Kent Manno

The year was 1994, seven-year-old Megan Kanka was brutally raped and murdered by a repeat sex offender. The New Jersey General Assembly stepped in and passed a package of seven bills known as Megan's Law. The bills required sex offenders to register in a database tracked by the state with community notification of sex offenders moving into their neighborhood. Sex offenders were put on notice, commit a second assault and you were in jail for life.

In the United States, individual states make the determination on what information will be made available to the public. The information is often placed on public websites, but can also be published in newspapers and pamplets.

While I do not have the stats for The Bahamas, here are some interesting statisitics from the U.S.

• Within 3 years of release, 2.5% of released rapists were rearrested for another rape, and 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for a new homicide.
• Sex offenders were less likely than non-sex offenders to be rearrested for any offense –– 43% of sex offenders versus 68% of non-sex offenders.
• Sex offenders were about four times more likely than non-sex offenders to be arrested for another sex crime after their discharge from prison –– 5.3% of sex offenders versus 1.3% of non-sex offenders.
• The median age of the victims of imprisoned sexual assaulters was less than 13 years old; the median age of rape victims was about 22 years.
• Of released sex offenders who allegedly committed another sex crime, 40% perpetrated the new offense within a year or less from their prison discharge.
• Offenders who had victimized a child were on average 5 years older than the violent offenders who had committed their crimes against adults. Nearly 25% of child victimizers were age 40 or older, but about 10% of the inmates with adult victims fell in that age range.

In 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. The Walsh Act organizes sex offenders into three tiers and mandates that Tier 3 offenders update their whereabouts every three months with lifetime registration requirements. Tier 2 offenders must update their whereabouts every six months with 25 years of registration, and Tier 1 offenders must update their whereabouts every year with 15 years of registration. Failure to register and update information is a felony under the law. In addition, sex offenders must steer clear of such “off-limit areas” as schools, bus stops, gyms, recreation centers, playgrounds, parks, swimming pools, libraries, nursing homes, and places of worship by five hundred to twenty five hundred feet.

Here's an idea…how about the Marco Archer Child Protection and Safety Act. What better way to pay tribute to this fine young man who had his life taken from him.

Of course, maybe I am way off base here. I have not done any research to determine the effectiveness of legislation like this in island nations. But do I have to?

Regardless, I would make this humble suggestion to the government and community leaders. Please open a conversation to determine if legislation similar to Megan's Law or the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act would benefit The Bahamas. The time for this conversation is now…not when another young person hits the headlines.