House Takes Up Child Protection Act

The Governor and key lawmakers agree on this much -- NH should lead the nation in policing sex offenses against children….Speaking on behalf of could prove the year's signature piece of legislation, the governor was adamant that the proposal does the people's will.

"To protect the young victims of these crimes….To deter criminal cfrom committing these acts…..To ensure that sex predators receive the tough penaties that they deserve and to lessen the chance of sexual offenders preying on new victims."

The Governor's sentiments were echoed by lawmakers ranging from the house speaker to the chairman of the state senate judiciary committee……..And also by law enforcement officials ranging from police chiefs to the Attorney General…..Law enforement had an active hand in crafting the plan's 28 provisions and attorney general Kelly Ayotte stressed that none are wasted.

"Each provision in this law was though out as to why it was included in this law and there was a reason for every single reason that was put in this law."

The bills provisions include allowing judges to list criminals on the sex offenders registry even if their offense wasn't strictly a sex crime…….The plan also allows for civil committement for sexually violent people who could not be found criminally liable due to mental incompetence or insanity…It also creates a non-public list of juvenile sex offenders and tightens registration requirements for adult offenders…….The proposal says police can actively notify the public when a sex offender moves into a neighborhood……and penalizes those who conceal a sex offender or hinder their registration……..The plan further give prosecutors the discretion over when mandatory minimums will be sought…….The criminal defense bar has argued that gives law enforcement too much discretion, but Ayotte warned of the perils of leaving that call to the judiciary.

"The judges do their best in terms of sentenceing, but they don't have the same amount of time to spend on a case as the county attorney's do…….When a judge at sentenceing has the opportunity to hear a case the judge has at most an hour to hear the facts of the case."

Not surprisingly some of the bill's staunchest backing came from county prosecutors……

"The worst case scenario is that sex offenders stop coming to NH."

That's Rockingham county attorney Jim Reams…..He asked lawmakers to consider how victims parents feel when they learn their child has been preyed on by an repeat offender who's at large because current laws are insufficient to restrain them…….

"We're talking about people with a perverted sex drive…..they're not going to give it up. We're not going to council them out of it, we're not going to do anything to convince them that they’re sex drive is wrong..We have to opt to protect our children."

Yet some victims' advocates say they're not sure the bill as drafted is the best way to do that……Linda Griebsch is policy director for the New Hampshire coalition against domestic and sexual violence.

"The prosecutor and victim often have the same goals -- not always. And those are the cases I'm worried about."

Griebsch enumerated several concerns. She worries that manadatory minimums could lead to all cases going to trial regardless if that was in the victims's interest….And that forcing offenders who've molested members of their own household to register could lead to inadvertent identification of victims…….She added that restricting offenders from being near areas where children congregate….could lead to false sense of security…….Instead, she asked lawmakers to consider a more basic approach to keeping children safe.

"The most basic way is to make them wary of strangers to report questionable behavior to responsibale adults -- that’s' the way you need to protect them."

The child protection act is headed to a subcommittee of the house criminal justice and public safety committee……The bill is expected to get a thorough going over with input from people on all sides of the issue…...One issue that's sure to inform the debate as the package continues to move though the legislature is how much the package would cost taxpayers -- in terms of the costs of both incarcerating offenders for mandatory minimums and also to carry out the plans other provisions…..As of yet, there's bill's projected fiscal impact has yet to be determined.