Families Advocating an Intelligent Registry

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Families Advocating an Intelligent Registry, also known as USA FAIR, Inc., is a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C.. It is part of the growing movement to reform sex offender laws in the United States. USA FAIR seeks to educate the public on issues related to sex offender registries by focusing on the national news media, being a reliable contact for journalists to reach people who can speak of the issues first-hand, and holding them accountable for inaccurate coverage. USA FAIR was founded by family members of registrants; its members today include former offenders and allies from legal, social justice, and treatment communities.[1]

On several occasions, through press releases and letters to editors, USA FAIR has requested corrections to inaccurate stories on sex offender issues.[2][3][4][5]

USA FAIR has publicly expressed its concern that highly publicized, violent sex crimes provoke knee-jerk responses in the form of even harsher sex offender laws, while in fact most registrants have little in common with the dangerous predatory offenders.[6][7][8][9] The Executive director of USA FAIR, Shana Rowan was interviewed by WHTVs CNY Central in 2013 in a story covering her personal history and the cause of USA FAIR.[10]

In February 2013 USA FAIR publicly condemned Suffolk County's proposal, which was later passed, to award a $2.7 million sex offender management contract to Parents for Megan’s Law, a non-profit private organization with no experience in sex offender management, to provide monitoring of people required to register with the sex offender registry. USA FAIR called such a contract "government-sanctioned vigilantism", and demanded County Executive Steven Bellone conduct a Request for Proposals (RFP) to find the most qualified organization to provide such service. USA FAIR took the position that if sex offender management was to be done by a private organization, ATSA would be more suitable candidate.[11][12][13] The New York affiliate of ACLU agreed with the criticism with USA FAIR.[14]

Stated Mission

USA FAIR promotes "smart-on-crime solutions" to create more intelligent registry. USA FAIRs Statement of purpose lists 13 points of intelligent registry that would:[15]

  • recognize that sex offenders have the second lowest recidivism rates of all offender groups[16][17][18]
  • stop one-size-fits-all approach and target resources on monitoring the truly dangerous
  • exempt so-called Romeo & Juliet offenders
  • reduce the number of misdemeanor offenses that trigger mandatory registration
  • classify risk levels based on a scientifically tested risk assessment of the individual offender
  • reward good behavior by allowing law-abiding former offenders a process to have their risk level reduced
  • incentivize good behavior by allowing offenders a process for relief from registration requirements
  • limit public notification only to the truly dangerous
  • recognize that listing place of employment on the public registry makes former offenders virtually unemployable and that job stability is a key factor in maintaining law-abiding behavior
  • not trigger residency restrictions by recognizing that an offender’s support system of family and friends and connections to the community are critical factors in rebuilding law-abiding lives
  • help families stay intact following a sexual offense by a family member. At present, residency restrictions can uproot and displace entire families, causing spouses to lose employment and children to move out of their school district.
  • recognize that first time offenders who are not listed on the registry commit 95% of all sex crimes.


See also

References

  1. ↑ About USA FAIR, Inc.. USA FAIR, Inc.. Retrieved on 17 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Letter: Sex offender residency bans are ineffective", South Jersey Times, 23 June 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  3. ↑ "SHANA ROWAN: IDs of Level 1 sex offenders should be kept private", The Enterpise, 1 April 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  4. ↑ "Court right to rule not all sex offenders same", The Daily News - Jacksonville, NC, 30 August 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  5. ↑ "Advocate Thinks Reporter Too Harsh on Sex Offenders", Niagara Falls Reporter, Frank Parlato Jr., 30 April 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  6. ↑ "My Word: Forget broad brush for sex offenders", Orlando Sentinel, 14 July 2013. Retrieved on 16 November 2014. 
  7. ↑ "Punish the sex offender - not the entire offender group", The Boston Globe, 21 December 2012. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  8. ↑ "Oneida County to use new program for monitoring sex offenders", News Chanel 2 WKTV Utica, 11 June 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  9. ↑ "Building Parks to Weed Out Sex Offenders", Huffington Post, 13 March 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  10. ↑ "Sex offenders - one woman's mission to separate myth from fact", CNY Central, WMTV, 22 May 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  11. ↑ "USA FAIR: Parents for Megan’s Law Not Qualified to Administer Suffolk County’s New Sex Offender Law – Urges RFP", LIpolitics.com, Long Island's Political Network., 6 February 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  12. ↑ "USA FAIR Calls Suffolk County Contract with Parents for Megan’s Law Government-Sanctioned Vigilantism", Long Island Exchange, 5 February 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  13. ↑ "USA FAIR: Parents for Megan's Law Not Qualified to Administer Suffolk County's New Sex Offender Law - Urges RFP", Westhampton-Hampton Bays Patch, 19 February 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  14. ↑ "New sex offender bill signed, but questions persist", Riverhead Local, East End Local Media Corp., 15 February 2013. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. 
  15. ↑ STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. USA FAIR, Inc.. Retrieved on 16 November 2014.
  16. ↑ 5 percent of sex offenders rearrested for another sex crime within 3 years of prison release. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved on 16 November 2014.
  17. ↑ Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994. U.S. Department of Justice (November 2003).
  18. ↑ Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994. U.S. Department of Justice (June 2002).

External links

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