O'Malley lays out plan to track sex offenders

Martin O’Malley believes that families have the right to live their lives free from fear of sexual predators. O’Malley understands that we need to take every step, every precaution to make sure parents and law enforcement have the tools to protect our most vulnerable citizens, our children. O’Malley laid out a plan that demands tougher penalties for sexual predators and better tools to ensure the tracking of offenders.

• Martin O’Malley wants lifetime supervision of sexual offenders. As in 14 other states, Maryland should have lifetime supervision for child sex offenders, sexually violent predators and sexually violent offenders who continue to pose a threat. Maryland should ensure that there are enough specially trained parole and probation officers supervising sex offenders to keep our neighborhoods safe.

• Martin O’Malley believes in using GPS tracking for child sex offenders. Baltimore uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to track city vehicles, and Maryland should use this technology to protect our children. The authorities must know if child sex offenders are visiting schools, playgrounds, daycare centers, or other areas frequented by children.

• Martin O’Malley wants to make failure to register as a sex offender a felony. We must give prosecutors every tool possible to protect our families, and we must make criminals think twice about not registering. The threat of longer jail time will increase compliance by sex offenders.

• Martin O’Malley will improve parental notification when sex offenders move. Parents should not be expected to surf the Internet, every day, checking to see if a sex offender has moved into their neighborhood. Citizens should be able type in their address, neighborhood, or school and find out whether registered sex offenders live nearby.

• Martin O’Malley believes the government should enhance information sharing regarding sex offenders. All levels of government must work together to make better use of the information that is already collected – such as drivers’ licenses, court records, Medicaid and other benefits, and tax bills – to identify a sex offender’s most recent address.

• Martin O’Malley will bring CitiStat accountability to tracking sex offenders statewide. As Maryland institutes lifetime supervision and GPS tracking, it will no longer have to rely on violent sex offenders to provide information about their activities. Parole and probation agents will have the tools to guarantee that offenders are living up to the terms of their release.