Sex Offender Registration and Notification
This Maine Municipal Association publication is presented for "Classroom Use Only." Its intended use is to stimulate and aid in discussion and role playing within a classroom setting.
Title 34-A M.R.S.A. § 11101 et seq., the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, is Maine’s version of "Megan’s Law," named for the young New Jersey girl who was raped and murdered by a convicted child molester residing in her neighborhood but whose presence and criminal history were unknown to her, her parents or any of his neighbors. Forty-one states now have similar registration and notification laws, and the federal government is developing a national data base so that states can track sex offenders who, upon release, take up residency in another state.
Maine’s law, enacted in 1996, applies to all sex offenders sentenced or committed to a mental institution on or after September 1, 1996. ("Sex offender" is defined as an individual convicted of gross sexual assault upon a victim under 16, or found not criminally responsible for committing gross sexual assault upon a victim under 16 by reason of mental disease or defect.) Before conditional release or discharge from a state or county facility, offenders must register their intended address with the Department of Public Safety, State Bureau of Identification. For 15 years thereafter, they must also register any change of address with the Bureau.
The Bureau is required to notify all state, county and local law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction in the area where an offender may work or reside. This notice must include the offender’s home address and work address (if any), the geographic area (if any) to which the offender’s release is confined, and a "risk assessment" prepared by the Department of Corrections identifying risk factors, such as victim profiles and precursors to an offense.
Upon receipt of this information, a law enforcement agency is required to notify whomever it deems "appropriate" to ensure public safety. The form and scope of this notice is within the agency’s discretion. To date, notification has ranged from notifying specific individuals, such as parents and school officials, to circulating fliers throughout a neighborhood. To encourage the use of good judgment without fear of legal repercussions, the law grants officials and employees involved in the registration and notification process immunity from civil liability for compliance or failure to comply with the requirements of the Act.
Local officials, apart from local law enforcement agencies, have no particular duties under the law and should probably refrain from actively participating in its administration because this is essentially a state-mandated law enforcement function. Some municipalities have considered (or been asked to consider) sex offender "ordinances" or "policies," but such initiatives, though well-intentioned, may be misguided. It is likely that the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act would be construed as preempting local regulation in the same field, and it would be pointless to enact a local measure that simply reiterates the requirements of the statute. If municipal officials wish to show support for the law and encourage the vigilance and cooperation of law enforcement agencies, a suitably-worded resolution or resolve would be a more appropriate means. (By R.P.F.)