Imagine the intelligence of the yellow pages combined with the recognition of Thefacebook. Combine this with a focus on sexual predators and what you have is the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry Web site.
The registry will update its profiles in May with the driver's license photos of about 36,000 offenders, in our minds making the system more efficient. This addition comes following a decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago, which ruled that sex offenders' photos could be publicly released. Michigan will be one of 39 states to get on board by updating its site.
It's about time.
Combined with access to names and addresses, citizens will have a more complete understanding of the possibly dangerous people who reside around them. The propensity to misinterpret closely spelled names will be removed - no one will confuse John Smith the preacher with John Smith the pedophile.
An opponent of this new feature is the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, whose intentions are good but misplaced. It argues that the list, in general, targets a specific type of crime when other acts, such as murder or corporate theft, are just as heinous.
There is truth to that, at least regarding murder. Why isn't there a list for murderers? More than likely, most murderers never leave prison. But what shocks America so deeply about sexual offenses is that they sinisterly crush something thought of as precious and delicate. It scars so deeply that people feel the need to create a list that holds names for a minimum of 25 years so these figures remain transfixed in daylight, obvious to anyone who might be unsuspecting of their presence.
The list is a great idea, but it isn't perfect. It should list the crimes for which a person was convicted. There is a great disparity in the severity of rape and repeated public urination - both crimes that can land people on the list.
But the power of being able to put a name with a face is an indispensable asset when trying to ensure the safety of our state's communities. Even our own professors are allowed to combine our photos with their class lists in order to get to know us better.
It's hard to stand next to the ACLU when it banters that offenders' rights are being taken away. Much like felons who lose the right to vote, the majority of sex offenders have proved themselves to be a threat to peacefully organized society. They forfeit the rights normally afforded to everyone. Given the existence of the registry, it's evident the majority of people (and the U.S. Supreme Court) share this sentiment.
The ACLU asserts that adding these pictures creates a vigilante mentality toward offenders, but it's hard to see that construed as negative. It's that mentality that will keep a community privy to the offenders in their neighborhoods. It will draw them to the list and not allow it to slip from their minds. Just because people are benevolent enough to let sex offenders re-enter society doesn't mean they can't be aware they are living next to one.
