View the CGA bill updates here: SB1500
Read the OSJ One Pager here: SB1500 One Pager
What are Address Verifications?
Individuals on Connecticut’s sex offense registry are required by state law to confirm their address by returning a letter mailed by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) every three months. The signed letter must be received by DESPP within 10 days.
The statutes governing the verifications include Sec. 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 and 54-254
How are verifications enforced?
If the address verification letter is not returned within 10 days of its postmark, the individual is determined to be ‘non-compliant,’ and notice is provided to the local police. In Connecticut, ‘failure to verify’ is a strict liability Class ‘D’ felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and/or the extension of the term of probation.
Does the Law Work?
NO. It results in convictions of individuals who are living in a registered address but whose paperwork is simply lost or late. Addresses are verified every 90 days, so an arbitrary 10-day return requirement serves no purpose. There is no evidence that a late verification letter is predictive of repeat sexual offenses or recidivism.
Enforcement is inconsistent, solely determined by the local police department. Some who are non-compliant are never arrested, others are arrested years after they became non-compliant. 44% of the 200 convicted each year face no sentence, another 43% receive suspended sentences, but the new felony2 still causes harm. Many more are dismissed but the arrest still results in lost employment, legal costs and court time.
Does the Law Cause Harm?
YES. Being strict liability with no consideration of intent, late/lost mail, personal or family illness, or other extenuating circumstances can result in prison time for people who would otherwise be productive citizens. Felony convictions result in lost employment and a reversal of years of fragile gains through rehabilitation. This hurts families and incurs significant cost to the State, clogging the courts with nearly 200 cases each year for non-criminal behavior, and impacts Black citizens disproportionally.
The homeless are particularly vulnerable. Without an address, they have no way to comply with the law and can only slip further into marginalization.
How Should it Change?
- Allow judicial discretion to classify failure to verify address as an infraction.
- Decriminalize homelessness, by allowing those without an address to call-in to Public Safety to confirm their location.