> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Law enforcement lacks manpower, money, organization - URL: https://www.smdp.com/law-enforcement-lacks-manpower-money-organization/ - Published: 2003-01-17T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T01:20:40.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Law enforcement lacks manpower, money, organization* SANTA MONICA IS DIFFERENT However, that doesn’t appear to be the case in Santa Monica. Tracking sex offenders and parolees in the city has been a goal for the Santa Monica Police Department for the past three years, said Lt. Frank Fabrega. “We have a criminal investigative analyst that works closely with a sex crimes unit and they make every effort to track sex offenders in Santa Monica,” Fabrega said. Just last month detectives spent several hours getting a convicted sex offender who moved to Santa Monica upgraded from a serious risk to a high risk. The public was notified of his presence, and he has since moved out of the city because of pressure from his neighbors. And this month, a detective spent six hours interviewing and investigating another sex offender who registered with the SMPD. Local police want to know as much as possible about the offender in case other agencies need it in the future. In this case, detectives found a nude doll in the convicted felon’s backpack — although it’s not a crime but perhaps indicative of the man’s problem. “We do it right, you have to spend time... We want to know why they are a registrant so we can set a pattern with him,” Fabrega said. “We also conduct follow ups and checks that the information he gave us is accurate. “We actively pursue and work these cases when a sex registrant comes in to register; we gather all the pertinent information on him,” Fabrega said. “The law just says he has to register. We have a packet of questions to ask him because down the line it could be critical information to have.” Typically, if a sex offender is released, the police department where the convict last lived is notified by the Department of Justice. A flyer with a picture of his face is given to the police officers. “If they arrest him or come into contact with him, then we make them register,” Fabrega said. “If he failed to register, our officers will arrest him.” SMPD SETS GOAL TO TRACK OFFENDERS SMPD’s Fabrega said as part of fulfilling the department’s goal of tracking sex registrants, it uses the resources it has to the fullest. Santa Monica is known for a large transient population, and several years ago police officers were coming into contact with a lot of parolees, some whom were sex offenders. With an emphasis on tracking them, SMPD focused its resources on operations, the largest segment of the department. Uniformed police officers on daywatch patrol attend monthly parole and gang-related meetings with other law enforcement agencies to be more aware of what’s happening on the street. Officers assigned to nightwatch work closely with parole and probation officers in conducting parolee searches in Santa Monica, Fabrega said. Officers also have access to a “supervised release file” in patrol cars where they can communicate directly with the Department of Corrections via computer so when a parolee or sex offender is stopped by police, the parole officer will be notified of the circumstances surrounding the incident. “These guys have a special relationship with the parole officers,” Fabrega said. “The parole officers may not know that the parolee was stopped. “We’re also in constant communication with the Department of Justice on the movement of current and past sex registrants,” he added. “We’ve been working on this for the past three years now, and we feel this organization has done a good job of tracking them.” But most other local efforts are less organized, inadequately funded and understaffed. “We could definitely use some help,” said detective Terry Chew, the only officer dedicated full-time to tracking Sacramento’s 1,945 registered sex offenders. Chew believes at least 300 haven’t checked in for more than a year, but he isn’t sure. “There’s so many of them out there, it’s hard to keep track.” Some states are more proactive. In Washington, the first to implement a Megan’s law, law enforcement goes to the sex offenders each year to confirm their information, rather than relying on the ex-cons to report in. Of Washington’s 17,105 offenders, only 10 percent, 1,781, couldn’t be found by sheriff’s deputies, according to Toni Korneder, Washington’s Criminal History Records Manager. Nationwide, the databases fall short of their promise, Ahearn said. “It’s not only in California, but it’s across the entire nation. We’re expecting sex offenders to be reporting their addresses and that’s the problem,” Ahearn said. “Megan’s law is an unfunded mandate and law enforcement is not given the resources they need.” With a $34.8 billion deficit in California, more funding is unlikely — even from a tough-on-crime governor. And while Gray Davis’ spokesman praised the database as highly popular, he also sought to distance the governor from responsibility for its problems. “This is not our program,” Byron Tucker said. “I know the governor is supportive of this program. Obviously there’s room for improvement.” People who move into new neighborhoods or who want to check out neighbors, teachers or coaches are often frustrated to learn how limited the available information is. Californians can search by last name, ZIP code or county, and see a photo of the registrant, along with the name, birthdate, type of crime and physical description including any tattoos. But the public isn’t allowed to see the offenders’ addresses, and with most ZIP codes including more than 6,000 residents, pinpointing offenders is nearly impossible. Also, only police can see whether the registration is current — or whether the offender hasn’t been heard from in years. In San Jose, police can instantly identify every known molester living in an area as soon as they learn of a missing child. Last year, when a 7-year-old girl was raped, Sgt. Tim Porter ran a list of every sex offender who fit the suspect’s description and who lived or worked within one mile of the attack. “Every single one of them was in compliance,” Porter said. “Because of our record-keeping system and our monthly audits, when we have to pull a list of suspects, it’s fairly accurate.” But with nearly half the state’s sex offenders missing from the database, most other agencies can’t respond as well or quickly. “We’d have a list, but it wouldn’t be accurate,” said Officer Frank Alliger in Oakland, where no one works full-time on the registry and no compliance checks are done on the city’s 1,500 convicted sex offenders. SMPD’s Fabrega said the local police department doesn’t have enough resources or room in its facility to have a database for the public to access. If it did have room, at least one staff person would have to man it. “If you are going to have a computer for the public, it should be updated every day,” he said. “It does require a full-time person assigned to do that.” Lockyer said persuading police and sheriff’s departments to spend more on crime prevention is key — but he’s aware of no requests for more state money to improve the accuracy of the database. The situation is unacceptable to former Assemblywoman Barbara Alby, the child advocate who wrote California’s Megan’s law. “I’m appalled,” she said of the data-base’s inaccuracies. “We’ve got to put some teeth in the law for law enforcement. We should tie some of their funding to making sure this is getting done.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 17, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/011703.pdf?ref=smdp.com)