Colorado bill would reveal sex offenders on university campuses
Convicted offenders would be required to identify themselves at schools, database would be established at state level
By Michael A. de Yoanna
Colorado Daily

BOULDER, Colo. (U-WIRE) — Convicted sex offenders could be required to disclose whether they attend classes, work or volunteer at university campuses according to a bill that would dramatically change how the state of Colorado tracks such offenders.

The proposed legislation in the Colorado Legislature would also create a centralized sex offender database that would be maintained by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, a change from the current system in which local law enforcement agencies are charged with the responsibility.

University of Colorado police Lt. Tim McGraw, who helped craft the bill, said it would have sweeping implications for identifying sex offenders.

"This would change the way business is done in Colorado as far as sex offender registration is carried out," McGraw said.

It wouldn't be just students, faculty and other campus employees that would be required to disclose if they have ever been convicted of a sex offense. The law would include anyone coming to a public or private higher education campus to work.

"We're talking bus drivers, pizza delivery drivers, taxi drivers -- just about anyone who comes to work at the campus," McGraw said.

Under current law, convicted sex offenders are required to disclose only their name, address and place of employment to their local law enforcement agencies.

That causes problems when it comes to identifying sex offenders on campuses, McGraw said.

"We have people who come to this campus spread out through 20 to 30 counties," McGraw said. "It's hard to track down the information. You would have to go to each local agency to get it."

Campuses would not be required to collect the information, but would be required to tell people where it is located. Campuses could also post the information publicly if they choose to do so, according to Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Arapahoe, a sponsor of the bill introduced in the House by Rep. Joe Stengel, R-Arapahoe. Hagedorn, a graduate of CU, said he supports the legislation because it because it would make campus communities safer.

"I remember when it became an issue at CU in the '70s and '80s," Hagedorn said. "Then people began to raise awareness about sex assaults on campus. There are concerns that predators have found jobs on university campuses just to prey on young women."

Recent federal amendments to the 1990 Campus Crime Statistics Act prevents federal funds from going to states that do fail to require sex offenders to state whether they have an affiliation with a university or college.

The so-called Clery Act requires universities and colleges to disclose information about crime on and around their campuses. The law is named in memory of Jeanne Clery, a 19-year-old Lehigh University freshman who was raped and murdered in her residence hall at the Pennsylvania college in 1986.

"This is the typical blackmailing the federal government does," Hagedorn said, adding that several other pieces of legislation this session try to mop up federal issues. "We tend to run more state's rights here in Colorado."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado is aware of the bill, but has not yet had the time to read it.

Hagedorn conceded he has some concerns for the rights of offenders. He added that he would watch the bill closely as debate on it begins, perhaps as early as next week.

"There is a delicate balance between informing the public and maintaining a certain level of protection for offenders," Hagedorn said. "We don't want to deny offenders who are trying to change their lives the right to a job, or the right to advance through attendance of universities."

Should the bill become law, the number of sex offenders who are affiliated with campuses statewide could easily be gathered.

McGraw declined to estimate how many such offenders might be revealed on or near the Boulder campus.

"I just can't fathom it," McGraw said. "It is intriguing as to what this legislation is going to represent."

The TCU Daily Skiff © 2002