Status of Registered Sex Offender Legislation

Hmm, no, but I would be curious to see how this is administered.
I believe at the very least it would require technolgical advances the like I have not yet seen on this lovely island of STT.
Of course, on the other hand, it may not be necessary since everyone knows each other. You could probably ask a long-term resident about your neighbors, kid's school teachers, etc. and they would probably be able to tell you EVERYTHING about them. 😉 Haha.

Hi Onika.

Have you heard if an "independent lawyer" has stepped in and drafted the legislation? (see second paragraph below)

"Legislation which would modify the V.I.’s current sex offender law, bringing it up to date with the rest of the U.S., has stalled at the drafting stage…Public interest in the bill could help push it through the V.I. Senate’s legal counsel, which is overwhelmed with drafting requests, according to the freshman senator. “Legal counsel has over 1,000 bills being drafted, and they only have six attorneys,” said Barshinger. “We kind of focus on the ones that there is the most public interest in.” Bill requests which were submitted by senators from as much as a year ago are still waiting to be drafted, according to Barshinger. “The legal counsel doesn’t really have a system,” he said. “They say it’s first come, first serve, but that’s not true because we have bills that we put in from over a year ago. The legal counsel seems to work on whatever they want to work on.”

An independent lawyer who is willing to draft the legislation could help move the bill along, according to Barshinger. “If a lawyer who was interested in this subject would draft a bill for us, then legal counsel only has to review it,” said the Senator at Large. “My drafting request asks for sex offender registration that incorporates the current best practices for public safety and awareness as done in other jurisdictions similar to ours. This is extremely open for the legal counsel, and it lets them do what they like to do, which is find a model legislation and pass it.” The amount of sex offenders’ information made available to the public under the amendment will depend on public input, according to Barshinger.

Currently under V.I. Code, sex offenders’ information is made available only to law enforcement officers. Schools are also notified if a sex offender lives within one mile of the facility. Julius E. Sprauve School principal Mario Francis said he has not been notified of any sex offenders in the area of the school during his six years at the Cruz Bay school. It is unclear whether there are any sex offenders living within a one-mile radius of the school.

Those interested in sharing their input on the legislation can reach Barshinger at his St. John office, 693-8061, or at his St. Thomas office, 693-3546. Comments can also be e-mailed to sexoffender@ visenate.net."

I got the above information here:
http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=514&Itemid=38&PHPSESSID=ce2fae35625b8b584c5a2063da247255
http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=356&Itemid=38&PHPSESSID=ce2fae35625b8b584c5a2063da247255
http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=453&Itemid=38&PHPSESSID=ce2fae35625b8b584c5a2063da247255

I wrote that article, and I continually check in with Sen. Barshinger for updates. Like this most recent article says, there isn't enough public interest to push it through quicker, so call his office and show your support! He's all for this legislation, but it's kind of beyond him right now to see that it quickly gets written into law.