If we can track sex offenders, we must track everyone.

Government Accounting Office ^ | July 31, 2006 | Government Accounting Office

[theBuckwheat]

NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY New Hires Data Has Potential for Updating Addresses of Convicted Sex Offenders

...

To help track the location of sex offenders, law enforcement officials have turned to other sources of information, such as state departments of motor vehicles and commercial databases. Previous GAO work suggests that the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) has been useful for the purposes of verifying eligibility for federal benefit programs and collecting debt owed to the federal government, and is a timely source of information.4 The NDNH is a database maintained by the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The NDNH is a repository of approximately 1.35 billion individual employment, unemployment insurance, and wage data records from state directories of new hires, state workforce agencies, and federal agencies.5 It contains information for most of the nation’s workforce, including both residential and employer addresses, and is updated at least quarterly.6 The NDNH is used primarily to assist state child support agencies in locating parents and enforcing child support orders. Currently, DOJ has access to NDNH information for cases involving the abduction of a child or for enforcing child custody determinations

...

While current law does not authorize DOJ to receive NDNH data to use in Summary of Findings locating convicted sex offenders, Congress has granted other federal agencies the authority to receive NDNH data for use in verifying individuals’ eligibility for federal benefits and other purposes not related to child support enforcement.

[theBuckwheat]

What hath Big Brother wrought? One Data Base to Control Them All. In order to track some bad people, we allow the total destruction of privacy for all of the rest of us.

The only way to prevent the abuse of privacy is to prevent government from collecting and retaining the data to begin with. Once some agency has the data it only becomes an irresistable honey pot for every other data-grubbing agency. Does anyone doubt that Congress will find it very easy to grant access and very difficult for an outsider (a plain citizen) to give reason why privacy must be retained?

[KoRn]

ping

[Andy from Beaverton]

How about tattooing a huge scarlet letter on the person's face so the rest of society knows when they come across someone so evil.

[Citizen Tom Paine]

Think the US response to terrorism. Privacy has long since gone the way of the Dodo bird.

[Killborn]

Most of these people should be out in the first place. End the revolving door BS and save taxpayers millions in dollars, ammunition, and sense of well-being.

[Killborn]

Most of these people should not be out in the first place. End the revolving door BS and save taxpayers millions in dollars, ammunition, and sense of well-being.

[hophead]

So what, we put gps devices on these vermin. Does that PREVENT them from molesting another child? NO. It just makes it easy to find out where they were AFTER THE FACT! Useless. We need to do something to PREVENT further acts against kids. That would be LIFE in prison for FIRST offenders without parole. Child molesters are the worst kind of scum.

[Clint Williams]

What hath Big Brother wrought? One Data Base to Control Them All. In order to track some bad people, we allow the total destruction of privacy for all of the rest of us.

This was implicit in the retroactive application of "Megan's Law." In order to preserve the retroactive application, it was necessary to declare that no consitutional right was being infringed -- which I seem to recall SCOTUS did, but forget when.

But may I be frank? It's a "privacy" right that's been lost, not a right against "search and seizure..." and this exact notion of "privacy," however much I may want it for myself, is only to be found in the "shadows and penumbras" that were part of Roe v Wade.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: Anytime you impose anything like registration laws retroactively, you are taking away rights from all of us.

Welcome to the world you are creating for yourselves, o ye "Lured by the loudest throat."

[annelizly]

Right on the MONEY!!!!!!

[Clint Williams]

How about tattooing a huge scarlet letter on the person's face so the rest of society knows when they come across someone so evil.

I agree, this is a good idea! In fact, let's tattoo a summary of everyone's "rap sheet" on their forehead. I really want to know if this contractor I'm about to hire has a history of swindling clients (I can then look up when, how much, and other circumstances and then decide if he's okay).

Or if this fellow with whom I'm casually chatting about politics in the bar has a history of assault -- not to mention, while I was composing the foregoing, how to advise the friend who just had somebody run a red light, plow into and total his truck, his only vehicle.

Life would be a whole lot easier and safer if you knew everyone's full history, without discovering after the fact that, say, you were the 43rd senior citizen to be bilked of your life's savings and sent to the poorhouse forever by this predator.

Bring it on.

[AmericanMade1776]

What is your problem? Sex Offenders should be tracked!

[teeman8r]

yes... tracked.... treed... and then shot down... stuffing is an option but i would hate to think of the pose...

teeman

[mkjessup]

Privacy has long since gone the way of the Dodo bird.

Privacy is still possible for those creative enough to pursue it.

But it isn't easy, in fact it's damn hard.

[AmericanMade1776]

Agreed.

[Mrs. Shawnlaw]

We already can track everyone. Its called a social security number.

[freepatriot32]

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