Sex Offender Information
We feel that students, faculty and staff have the right to information regarding convicted sex offenders who may be living in or near our community. In 1997, the State of Wisconsin enacted the Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Law. This law was created to monitor and track people convicted of sex crimes and to provide access to this information for police, victims and the general public
There have been two occasions in past years, near or on campus, where alleged sex crimes with student victims have been investigated where it was discovered that the alleged perpetrator was a registered sex offender.
Provisions within the law require the Department of Corrections (DOC) to maintain a database of registered sex offenders. Information stored in the database is accessible on a limited basis by victims, neighborhood watch programs and the general public. Additionally, DOC provides special notification to law enforcement about offenders that they feel have a high probability to re-offend and who are scheduled to be released from prison or a mental health institution.
Wisconsin law does not require community notification for all offenders released from prison or a mental health facility. The overall purpose of a community notification is to specifically highlight those cases that may pose a significant risk to the community.
In order to allow you to make informed decisions, and heighten awareness of the potential for convicted sex offenders to come in contact with you, I urge you to view the following web sites:
The first place to seek information is the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registry. In addition to allowing citizens to search for information on those who may be registered offenders, the site explains the Registry and Sex Offender Program.
http://offender.doc.state.wi.us/public/
The second site, sponsored by a private organization, can help you determine your proximity to offenders with maps and information about the current registered location of offenders. The maps it provides are especially helpful if you don't know the neighborhood street names in relation to your location.
http://www.mapsexoffenders.com/
While we feel that information about sex offenders living around campus is important information for you to have to plan for your safety, we also want to educate the campus community about other risks for sexual assault and relationship violence. Of students who have reported sexual assault on campus, over 90% were committed by persons that the student knew in their social circles, in their residence halls, and in their classes.
The University provides information about sexual assault prevention and the services available on campus through the Counseling Center, Campus Violence Prevention Program. A campus victim advocate is available in Dempsey 148D, 424-3127. Please see the Campus Violence Prevention website for more information: http://www.uwosh.edu/cvpp/. Crisis intervention is available daily at the Counseling Center. You can get information on sexual assault, sexual harassment and other important topics on the Counseling Center website: http://www.uwosh.edu/couns_center/selfhelp/selfhelp.php.
General campus crime information and tips on how to avoid being victimized can be found at these locations:
http://www.tts.uwosh.edu/dean/campussecurityact/index.html
http://www.uwosh.edu/up/
Thank you for the opportunity to pass along this very important information and... Stay Safe!
Michael Melland
Director of Protective Services
Chief of Police
U.W. Oshkosh Police Department
(920) 424-1212 fax (920) 424-0128
http:\\www.uwosh.edu\departments\up\