Presentation Transcript

1. Grading the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law Website

   NSAA 2011 Excellence in Accountability Award Winner Special Project Category Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General Presented by Helen Weigel and Traci Widnick June 17, 2011
2. The Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General and Megan’s Law Protecting Pennsylvania’s children is a high priority of Auditor General Jack Wagner Since 2004, the Department has conducted 3 special performance audits of the Pennsylvania State Police’s administration of Megan’s Law in the Commonwealth The third audit included a focus on deficiencies in the Megan’s Law website; the Auditor General made recommendations for changes to the website and notified the State Police that we were going to monitor the agency’s administration of the website These audits were followed by our special project which focused solely on the Megan’s Law website
3. Special project objectives Goal was to detail deficiencies in the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law website so that changes could be made to enhance public safety The focus was on obtaining answers to these questions: Does the website include all required information on sex offenders? Is the information useful, accurate, and easily accessible? Does the website offer the best features and tools to help the public? The resulting 14-page special report assigned letter grades to each of four elements of the website: Offender photographs Information provided Search functions Features and tools
4. Methodology Auditors monitored the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law website for 11 months beginning in August 2009 Analyzed data and photographs related to more than 10,000 sex offenders whose information was posted on the website Checked for consistent information, accurate incarceration statuses, and timeliness of listings Tested website search functions to see if search results included all possible offenders Reviewed other states’ sex offender registry websites and compared their features and tools to those of Pennsylvania’s website Compared our information to outside evaluations of Megan’s Law websites from all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
5. Innovative approach captured public attention Auditors used only information and resources readily available to the public This approach made our presence “unannounced” to the State Police and gave us an accurate and true reading of the website The report was both interesting and easy to read, thereby capturing the attention of the State Police, lawmakers, and the public
6. Unique special report format 14-page newsletter style used for ease of reading “Report card” on front cover captured attention
7. Conclusion of our work The Pennsylvania Megan’s Law website was seriously inadequate and significant corrective actions were necessary Assigned the website an overall letter grade of C-minus Offered 13 recommendations for changes and improvements to the website Auditor General held a press conference at which the following slides were presented to clearly illustrate the most serious issues This slide show was a “wake-up call” for the legislature and the State Police to take action

8. Problems searching forPennsylvania sex offenders atwww.pameganslaw.state.pa.us

   June 22, 2010 Pa Dept of the Auditor General Jack Wagner, Auditor General
9. How to search Following are copies of screens to show how searches can be conducted. . .
10. To proceed, you must click on “I accept” to agree not to threaten, intimidate, or harass offenders or their families or otherwise misuse information on the website
11. Choose how to search – e.g., county, municipality, city, zip code, name, alias
12. This is a municipality search for Cranberry + asterisk (Cranberry*)
13. Results showed as many as 19 offenders with this search
14. A variation of this municipality search is to type in Cranberry without the asterisk . . .
15. . . . but the results show no offenders
16. Another option: Try a search by city rather than by municipality
17. This city search is for Cranberry + asterisk (Cranberry*)
18. But even this search does not include all offenders (as we will illustrate later using the offenders’ photos)
19. This modification of a city search uses Cranberry without the asterisk . . .
20. . . . but it shows only 3 offenders
21. Yet another option of the city search is to type simply Cranberry Township . . .
22. . . . but this search shows only 1 offender
23. As of Friday, June 18, there were actually 23 offenders who lived or worked in Cranberry Township. But all 23 offenders were listed ONLY when auditors pieced together multiple searches.
24. The next slide will show photographs of all 23 offenders. Remember: Auditors found these 23 offenders only by combining various searches.
25. 23 sex offenders live and/or work in Cranberry Township, Butler County… predator
26. . . . but watch how the different search options allow some offenders to remain hidden:
27. Municipality search results for Cranberry*(Cranberry + asterisk) 19results predator
28. Municipality search results for Cranberry Twp (abbreviation of township) 19same results predator
29. Municipality search results for Cranberry(no asterisk) 0results
30. Municipality search results for Cranberry Township (no abbreviation) 0results
31. City search results for Cranberry*(Cranberry + asterisk) 18results predator
32. City search results for Cranberry(no asterisk) 3results
33. City search results for Cranberry Twp (abbreviation of township) 10results
34. City search results for Cranberry Township (no abbreviation) 5results predator But even fewer results 3 days later on June 21! See next slide:
35. Three days later: City search results for Cranberry Township (no abbreviation) 1 result But no results 1 day later on June 22! See next slide:
36. As of today: City search results for Cranberry Township (no abbreviation) 0 results
37. We also found examples of poor photos among the 23 offenders from Cranberry Township.
38. Poor photos make it hard for the public to identify offenders.
39. Poor photos: Eyes shut predator
40. Poor photos: Unrecognizable predator
41. The next 6 slides show a sampling of poor-quality photos from all locations – not just Cranberry Township. We compiled these photos just last Friday.
42. Overall, the Megan’s Law website must be improved to protect the public.
43. End
44. Summary of recommendations The website needs multiple clear and color photographs and the date that each photograph was taken. The website needs a listing of all sex offenses for which each offender was convicted, and a clearer way for the public to see which offenders are current in verifying their information to the police. The website needs to make allowances if the public makes spelling errors or spells things inconsistently. The website needs more options for the public to search for registrants, and more features and tools—like mapping options—to show where selected offenders live, as well as e-mail options to get alerts when the offenders move. The Pennsylvania State Police needs to conduct better monitoring of its own data entry errors and inconsistencies.
45. Reactions to our June 2010 report Substantial statewide media coverage including television, radio, and newspapers State legislators held a public hearing in August 2010 to determine corrective actions needed by State Police Representatives of the Auditor General testified and presented the slideshow to demonstrate the website’s deficiencies Event was significant catalyst for change State Police unveiled website changes addressing 11 of our 13 recommendations on January 5, 2011 State legislative action is pending on one additional recommendation
46. Examples of significant changes and improvements made to the website Better/more accurate search results Better/more photographs with dates Mapping and radius tools More information on offenders available at a glance More crime prevention and family safety information
47. Better/more accurate search results Our recommendations: The website should recognize and compensate for mistakes and for variations in spelling and punctuation when website users enter search terms (as shown in Cranberry Township example) Changes to website: Pull-down menus (rather than data entry) now minimize user error and allow for complete municipality and city search results
48. City and municipality searches now have a pull-down menu which eliminates mistakes and variations in entering the data
49. Better/more photographs with dates Our recommendation: The website should post multiple clear and color photographs and the date that each photograph was taken Changes to website: Multiple photographs are maintained; photographs are of better quality; dates appear under the photographs
50. Offender photographs are clearer and in color Multiple photographs with dates show changes in offenders’ appearances over a short time
51. Another example of how an offender’s looks can change dramatically
52. Mapping and radius tools Our recommendation: The website should include a sex offender mapping tool to allow the public to see at a glance all offenders in a specified area. The website should also include a radius search to allow the public to search for offenders within specified distances Changes to website: Website users can now search within a specified radius and see the results either in a list or on a map
53. More information on offenders available at a glance Our recommendations: The website should clearly distinguish offenders who have absconded or are otherwise missing/non-compliant; the website should allow users the option to include or exclude incarcerated offenders Changes to website: A “Most Wanted” list on the opening page shows pictures of the offenders who have absconded; website users can also generate a list consisting solely of absconded and non-compliant offenders Search results provide much more immediate information on offenders, including information not previously available on the website; users can now opt to include or exclude incarcerated offenders
54. BEFORE Prior to the website changes, search results offered little information
55. Search results now include offender photographs and more information at a glance, including whether an offender has absconded or is non-compliant ; results can now include or exclude incarcerated offenders AFTER
56. More crime prevention and family safety information Our recommendation: The website should offer more information on crime prevention and family safety, and provide clearly labeled links to such information Change to website: A “Community Tools” tab was added to the website; this tab includes useful links to information that will help website users protect themselves and their families from sex offenders
57. These links are now available for website users to access information on crime prevention and family safety
58. Questions? Helen_Weigel@auditorgen.state.pa.us Traci_Widnick@auditorgen.state.pa.us