1. Protecting Our Communities
from Sex Offenders
A Comprehensive Approach
Chief James C. Burke, Suffolk County Police Department – January 31st, 2013

2. Suffolk County Sex Offender Policy
Directive from County Executive Bellone, in
consultation with Legislator Kate Browning,
Chair of the Public Safety Committee:
Develop a comprehensive approach to
effectively deal with all sex offenders residing in
Suffolk County

3. Homeless Sex Offenders
• A great deal of attention and energy has been focused on homeless sex
offenders, one subset of the sex offender population.
38 Homeless Sex Offenders
1016 Total Sex Offenders

4. Homeless Sex Offenders
• Homeless sex offenders make up 4% of Suffolk County’s sex offender
population.
• From a law enforcement perspective, we should be focusing on all one
thousand sex offenders living throughout Suffolk County.

5. Homeless Sex Offenders
• New York State law requires Suffolk County to pay for
emergency housing for the homeless.
• Since the advent of Megan’s law, Suffolk County policy
on placement of homeless sex offenders has been
focused on clustering:
• Brook Motel
• Trailers – Riverside/Bomarc
• Proposed Sex Offender Mega Facility in Farmingdale
• Mini-Facilities Plan

6. SCPD Recommendation
• The Suffolk County Police Department’s recommendation:
END CLUSTERING
• Treat homeless sex offenders like all the other sex offenders in the
County. End clustering and strengthen protections against all sex
offenders.

7. SCPD Plan
Place homeless sex offenders throughout the county shelter system
Suffolk County will not place more than one sex offender in any
facility - NO MORE CLUSTERING
As a last resort, if there is a lack of shelter space, DSS will consult with
SCPD regarding placement, with paramount concerns of public safety
and fostering the anti-clustering policy

8. SCPD Recommendation
Instead of spending tax payer dollars on buildings and
staffing facilities for sex offenders, SCPD recommends
Suffolk County devote its resources towards
implementing the toughest monitoring and
enforcement program in the nation

9. SCPD Plan
• Strengthen address verification efforts
• Electronically provide to each sector – sex offender address, photos,
vehicle info
• Establish permanent patrol checks
• Intelligence report prepared whenever PO has contact with sex
offender
• Create watch list utilizing Orion
Intelligence System
• Performance Statistic
• Establish homeless sex offender
verification at shelter site

10. Strengthen address verification
efforts

11. Electronically provide sex offender
pedigree to each sector

14. Permanent Patrol Checks
LEVEL 3 SEX OFFENDER RESIDING AT
I/L.

15. Intelligence report

16. Orion Intelligence System

17. Performance Statistic
AAAAAAAAA
Sex Offender Interview:____4__

18. Homeless sex offender verification
U=312
Sex Offender Verification
Level 1 Sex Offender, John Doe
01/01/65, reports that he is
spending the night at the XXXXX
Motel, Rm XX. Verify and
document.

19. Homeless sex offender verification
XXXXX Motor Inn XXXXX Motor Inn
XXXXXX Rd, XXXXXXk
XXXXX Blvd.
Homeless Level 1 Sex Offender, John Doe 01/01/55, staying in XXXX for the
night. Verify address and complete Sex Offender Verification Report.

20. SCPD Plan
Partner with Parents for Megan’s Law, the most
respected organization dedicated to the
prevention of sexual abuse in the nation.

21. Residency Restriction Laws
• Have Been Overturned in 5 Courts, including Nassau County
• Suffolk’s Law is being challenged in Eastern District Court
– by a Level 3, sexually violent offender, who served 19 years in prison after
pleading guilty to Rape in the first degree and assault in Suffolk, and Rape in
the first degree in Nassau.
– Suffolk’s Residency Restriction Law will likely soon be overturned.
• Residency Restrictions have contributed to significant clustering,
especially in the Town of Southampton where the trailers are located.
• In response, the legislature approved the mini-shelter plan which will
close the trailers.
• The trailers will be closed and Suffolk’s Residency Restriction Law will
likely soon be overturned.

22. Where Do We Go From Here?
CHI Mini-Shelter Plan A Comprehensive Plan
•addressing less than 4% of the •Victim and community based
sex offender population •Addresses all 1000 registered
(38 of 1000 offenders) sex offenders – including the 38
homeless offenders

23. As Part of the SCPD Plan, We Will
be Implementing the PFML Sex
Offender Tracking & Community
Support 8 Point Plan

24. In-Person
Sex
Offender
Address
Technology Collaboratio
Verification
Based n with
Proactive Police,
Monitoring Probation,
of Parole &
Registrants Community
1
2 8
Sex PFML
Offender Sex Offender
Registration Crime
3 Tracking &
Tips and 24 7 Victim
Hour Community Services
Hotline
Support
Program
4 6
Sex 5
Offender
Email Alert Outreach &
Notifications Prevention
& Website Education
Enhanceme Megan’s
nt
Law
Helpline

25. 1. In-Person Sex Offender
Address Verification – Real Time Tracking
Address Verification Enhances Enforcement and Increases Registration
Compliance:
•Sex offenders failing to register (FTR) have higher rates of recidivism
compared to compliant offenders. FTR’s are 54% more likely to be convicted
of another felony sex offense compared to non-FTR offenders.
•FTR’s are 68% were more likely to be convicted of any other felony
compared to non-FTR’s.
•Two Teams of two retired law enforcement staff will conduct in-person
address verifications for all Suffolk County registered offenders.
•Staff will verify home addresses for all registrants and work address for all
Level 3’s. 60% of Suffolk Level 3 offenders are failing to report their work
addresses. When they do, information is incomplete. For example,
registrants report work addresses as “off Sunrise Highway.”
•Updated addresses will be transmitted to a PFML real-time database.
•All viable leads will be forwarded to SCPD

26. 2. Technology Based Proactive Monitoring
• Technology based pro-active monitoring of sex offenders will enable us to
detect potential violations that may otherwise go undetected for an
extended period of time.
• It is a cost efficient tool that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and
365 days a year.
• It will enable us to provide SCPD with data driven investigative leads
allowing them to focus their resources where they will have the most
impact on community safety.
• The methods and tools which will be utilized are confidential, however,
we will be meeting with legislators to provide specific details.

27. 3. Sex Offender Registration Tips (SORT)
and 24 Hour Hotline
Engaging the Community
• PFML currently provides sex offender email alert notifications
to registered users throughout the County.
• Notifications provide community members the opportunity to
report sex offenders failing to register or potentially in
violation of their supervision.
• To increase reporting and engage the community PFML will:
– Expand its portal on the website to report sex offenders potentially in
violation of registration or supervision
– Develop a smartphone application to report potential violations
– Create a new 24-Hour Hotline for reporting
– All viable leads will be referred to the SCPD

28. 4. Sex Offender Email Alert Notifications
& Website Enhancements
Engaging the Community
• Members of the public can register online or mail in registration forms to
receive sex offender notifications by zip code.
• To date, PFML has implemented 21,683,484 sex offender email alerts.
• 63 Suffolk School districts participate in the program, many relying solely
on the program for community notification.
• Modifications will be made to the PFML website:
– to disseminate homeless sex offender alerts to every Suffolk user, regardless of the zip
codes users register for.
– to add a new area to the site to view offenders failing to register
– to add a new reporting tool to report information on offenders with “unknown”
addresses
• All viable leads will be forwarded to SCPD

29. 5. Megan’s Law Helpline
Supporting the Community
• Megan’s Law Helpline staff assist the community by educating
callers about:
– How to access sex offender registration information
– Responsible use of information – reducing the potential for vigilantism
– Sexual abuse/abduction prevention
– Rape prevention
– Internet Safety
– Crime Victim Services for victims of sex crimes and all other victims of
violent crime
• The new Hotline will provide the community an opportunity
to speak with a trained specialist 24 hours a day regarding any
Megan’s Law, SORT, prevention or crime victim services need.

30. 6. Outreach & Prevention Education
Engaging & Supporting the Community
• PFML trained staff have educated over 110,000 children and their
parents on sexual abuse and rape prevention and Internet Safety in
schools and in community organizations.
• An additional PFML Prevention Education Supervisor will:
– Conduct extensive outreach to schools and community organizations
– Train per-diem prevention educators to conduct sexual abuse, abduction and
rape prevention workshops and Internet Safety programs.
• All adult prevention education programs will encourage attendees
to utilize the Comprehensive Plan new reporting tools such as the
Hotline, website and smartphone application.

31. 7. Crime Victim Services
Supporting the Community
• Crime victim advocacy, access to support services and crime victims being
informed of their rights increases the potential for crime victims to participate in
the criminal justice process and decreases the potential for re-victimization.
• PFML is a certified Rape Crisis Center and in collaboration with the SCPD operates
the Crime Victims Center.
• In two years, PFML facilitated the return of over 1.6 million dollars to Suffolk
County crime victims, shifting the burden of medical expenses away from
Medicare to the State crime victims fund.
• Additional crime victim advocacy support will be provided to meet the increased demand
resulting from expanded community outreach and the public’s reliance on the agency’s
support services.

32. 8. Collaboration with Police, Probation,
Parole & the Community
• PFML has collaborated closely with the SCPD for nearly 15
years in our joint mission to keep the community safe.
• All viable leads will be forwarded to SCPD for further
investigation, allowing them to focus their resources on
enforcement.
• The agency also has long-standing collaborations with all
Suffolk County Municipal Police Departments, the FBI, the
U.S. Marshals, SC Probation, NYS Parole, U.S. Probation &
Parole, the District Attorney and U.S. Attorney and other law
enforcement agencies across the nation in furtherance of
achieving its mission and goals.

33. Lets Stop Running In Circles

34. By Attempting To Individually Address
Pieces of the Sex Offender Management Puzzle
Resources are continually exhausted, and a solution never found.

35. All Pieces of the Puzzle Are Addressed in
This Comprehensive Plan

36. In-Person
Sex
Offender
Address
Technology Collaboratio
Verification
Based n with
Proactive Police,
Monitoring Probation,
of Parole &
Registrants Community
1
2 8
Sex PFML
Offender Sex Offender
Registration Crime
3 Tracking &
Tips and 24 7 Victim
Hour Community Services
Hotline
Support
Program
4 6
Sex 5
Offender
Email Alert Outreach &
Notifications Prevention
& Website Education
Enhanceme Megan’s
nt
Law
Helpline

37. The public expects sex offender
management laws that “get tough”
but also get results.

38. When You Adopt This Plan,
You Will Be Providing Suffolk County’s
Most Vulnerable with the
Toughest Monitoring, Enforcement and
Community Support Program
in the Nation,
Which Will Get Results.