Audit looks at state's sex offender registry

More than one-third of sex offenders in seven Missouri counties have not registered with local law enforcers as required by state law, according to a new state audit pressing for stricter police monitoring.

The review, released Wednesday by State Auditor Claire McCaskill, also found that more than 500 sex offenders may not be included in a registry meant to help Missourians check backgrounds of would-be caregivers. The reason: Records of those given a suspended imposition of sentence are closed when their probation ends.

While acknowledging the high-priority demands of police agencies often with limited resources, McCaskill said the crux of the audit is "we're not getting compliance with the law, and law enforcement is not prioritizing resources to demand compliance."

"Clearly, if the system is not taking this seriously, it's easy to understand why offenders are not taking it seriously," McCaskill said. "This isn't about tracking down people to catch them; this is about public notification."

Applauding the audit's findings, St. Louis' city prosecutor called the law "toothless in enforceability."

Under Missouri law, convicted sex offenders must register within 10 days of moving into a county and regularly verify their information. The public then can obtain a listing of sexual offenders living in their area.

But in a review of registration lists in seven randomly chosen counties -- Boone, Cole, Dunklin, Greene, Jackson, Jasper and Jefferson -- the audit found that 36 percent of the listed offenders had not met their latest registration requirement.

Priority in Cape

Cape Girardeau County is not on the list provided by McCaskill. That's because keeping the county's sex offender list up to date is a priority with the sheriff's department, said chief criminal investigator Lt. David James.

"We do have an active registration program," James said. "It's a priority to let the citizens of the community know if there are registered sex offenders here. It's a safety issue."

Cape Girardeau County has 84 registered sex offenders and James said the department advertises in newspapers informing new offenders that they are required to register by law. They also go after those they suspect are sex offenders who have failed to register.

"We're actively checking," he said. "We don't wait if we think they're out there."

James said they are even working on putting names and photos of sex offenders on the department Web page at www.capecountysheriff.org.

James pointed out that some of the Missouri counties on the list are larger.

"I'm sure they have a nightmare keeping up with it," he said. "It's never an easy thing."

Urging compliance

While saying state probation and parole staffers "certainly are overworked and understaffed," McCaskill added: "They have to make it a priority that their clients are complying with the law."

Among other things, McCaskill recommended that lawmakers narrow the law's scope to include just habitual, violent and child-threatening offenders -- not those necessarily convicted of misdemeanors -- to make the registry more manageable to probation and parole workers.

The Department of Corrections spokesman deferred immediate comment about the audit, saying he had not seen it.

Missouri lawmakers established the registration law in 1994, then revised it several times over the years, now covering the state's 8,000 known offenders.

Among the audit's other findings:

An October 2000 Missouri Supreme Court decision released half of all sexual offenders sentenced to probation from having to register, saying they did not have to if they stayed in the county through their probation. Auditors found that 57 percent of sex offenders sentenced to probation since 1997 had addresses in the same county where they were sentenced.

State law allows county law enforcers to only publicly release names, addresses and the crimes of the registered offenders, though offender lists in other states include an offender's picture, physical description, employer address and vehicles driven.

Only one of 11 offenders who failed his latest verification requirement received a probation violation for it. Of 55 offenders reviewed in Jackson County, state officials did not issue probation violations to the 31 found violating registration requirements.

McCaskill said legislation passed this month addresses problems with the registration process, and the measure awaits Gov. Bob Holden's approval.

The audit said that the Missouri State Highway Patrol -- designated to maintain a sex-offender database -- has not tracked the dates offenders verify their information. But the patrol is developing an enhanced database allowing data entry on registration and verification dates, generating for law enforcers an automatic notice when offenders fail to meet their last verification requirement.

In the audit report, the patrol said it appreciated the findings and recommendations, and that it "is dedicated to ensuring the integrity of the data maintained in its database so as to provide timely and accurate information for public safety concerns."

Southeast Missourian staff writer Scott Moyers contributed to this report.