Rep. Roberto Alonzo’s bill would let judges pare sex offender rolls

by Scott Henson of of Grits For Breakfast

Reacting to concerns that the sex offender registry includes too many low-level offenders and may increase recidivism, a Dallas state rep wants to give judges discretion to shorten sex offender registration periods for certain first-time offenders.

Declaring "Some offenses don't rise to the level" of needing registration, Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, has filed HB 190, reports the Houston Chronicle's Texas Politics blog, which:

would give certain first-time sex offenders the ability to petition the courts to shorter their registration periods, or to have their registration completely waived . The vast majority of sex offenders in Texas must register on the state's Department of Public Safety website for life.

Alonzo "filed his bill at the request of a Dallas judge who was fed up with low-risk offenders brought in on technical violations tying up the court's docket," said the Texas Politics blog, which quoted the new group Texas Voices praising the legislation. Via Kuff.

RELATED: From Doc Berman:

For anyone trying to keep track of what's going on state-by-state, the Vera Institute of Justice recently published these two essential documents for policy-makers: The Pursuit of Safety: Sex Offender Policy in the United States. (available here - PDF) and Treatment and Reentry Practices for Sex Offenders: An Overview of States (available here - PDF). In addition, academics should remember that the latest issue of the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law includes a symposium on sex offender law and policy.