. Job, they can't live anywhere. They can have family. They can't do anything and they can't go state to state because their past is going to travel behind them, aren't they people like anybody else? I mean, we don't know the fight anybody with violent criminals come out or egg people at Conn's go to a job or something. Some people the most people don't even know anything about them. But these people been labeled to the point that how do you expect them to ever regain a life? If you've already made sure that they don't have a life. Do these concerns come up with these meetings? Certainly, the concerns come up I concerned for Corrections are the conflict that we have in providing information to the public and then labeling individuals is someone that is at high risk to reoffend. It certainly makes their path back into the community a little more difficult. However what we have found and we have several very good examples of this is that offenders that do what they're supposed to do that entertain and involve themselves in activities that lead them to a crime-free lifestyle have a faster pace of outliving that passed then what we anticipated. I'm in other words if an offender comes out as a level 3 offender does what they're supposed to do Vines employment reports on time stays away from use of chemicals of any sort of goes along with the directives of their supervised release agent on we see them learning more and more freedom in the community and less and less criticism from community members were Don't want them in their midst. I'm so upset. It's certainly a tougher Road for some offenders on when released under notification, but please keep in mind that well over 80% of the offenders are in the level 1 and level 2 category. So we have a very narrow field of offenders that reach that widespread public notification. That doesn't level 3, I'm Fred Mater interesting comment all states. Now in the united states were required as of fall of last year to have in play some notification procedures if they wish to continue getting there full amount of federal funding for crime-fighting. So this is not something that an offender can avoid by moving to another state Allstate to also have registration in effect for varying periods of time with varying degrees of a verification, but it's certainly not something that an offender can avoid by crossing the state line have there been many cases of neighbors taking matters into their own hands. We've had a couple of very isolated incidents of people shouting at offenders as they were going to work in the morning people attempting to pick it in which case it's illegal to block entrance or egress to someone's residents are in that regard what we have seen in Reverse is people saying I don't like the fact that you're here I feel uncomfortable. But my name is Joe Smith and I'm your next-door neighbor and I just want you to know who I am. So we see that cautious very anxious Minnesota nice prevailing. We also see law enforcement stepping up and providing a very low tolerance for any harassment by citizens of offenders whom law enforcement has released information about the bottom line is law enforcement likes the statute. They fought for the statute. They want to notify their communities and they know that offenders are harassed because of information they provide their citizens. It's likely the courts won't allow the statute to stand so they've been vigilant. I provided that measure of of Sanity that that's really necessary for this statue in the intent of the statue to work. Go back to the phones, Tara and Minneapolis. Go ahead, please. It's it's a requirement local law enforcement makes those decisions. That's and thanks for your interest. That's something that has been discussed in several areas in Minneapolis Rancher instance. There are areas of town that have a real high turnover of residence where the majority of residents in an area live in rental units. We didn't meet Minneapolis Police Department invited me to participate in a meeting close by Augsburg College last fall when they handed out flyers to 15000 individuals because of all of the dormitory. It's not in the area and the best estimate we could come up with is that 10 weeks after that notification meeting 70% of the residents would have rolled over would have changed moved to a different room moved to a different Placer new people moved in and they were fully anticipated doing another meeting because of that. We also have areas of the state for instance know we have not had a level 3 offender move into this area. Law enforcement of participated in training in the Brainerd area where if one doesn't notification meeting on a Monday night and everyone comes it's the residence in a resort to that meeting a week later 90% of the people that were in the area when the meeting occurred no longer exist. So they're certainly has to be situations tailored in areas, but I I please contact your local police department and see if they have a plan in place to notify new residents most of the police departments in the state keep some something either in a Precinct or in their headquarters area on the offenders that they can notify residents about the one someone's moving into an area. They can find out at least about the offenders around who meetings have occurred. How will there have been reports where apparently State officials haven't notified local authorities about the release of an offender. Is that the case and and if so what's being done about it? Early on with the statute there certainly were communication Avenue is that were not established with anything other than this statute and as those began to be established there. Was there a splice in the system and in a couple of cases and they certainly were less than a handful of cases on a fender was released before law enforcement knew that they were coming out having said that we have had circumstances were the Department of Corrections has done everything required by Statute by both the letter of the law on the intent of the law. But for instance, we had an offender that was released on orders of a judge. His sentence was abandoned. He still was covered by notification but basically someone in prison had to walk back to his cell with him help him pack his stuff and put him out the door and that case law enforcement word. There were angry at first that this offender was released without them being notified until I found out why that occurred and when the more difficulties we have When placing offenders in finding residence for offenders, the shorter time span is available at to notify law enforcement because we certainly can't tell enforcement butter Fender that's going to live in their jurisdiction. If we are not aware that they're going to live there until just days before they're released in some cases hours. We're working as hard as we can to correct that but I don't think there's any quick or far sweeping solution to that short time span. Okay, Michelle and I was out of your question, please serious concerns about civil rights issues raised about this offender notification, and I guess I have a unique experience because I'm related to a sex offender and You know, of course the whole thing devastated everybody in his entire life and so not only do I have to live in hate this hate this experience that he brought into our lives. But I also still love him and want him to have a good life. He was incarcerated. He got help he does not fall under the notification jurisdiction, but it certainly made me think about it a lot and and think about the fact that you know, it's supposedly in the justice system. You're incarcerated you get help you've paid your dues and then you're released into society chance to make things new and different and you know, this seems like The Scarlet Letter to me. How is a person supposed to recover from this and I understand there are a lot of repeat offenders and this is very very scary and it scares everybody but on the other hand I come from a perspective of wanting my relatives to try and have a good life and rebuild. So let me get it to me the meetings that are unfair or I think that by notifying the neighborhood it. It causes a lot of Hysteria, you know a few months back. I saw a commercial like an eyewitness news type thing expose where they were, you know, filming this this neighbor the sex offender that moved into this neighborhood and blah blah blah and it was awful. I mean, it was very very scary and I think you know that like an earlier call or said we don't notify people when violent offenders are released from prison. I just think you know, if any of us had had that done something committed a crime paid our dues and then we had our neighbors and told about it and our workplace told about it. It would make it really impossible to come back from that. Bixby call Michelle Alexander is homecoming. Certainly again, I would remind the collar that the majority of offenders that we released under notification from Minnesota prisons are risk level one that requires law enforcement to notify simply the victim of the crime witnesses to the crime or a third party that the prosecuting attorney May designate needs to be notified in that generally is someone who was acting on behalf of the victim. I were the victim doesn't want any contact any longer with the criminal justice system in and would rather have a relative or a victim service provider take that information in so most of the offenders that we have released fall in a category a word notification is a very low impact event in their course of recovery their corserva incarceration and re-entering the community level 2 offenders are stepped up just a notch. But again, the level of conversation in the community is limited to those areas for us since we had a level 2 offender who acquired contact with a couple of victims. By going to country western bars in becoming intoxicated with them not all the daycare centers in schools in the area where he resided were notified, but certainly the country western bars were made aware that his presence was of was a violation of his conditions of release offenders who arrived in the community as a risk level 3 offender have earned their way there the collar talked about a relative who had done programming in had been successful and that's certainly the profile of an offender that we're going to see more likely as a level 1 than a level 3 level 3 offenders are generally people who come with a an assortment of criminal activity generally more than one sex offense in their history and a pattern of not cooperating in the institutions with the the acceptance of a program in both chemical dependency educational programming and certainly sex offender programming for one more quick. Call Joann St. Paul. Go ahead, please. Halfway house for adult criminal sex offenders. I worked there for several years and from my experience. I think that Community notification is a very good idea because unless these criminals are permanently incarcerated or kept off the streets. I have seen them all end up back in the community and in my opinion after counseling them for several years. I personally believe that once they have committed an offense like that. They are very capable of doing it again. I don't care how much counseling they've gone through if they're in the right circumstances and the Temptation is there they will do and most of the offenders that I work with were child molesters and I have some of the most just really frightening individuals that we've had who have they were all Court referred. One of them was in and out of Still Water between are halfway house in Stillwater prison again, and again, and he always ended up back in the streets and I have personally seen him twice in the last few years and each time. He was with somebody a child. I could easily assume was another victim of his and unless they are, you know, some of my co-workers and I we really felt and we were very felt very compassionate for these people. But unless they were permanently monitored forever. They will reoffend and this one person. I'm thinking of in particular the community that he originally came from and and offended in he is ostracizing. This is a fairly good-sized City. He can't go back there. He is wanted he is so hated down there and he lives here in Minneapolis. Now, we have to wrap up the comment. He has said that across the spectrum of people in the corrections field die in treatment field. There's certainly a different group of opinions about why notification is effective are this was one many people believe it's effective that work in Corrections of than that it's an important new tool for us to use in managing dangerous people when they're released from prison in the commune. We that believe in Corrections are working very hard to see that this has the highest impact on improving Public Safety and the lowest impact in keeping offenders from being reintegrated into the community when they release the light will we have to end there, but thanks for joining us today. Thanks for the opportunity to talk about this issue. I appreciate it. The right will Alexander is a community notification coordinator for the Minnesota Corrections Department. He joined us from Bemidji. Thanks to all the colors and thanks to the folks in Bemidji for providing Studios for mr. Alexander today. I'm Ray Suarez. It's book club time and is part about a series on Puerto Rico. We're discussing the house on the Lagoon by Puerto Rican author Rosario Fede novel traces the history of a San Juan family over five generations, and it touches on many of the political and social issues Puerto. 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