Dugard case shows limits of registries

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- The case of Jaycee Lee Dugard shows there is scant evidence that sex offender registries have done much to discourage new crimes, U.S. experts say.

Phillip Garrido, the Antioch, Calif., man accused of kidnapping Dugard when she was 11, fathering two children by her and imprisoning her in his back yard for 18 years, was on such a public registry, dutifully checking in with local authorities each year -- but all the while he was holding Dugard captive, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Experts told the newspaper the registries and their readily available information on sexual predators also falsely lead residents to believe the people on the lists are being closely monitored, when in fact such police supervision varies greatly from state to state.

"We've come to see these registries as a panacea that is going to resolve all sex offender problems," Richard Tewksbury, a professor of justice administration at the University of Louisville, told the Times. "That's just not realistic."

"The thing that is hard to remember is that all people on a registry are not the same, and we need to distinguish between them," added Patty Wetterling, whose son was kidnapped in Minnesota 20 years ago.