Let's go ahead and kick the giant elephant out of the room.
The guy who kidnapped an 11-year-old girl and held her hostage since 1991 is a registered sex offender.
That being said...
The state of California enacted sex offenders laws back in 1947, one of the first states in the country to do so. (Read more here).
Doing so did recently released kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard absolutely no good.
Ensconced with two children fathered by her kidnapper during the course of her disappearance in a backyard compound, apparently the code enforcement ordinances of Costa County, California failed Jaycee as well. (See for yourself here).
In fact, just ask the officer who actually responded to a complaint and voiced to Jaycee's kidnapper (unbeknownst at the time of response) that too many people living on the property could result in a code violation.
Call me crazy, but this certainly looks like a code enforcement deal breaker to me.
And yes, to belabor the point, Contra Costa County lists "4.) Accessory buildings such as sheds, garages or carports built too close to property lines" as one of Ten Most Common Issues Resolved By Code Enforcement.
I won't even go on about the parole officer assigned to keep tabs on whom the San Francisco Chronicle (8/29/09)calls a "..seriously twisted predator..." or rant on regarding how in the world this tragedy stood undiscovered literally in the backyard.
Because it did happen. And despite all the laws on the books--child abduction by a family member, a nonfamily member, or--as in this rare case, a complete stranger--will unfortunately happen again.
But this is what I will say. And what I've always said.
The net of offenses deemed sexual by politicians, state legislatures, law enforcement and that require registration has been cast so wide, the truly dangerous who live among us remain hidden by the faces of low level offenders listed on the registries, many who have never touched anyone--much less a child--physically or sexually.
As a result, law enforcement resources are spread too thin and our children are less safe.
Just ask Jaycee Dugard.
Or ask her two kids.
But in either case, welcome them all home.
(...)
Child abduction by a stranger, perhaps a parent's worst fear?
"Of all the dangers to children, this is the one most alarming and the most frightening and probably the least likely to ever happen," said Paula S. Fass, a University of California-Berkeley professor who wrote "Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America."
The odds are about 1.5 in a million.
"We live in a nation where dramatic things capture our attention" Fass said of our fears about children. "They are sensationalized by the media and by our imaginations.
"But if you look at the statistics," on whole, "our children are safe."
--San Luis Obispo.com (The Tribune) (8/18/09)
Read Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America online here.
