Waiting in Line as the System Grinds

This month, while the State Fair of Texas was drawing huge crowds and stretching police staff, the small Dallas Police office charged with registering sex offenders was swamped. Lines of people seeking to register snaked around the block, and some were turned away after waiting for hours.

Officials say they’re working on the problem in Dallas, but the incident underscores a wider problem with sex offender registries (and with the criminal justice system in general): the constant delays and long waits that defendants and their families face in trying to conduct the most routine business.

Tough on crime legislation is often an unfunded mandate for the agencies it impacts. Longer sentences, registration and parole requirements and postponed hearings require government resources -- from police, courts and other departments. And the effect of this drain on resources is exactly the opposite of perceived intent of the legislation: by ensnaring our poorest citizens in an endless bureaucracy, we've denied them time with family and countless work days and job opportunities, placed hurdles in the path of a functioning life and possibly even contributed to more crime.

The gridlock in Dallas’ registry means it can take hours -- or days -- for a sex offender to update his address or complete his quarterly or annual check-in. Even when there’s no state fair, the Dallas Police Department only allows sex offenders to check in three days a week, during a 2 ½-hour window each day. That's a tiny window of time to hit. I have a hard enough time calling my gas company during business hours when I have a question about my bill.

And this problem faces defendants awaiting hearings -- from the mundane to the serious -- in courtrooms across the United States. It’s not unusual for courts to call everyone for 9 am when some cases won’t get called until 3:30 pm -- or not at all.

The Dallas Police Department's decision to turn away sex offenders is unacceptable, but it's not a rare circumstance. The dysfunction and gridlock in our courts and administrative offices perpetuate the image and reality of a broken system. When a law enforcement agency gets the little things right -- like allowing parolees to check in online or holding office hours in the evenings  -- other fixes will follow. A functioning system can fuel a safer city.

(Via The Crime Report)

Photo Credit: blakespot