The burst of prosed local ordinances has prompted me to create a new category "Ordinance Watch." This new one from Wiscassett, Maine is the latest I've seen. As reported in the "Wiscassett Newspaper."
At Tuesday night's selectmen's meeting, Police Chief Mike Emmons responded to questions about the town's current notification policy.
"There are 13 registered sex offenders in Wiscasset," the chief said. One of them is at the Two Bridges Regional Jail.
Emmons said when his department receives notice from the state that there is a sex offender living in town, "We make an assessment, before we decide what we will do." Depending upon the history of the sex offender (the number of times he or she has been convicted, whether violence was involved, and other factors) the department may make phone calls to neighbors or make house-to-house calls to notify people living in the neighborhood.
"If we think the person is a threat to the community," we will go door to door," the chief said. The chief said none of the registered sex offenders who live in Wiscasset have re-offended, as far as he knows.
However, selectman Alex Robertson said when it comes to pedophiles (those who sexually abuse children) there should be no assessment, but rather an automatic notification to neighbors.
Selectman Bill Barnes suggested everyone living within a certain radius of the sex offender's address be notified. He asked the chief what distance he would suggest.
The chief didn't answer the question directly, but said he would look at any childcare, day care or schools in the neighborhood, in terms of who should be notified.
Hinderliter said the Ordinance Review Committee has received copies of sex offender ordinances from other towns which they will review to help in drafting an ordinance for Wiscasset. When the draft of the ordinance is ready, it will be presented to the selectmen for their approval.
