OFFENDERS: Solve or exploit crime?

It appears David Cole likes to write about the public fear of sex offenders, mentioning it twice in his article on the prisoner re-hab facility. “City residents…were concerned about sex offenders…” “Brice Pearson (a city resident) is concerned about sex offenders.”

Such unnecessary emphasis borders on promoting such fear rather than simply describing it. We all know that the term “sex offender” is code for “registrant” as these are the only sex offenders we know about — right? It’s like local residents vs. local registrants, and it doesn’t matter the locality. We all know who they are but do we really know where they come from? We all come from the local residents in some locality. In fact, more than 90 percent of all new sex crimes in the country are being committed by non-registered local residents such as firemen, teachers, courtroom baliffs, police officers, pastors and church members all across America. Less than 10 percent are being committed by “sex offenders,” i.e., “registrants.”

And I would be remiss not to mention the disgraceful problem of sex crimes in our military. Even the man who was put in charge of investigating sex crimes in the military, Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinsky, was himself charged with sexual assault recently. It is so rampant that one wonders if Mr. Krusinsky will be allowed to investigate himself.

Yes, we came from you, Mr. and Mrs. fearful public, but now we should no longer be the object of your fears, you should be the objects of your own fears since you are the ones committing more than 90 percent of all new sex crimes. In fact, authorities could have long ago put a stop to the 5 percent of registrants who are reoffending simply by keeping them in prison for 20 years instead of letting them loose to reoffend in three or four years. For the thousands of registrants who haven’t reoffended in 10 years, release them from the requirement to register and use that money to keep that 5 percent locked up for 20 years. If they haven’t reoffended in 10 years while only looking at three or four years if they did, then they certainly won’t reoffend looking at 20 years. But then it all depends on whether this is about solving the sex crime problem, or just continuing to exploit it (garnering votes, monies, etc.) while exacting punishment of all sex offenders and their innocent family members for as long as possible.

BILL JOHNSON

Rathdrum