Guest shockdevil Posted July 14, 2010 Posted July 14, 2010 I was watching a segment on CNN this morning talking about the United States government exploring whether to deny passports to sex offenders. According to a Government Accountability Office report, they claimed that in a one-year span 4,500 registered sex offenders were issued passport and many of them traveled to areas of the world known for sex tourism. At least 30 were federal government employees. The State Department is now looking into ways to use this information to enforce a law, which was enacted in 2008, to possibly deny passports to registered sex offenders. In light of the way the American Legal System labels sex offenders, I wonder if this is just mouth service and fuel to be used to spark debate in the upcoming mid-term elections. Many young men and women are being labeled sex offenders for stupid reasons and this may prevent them from travelling the world for a mistake in their youth. One example is an 18 year old kid that had been dating his school sweetheart that was 2 years younger. The girl's parent had him arrested as soon as he turned 18 even though the two had been dating for 6 years. Anyway, I have pasted the link to an article referring to this topic. What are your thoughts on this matter? Thousands of sex offenders receive U.S. passports - CNN.com Quote
Gaybutton Posted July 14, 2010 Posted July 14, 2010 My thoughts are that nothing should simply be blanketed into place and that's the end of it. The example you cited is certainly a far cry from a serial rapist. I would hope that individuals would have the right to some sort of appeals process so that whether a passport is issued or denied is up to a judge or some sort of committee, basing their decision on the merits of the case instead of up to a label. Quote
Guest RichLB Posted July 14, 2010 Posted July 14, 2010 One example is an 18 year old kid that had been dating his school sweetheart that was 2 years younger. The girl's parent had him arrested as soon as he turned 18 even though the two had been dating for 6 years. Thousands of sex offenders receive U.S. passports - CNN.com I suppose it's beside the point, but if your example is correct, that means they have been dating since the girl was 10 years old. Surely the parents might have intervened before she was 16. But, you raise an interesting point. Believe it or not, in California you must register as a sex offender if you are caught urinating in public (even if hidden from the view of others like in an alley or something). certainly not a bright thing to do, but a sex offender!!! However, I think that once a person's penalty has been paid be it a fine or a prison sentence I think he should be granted full citizenship and this means being given a passport. Now, whether another country wishes to accept him with his record is another matter. Quote
Guest Posted July 14, 2010 Posted July 14, 2010 The other issue is that false allegations are frequently made against men. In some cases, the fictional element of the allegations is exposed. In other cases, the courts are deciding on the issues, with the words of one person against the other. Therefore, not all convictions can be 100% reliable. Denying people passports indefinitely after they have committed some minor offence, or even been falsely convicted would be grossly unfair. Quote
Guest shockdevil Posted July 14, 2010 Posted July 14, 2010 The other issue is that false allegations are frequently made against men. In some cases, the fictional element of the allegations is exposed. In other cases, the courts are deciding on the issues, with the words of one person against the other. Therefore, not all convictions can be 100% reliable. Denying people passports indefinitely after they have committed some minor offence, or even been falsely convicted would be grossly unfair. I agree. Also, many years go by before a complainant recants their story and convictions are overturned. In the meantime, the accused is still branded a sex offender until things are cleared up in the legal system. Quote
Bob Posted July 15, 2010 Posted July 15, 2010 The other issue is that false allegations are frequently made against men. Sure, it happens on occasion....but "frequently?" I personally don't agree with that description. As to denying a passport to somebody convicted of being a sexual predator, I'm all for it (given the strong likelihood that a child sex offender is going to do it again, maybe this will protect at least a few kids in the other country which apparently doesn't give a damn about who they grant entry to in the first place). Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted July 15, 2010 Posted July 15, 2010 As to denying a passport to somebody convicted of being a sexual predator, I'm all for it. As am I. But I have the same concerns as others posting here about actual proof of the crime. In I think most cases, there will be no doubt. But in others there may well be a degree of acceptable doubt. In that case, I like GB's idea of a special Tribunal to hear and rule on appeals. In the UK, sex offenders go on a special "violent and sex offenders" register (ViSOR) and must report their addresses and subsequent changes of address, names and passport numbers to the police. They must also notify the police when they travel abroad. However, there is one aspect of the ViSOR which worries a lot of people: it can also include those unconvicted of any crime but simply thought to be at risk of offending. That to me howls of possible injustice. According to wikipedia, last year the Greater Manchester police had 16 "violent and sex offenders" known to be living in their area. 4 of these had not been convicted of any crime! The ViSOR database holds name and address records, photographs, risk assessment, offenders' modus operandi, and an audit trail. The Police National Computer is linked to ViSOR. According to the National Policing Improvement Agency, 77,000 records of named individuals are maintained on the database. I do not know if there is any appeals process, but lifelong inclusion has recently been successfully challenged in the High Court and upheld in the Court of Appeal. Regarding travelling abroad, I have heard of at least one case where someone on that ViSOR list did leave Britain and now lives in Thailand - (no, not me ). So I wonder how much information is shared between the UK authorities and those of the country to which the offender travels? Quote
Bob Posted July 15, 2010 Posted July 15, 2010 So I wonder how much information is shared between the UK authorities and those of the country to which the offender travels? It appears that the Thai immigration computers are not at all linked with interpol or the criminal data bases in other countries, a condition that I've blasted in the past. A recent case - where there appears to be some effort by police (not immigration)to deport anyone found in the country who they learn has been convicted of a child sexual offense in their home country is probably a good start (presuming cops have the ability and desire to check into that criminal history when they come in contact with a given falang) but why not stop them from entering in the first place? Hell, I wouldn't want a convicted rapist, murderer, bank robber, etc., to enter the country in the first place. Given that most all of the falang arrested for child rape have a prior criminal record in their home country, it'd be nice to stop them before they had the opportunity to do it again in Thailand. Quote
Guest shockdevil Posted July 15, 2010 Posted July 15, 2010 Given that most all of the falang arrested for child rape have a prior criminal record in their home country, it'd be nice to stop them before they had the opportunity to do it again in Thailand. That would be the ideal way to go. Hopefully, that would make the arrest rate of foreigners for pedophilia, robbing, drug dealing and other criminal activities go down considerably. Quote
