“Recent tragic events in Westchester County have served as a painful reminder of the dangers of sex offenders who reside within our communities and have highlighted the need for a civil commitment law in New York State,’’ wrote Spano in his letter to Pataki. “It is clear to me that such a law is absolutely necessary to ensure that our families and children are protected from violent sexual predators.  That is why I am calling on you to reconvene the Legislature into a special session for the purpose of passing a law authorizing civil commitment of high risk sex offenders.’’
           A civil commitment law would allow the state to develop a system by which violent sexual offenders whose jail terms are about to end are evaluated to determine whether they should be released or sent to another secure facility. Once it is determined that the sex offender should be confined, he would be sent to a secure facility and his status reviewed periodically. Currently, 16 states have such laws. 
        Spano said Westchester has done all it can to protect residents. Earlier this year, the county began requiring sex offenders on county probation to wear Global Positioning System bracelets so they could be tracked 24 hours a day. Its Relapse Prevention Program of individualized counseling and intensive supervision for sex offenders has resulted in a recidivism rate of zero for those sex offenders who have participated.

    “In Westchester we are doing all we can to keep our residents safe,’’ said Spano. “The county, however, is limited in what it can do. That is why I am calling on you to help us by bringing the state Legislature back into session to pass a civil commitment law.’’

      Spano added that a law to confine certain sex offenders was not enough to protect residents. Some sex offenders might not be deemed a high enough risk to be confined after they serve their sentences. And even those who are confined might ultimately be released. That is why, Spano said, the state must also pass a law requiring that sex offenders be supervised for life. He also urged the following measures:

• That parole be denied to all Level 3 sex offenders, and that instead, these offenders be required to serve out their full sentences.
• All Level 3 sex offenders currently on state parole be required to wear electronic monitoring bracelets as they do under Westchester County probation.
• A task force be convened to discuss sentencing guidelines and conditions for parole for violent sex offenders to ensure that we are maximizing our efforts to protect the public at large.