Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions concerning the National Sex Offender Registry and to discuss this very important program. The RCMP view a proper and robust registry as an enhancement to public safety and look forward not only to the government’s continued support of this program, but welcome much needed efforts to strengthen it.
There are currently over 19,000 offenders on the database, and law enforcement agencies across the country administer and enforce the sex offender registry through 14 centres. While the RCMP has welcomed this program, the legislation which governs the Registry has presented us with very significant challenges, some of which are incongruent with the efficient and effective administration and enforcement of the program.
Firstly, the legislation is very specific concerning the information that can be recorded on the database. This means that we cannot include those administrative fields that are necessary for us to ensure the integrity of the data. This conflicts with one of the legislative principles, which calls for this repository to house current and reliable information.
In addition, basic personal data we can collect from convicted sex offenders is restricted. For instance, an offender’s vehicle information cannot be collected or registered on this database, despite the fact that the state, through motor vehicle branch systems, already possesses that information. As a result, the registry is of no assistance to law enforcement in those sexual crime investigations where police may only have a suspect vehicle description as a lead. As you can imagine, some sexual crime investigations are highly time sensitive.
Secondly, not all convicted sex offenders are ordered to the registry. In some provinces, applications are diligently made, while in others, orders are not being sought for a variety of reasons. The absence of an automatic inclusion on the registry of all offenders convicted of sexual crimes has led to the inconsistent application of the law across the country. Someone convicted of molesting a child in one province may be ordered to the registry, while in another province they may not. Given the difficulty of determining which sex offender will reoffend and which will not, this means that some of the recidivists are falling through the cracks.
Third, in many cases, strict provisions on disclosure prohibit communication between agencies that share the responsibility for managing sex offenders. The successful management of sex offenders requires collaboration among different justice agencies; yet the national sex offender registry is essentially prohibited from sharing information that would further this effort or even prevent a crime. This is detrimental not only to the public but to the offender as well.
Finally, the imposed legislated requirement that allows police to access the database only after a sexual crime has occurred runs contrary to our efforts in this country to prevent crime. Law enforcement agencies have a number of databases at their disposal that are accessed routinely by police for law enforcement and public safety purposes. The national sex offender registry database is not among them and is purely a reactive tool. There is no opportunity for this law enforcement tool to prevent what amounts to some of the most serious and devastating crimes.
It is true that offenders who are truly motivated to perpetrate crimes of violence will usually do so. It would be disingenuous on my part to suggest that the national sex offender registry would always or even consistently prevent sexual crimes, but there have been cases with other registries where this very thing has happened. While we do not view the sex offender registry as the panacea for solving sexual crime, it nevertheless has a role to play and can support our efforts in identifying and prosecuting sexual crime offenders. More importantly, crime prevention should always be one of law enforcement’s primary goals.
Crimes of a sexual nature can result in what is often irreparable trauma to the victims. The impact can be a life sentence for some. Therefore every effort should be made to reduce the risk of these crimes. The RCMP believes that a sex offender registry has value and can advance sexual crime investigations and, in some instances, potentially prevent crime.
The Federal government’s introduction of a national sex offender registry in 2004 was a positive move forward. However, there are significant improvements needed in order for this registry to efficiently and effectively fulfil the legislative principles and maximize its contribution to public safety.
Thank you.