Sex Offender Law Tough – But Expensive
Something
to keep in mind when the budget fur starts flying next winter:
government spending is a reflection of government priorities.
Nowhere is this clearer than the new sex offender law signed by Governor Vilsack yesterday.
Iowa
is about to start enforcing some of the strongest laws in the nation to
protect children from pedophiles, but the effort is going to cost
millions of dollars a year.
The
expense of the new law, signed Tuesday by Gov. Tom Vilsack, is
projected to more than double over the next five years, topping $12.4
million in 2010.
Here's what this new law does:
• Doubles the prison term to 10 years for certain sex crimes against children.
• Requires life imprisonment for those convicted a second time of major sex offenses.
• Makes sex offenders ineligible for a reduction in their prison term if they refuse treatment.
• Requires lifetime parole supervision for some offenders.
•
Improves public access to the sex offender registry and requires risk
assessments for registered offenders who committed crimes involving
children. About 6,500 offenders are listed on the registry.
• Requires electronic monitoring of convicted pedophiles for at least five years.
• Requires DNA testing of every felon as well as anyone who is registered as a sex offender.
• Improves notification of crime victims when an offender is released from prison.
In my
own opinion – some of these measures are somewhat commonsense given the
predatory nature of some crimes. (For example, not allowing early
release for jailed offenders that refuse treatment.)
However, if we are going to state the necessity, then we need to be
honest about the costs – and how we're going to pay for
them. The GOP leadership likes to hold the line on taxes, but
they also don't realize that our priorities cost money. The state
does not own a magic hat that produces revenue to pay for these
programs.
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