Jessica’s Law Controversial Provisions – ‘California Connected’ Investigates

‘California Connected’ Dedicates A Full Episode to The Known – and More Importantly Unknown – Elements of Proposition 83, Better Known as …Jessica’s Law

With the elections just around the corner, California Connected unravels the finer details of the hotly debated Proposition 83, often referred to as Jessica’s Law. If passed by the voters, Proposition 83 would become one of the toughest laws in the nation to clamp down on sex offenders. But Jessica’s Law isn’t without its controversy. Two of its key provisions have some people concerned that California may be going too far and could leave some communities at great risk. At issue is a proposed boundary barring sex offenders from living within two thousand feet of a school or a park. That rule could push predators out of California cities and into suburban and rural areas.

The measure would also require registered sex offenders to wear a satellite tracking device for the rest of their lives. Opponents question the cost of that GPS device and the manpower needed to monitor the almost 100,000 sex offenders registered in the state.

California Connected traveled the state to get all sides of the debate. Below, please find poignant quotes from interviews conducted by anchor and correspondent Lisa McRee.

“We are missing one in four sex offenders who are supposed to register but just don’t. We have children at risk….” said Republican State Senator George Runner, sponsor of Proposition 83.

“I call it (GPS ) the lo-jack for sex offenders. For those that have served a prison term, they’ll be on it for a lifetime and if they’re able to pay they’ll pay for it themselves,” said District Attorney of San Diego Bonnie Dumanis, strong supporter of Proposition 83

“GPS does not prevent crime. We are talking hundreds of millions of dollars annually, for in my opinion, no greater public safety,” said Mark Leno, Chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee

“In between (parks and schools) we’re gonna have these areas where these perpetrators can reside and it kinda punishes people that are not close to a park or school,” said Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford in regards to registered sex offenders having to live 2000 feet from a school, park, etc. Ledford continues, “I’m thinking of creating pocket parks that would establish a no predator zone. We are going to have to get real creative.”

Before heading to the polls, tune-in to our special “Jessica’s Law” edition of California Connected Friday, September 29.

Please Check Local Listings for show times

California Connected is an award-winning, news magazine produced through a unique collaboration of four PBS stations: KCET-Los Angeles, KPBS-San Diego, KQED-San Francisco and KVIE-Sacramento.

www.californiaconnected.org
www.mprm.com

Alan Gray is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of NewsBlaze Daily News and other online newspapers. He prefers to edit, rather than write, but sometimes an issue rears it’s head and makes him start hammering away on the keyboard.

Content Expertise

Alan has been on the internet since it first started. He loves to use his expertise in content and digital marketing to help businesses grow, through managed content services. After living in the United States for 15 years, he is now in South Australia. To learn more about how Alan can help you with content marketing and managed content services, contact him by email.

Technical Expertise

Alan is also a techie. His father was a British soldier in the 4th Indian Division in WWII, with Sikhs and Gurkhas. He was a sergeant in signals and after that, he was a printer who typeset magazines and books on his linotype machine. Those skills were passed on to Alan and his brothers, who all worked for Telecom Australia, on more advanced signals (communications). After studying electronics, communications, and computing at college, and building and repairing all kinds of electronics, Alan switched to programming and team building and management.

He has a fascination with shooting video footage and video editing, so watch out if he points his Canon 7d in your direction.