« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »

March 28, 2008

Are sex offenders ill?

A great article from the Sex Crime blog: Are Sex Offenders Ill?

I'm not a mental health professional, so I won't offer an opinion. I will say that their mental health is not of concern to our org.

What is of concern is that -if they have gotten to the point of being 'sex offenders' - they allowed themselves to impose on another person in a sexually violent manner.

That's what jails are for.

Posted by Bethan at 08:20 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 25, 2008

What do you think about Age of Consent?

Watch some of these episodes from 20/20's series, Age of Consent: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/AgeOfConsent/

What do you think - should a 19 year old who has intercouse with his 15 year old girl friend stay on a registry forever?

 

Posted by Bethan at 11:26 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 24, 2008

March Update

2008 is an eventful year so far.
In January, we worked with the Washington State Bar Association on their methods of dealing with members accused of sex crimes, prepared for the 2008 Legislative Session, and we traveled to Olympia to testify before a legislative committee.
In February, we made several trips to Olympia to testify and talk to legislators, put up a new website, and started preparations for Missing Children's Week, in May.
In March we
  1. Watched the clock as all of our Bills stalled in the final stage of the legislative session. In those final hours, the legislators showed us that they do not share our priorities. Disappointed? Hugely. Dis-spirited? Yeah, a little. And very motivated to get our message heard and our legislation passed in 2008/09.
  2. Received word from the Washington State Bar Association that they read our Letter of Request and agree that this is an issue they need to work on. They're forming a committee to figure out the best method of dealing with members accused of sex crimes, so that consumers of legal services in Washington State can have some faith in the integrity of those listed on the WSBA's member pages.
  3. Continued work on Missing Children's Week. This will be a week of prevention education in observance of Missing Children's Day. We're working with a rapidly growing number of organizations across Washington State to bring some amount of prevention education to every single child and care-giver in the state, in the hopes of reducing the horrifying number of children preyed upon each year.
  4. We still need help! The offers of encouragement are wonderful, and very appreciated,  but all of this work costs a bit of money, and takes a lot of time. $12 pays for the website for a month, and you can donate it by buying a couple of items from our store!  Or, if you'd like to work on a project, please contact us and let us know - a few hours of your time is a wonderful way to help.
  5. April 3 is "Blog Against Sexual Violence" day. You can participate over at www.wash-cap.org/blog. We're going to start a few topics, and you can come on over and participate. What topics would you like to see discussed? Let us know, and we'll get them up.
Thank you for your continued support. We started off the year with a lot of enthusiasm, and we're continuing with dedication and tenacity.
We have a very full agenda, we have a detailed plan of action, and we are moving forward.
-Bethan & Paula
PS - if you'd like to be removed from this mailing list, please reply with "unsub" in the subject line. Thanks!

Posted by Bethan at 11:33 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 19, 2008

Washington State = 22nd safest state in the country

Parenting magazine recently released a study of the ten safest states in the country, based on a variety of state-level information.

Washington State is 22nd on the list of safest places for your kid to live. 22nd. Anyone feel good about that? Mississippi would feel good about that - they're at the bottom of the list.

 I am very happy that we're not on the list of states with the highest sex offenders per capita, which is comprised of Alaska at 1/143, Oregon at 1/180, Michigan at 1/240, and Vermont at 1/249.

Source

Posted by Bethan at 02:47 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 14, 2008

CETS - Child Exploitation Tracking System

Microsoft has created a software product called the Child Exploitation Tracking System, CETS, which is currently being used in 9 countries to disseminate information and evidence, and track online predators.

Per this article at the CRN website, CETS use in England has been credited with

"helping to save 138 children from abuse, make 240 arrests and dismantle three international paedophile rings."

Microsoft Senior Vice President Brad Smith says:

“While the internet has contributed many benefits to our lives, one unfortunate downside is that it allows child predators to find one another and form virtual communities around the world through which they exploit and perpetrate heinous crimes against children,” said Smith. "

Sadly, those are very true words.

More information can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/industry/publicsector/government/programs/CETs.mspx

From the Microsoft site:

"The Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS) is a unique software tool developed by Canadian police, international law enforcement officials, and Microsoft to help battle child exploitation online. Pronounced "kets," this tool helps law enforcement officials collaborate and share information with other police services based on legal agreements in place. When law enforcement officials turned to Microsoft to help solve a significant challenge they faced, CETS was created to increase the effectiveness of investigators and teams by providing them with software to store, search, share, and analyze large volumes of evidence and match cases across police agencies."

added later: NYC becomes the first to use CETS in the US.

Posted by Bethan at 12:24 PM | | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

March 07, 2008

Legislative Results, 2007/08 Session

To our members and supporters,
I would like to say thank you for all of your emails and phone calls in support of this legislative effort. It means a great deal to us that you all stepped up as you did.
Sadly, none of the legislation we worked on was prioritized for vote today. SB 6358, HB 2728, and HB 3103 are all done for the year.
We committed ourselves to this work because it is important to Washington communities, and to our own families.  That has not changed, and we are still determined to make these positive changes.

Posted by Bethan at 07:55 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 06, 2008

Letter to members of the Senate Rules

Respected Senators,
HBs 2728 and 3103 are solid pieces of simple legislation that are a step forward in our State's effort toward safer children and communities.
Both of these bills have the support of the community they would serve, as well as the professionals that would use them as tools to keep unsafe people away from vulnerable citizens.
There are less than 48 hours to get HBs 2728 and 3103 through, and there is no reason, save scheduling, to make Washington State go another year without this legislation as back-up for our citizens' safety.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
BT

Posted by Bethan at 07:41 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 05, 2008

Crime in Washington State

We all know that terrible crimes occur every day behind doors and curtains. We know that logically, and we can discuss it rationally.

And then we find out that it's a neighbor, a relative, an associate who has committed or participated in these crimes and our perspective shifts.

This 53 year old resident of Spokane, WA is going to jail for participating in an online child pornography ring that supported the most heinous of crimes against children [some as young as 5].

I imagine his community was surprised and horrified.

Posted by Bethan at 09:51 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 04, 2008

Legislative Update

HBs 3103 and 2728 are now both eligible for a second reading, which is a good thing. The next step would be getting pulled to the 'green sheet,' at which point we'd have a great chance at reaching the Senate vote, and then Law.

Keep the phone calls and emails going! March 7 is the last day.

Posted by Bethan at 10:30 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 03, 2008

March 7

Is the cut-off for Bills to get through Rules. Four days is a pretty short count-down.

Posted by Bethan at 06:16 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Press Release - HBs 2728 & 3103, SB 6358

For Immediate Release:
HBs 2728, 3103, and SB 6358 are all in the Rules Committee for the last series of readings before they, hopefully, are voted into Law. Three simple bills that can  make a tremendous difference for Washington communities.
HB 2728 deals with Indecent Exposure with Sexual Intent directed at a child. HB 2728 was written in response to the incident with a Bellevue lawyer who admitted to approaching and exposing himself to approximately 200 young girls in Washington state, and is also a current member of the Washington State Bar Association.
Currently, someone convicted of multiple counts of Sexual Exposure to a child can still work and volunteer with children. HB 2728 makes it possible for prosecutors to file a separate charge, that would have to proven separately, conviction of which would require mandatory registration.
HB 3103 expands the list of crimes that require dismissal or certificate revocation for school employees. This has long been a need in the state of Washington and elsewhere, and was also the topic of a recent King5 news article. [all links below]
SB 6358 is a very important and extremely necessary bill that adds volunteers, preschool teachers, and employees to the definition of 'predatory perpetrators' for the purpose of sentencing enhancement. As we recently saw in Remond, WA., where a youth pastor recently was sentenced to six months for conviction on three counts of Child Rape and Child Molestation, this bill is extremely important, and will make a tremendous difference for families and communities in Washington State. 
###

Posted by Bethan at 11:10 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Great Blogs to visit for more information

Blogs will be added to this post as we get time.

there are a lot, so here's the best one: www.fraudarena.wordpress.com. fantastic collection of information and commentary, check out her blog links, as well.

MASP of California now has a blog, brand new. You can visit and join in discussions at www.maspofcalifornia.blogspot.com.

Posted by Bethan at 09:42 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)


Hosting by Yahoo!