Issue is over posting of exact address for high-risk sex
offenders
Just because a high-risk sex offender’s exact address is not on a web site does not mean neighbors won’t know he’s there, insists Morgan Hill Police Department Interim Chief Bruce Cumming.
“This is what we want, to separate the curious from the concerned,” he said. “If we have a high-risk offender, we would meet with residents and tell them where he lives. Officers would knock on doors and say there is a sex offender living here at 123 Ash St. We think people in the immediate neighborhood should be ably protected and know where this person is living.”
The decision to give the house number or block number on the web site is particularly relevant now, with high-risk offender Cary Verse, released from Atascadero State Prison, in his fourth residence in less than a month. Protesters have haunted his every move, insisting that he leave the area, whether it is Oakland or San Jose.
Last year, Morgan Hill was in an uproar over the possibility that sex offender Brian DeVries would be located here. Outrage from the community, police and city officials led to DeVries being placed in Soledad on the grounds of a state prison. More recently, Morgan Hill resident and sex offender David Duanas fled to Mountain View and was arrested.
The controversy over publishing the exact address for offenders came to a head as Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith was ready for her department to become the first major law enforcement agency in the state to post exact addresses of sex offenders. Cumming and Campbell Police Department Chief David Gullo were linked in a Mercury News article as lone standouts against Smith.
“For some people its a major thing, for me its a minor thing,” he said. “I believe this was blown out of proportion … There are a number of reasons why I prefer just to locate those people by block number. A main reason is that offenders move around a lot; they are not the most law-abiding citizens. If we publish the exact address on the web sites, they’ll see it and possibly move. While that could be a good thing, what if we lose track of them? They may not go and register as they’re supposed to.”
Releasing the exact location can create problems for others besides the offenders, Cumming said.
“If we’re going to release the exact address on the web site, we have to be absolutely certain the person is still living there,” he said. “We have to check on them all the time. What if they move out, don’t check with us, and new people move in? Those people could be mistreated by neighbors, protestors. The police could make some mistakes, too.”
The department, like many in the state right now, simply does not have the manpower to keep close tabs on an offender, Cumming said.
“Of course we would want to do everything we could to keep the community safe,” he said. “We would increase patrols in the area if possible, and certainly respond to any suspicious circumstances the neighbors might report. But we cannot have someone sitting at the house 24 hours a day.”
Cumming is not alone in his stance on issuing only block numbers. Police chiefs in Santa Clara County met March 11 to discuss the issue, he said, and came to a consensus that the county stick with block numbers only. He said a member of the committee was selected to relay the message to Smith that she change her position.
“We are working together on this problem countywide, so it makes sense to all be on the same page,” he said. “The issue is controversial, but that’s the way it goes … It’s all speculation on my part, but if you put all these address on a web site, then I think we will see a lot of problems.
“Sometimes we have to walk a thin line, it’s a delicate balance about releasing this information. I can hear some people saying we’re just coddling these creeps, but I believe this is the best way.”
Morgan Hill has no high-risk offenders at this time. There are 52 serious or other offenders registered.The last high-risk offender to live in Morgan Hill was Duanas; he is in a correctional facility now.
