News Releases for December 2003
December 22, 2003
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Hoeven Announces Steps To Help Protect The Public Against Violent Offenders
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today announced that the state will move forward in a number of ways to strengthen the criminal justice system to protect the public against violent and sexual offenders in North Dakota.
“North Dakota is a closely knit community,” Hoeven said. “People look out for each other, a fact brought into focus by the community’s response to Dru Sjodin’s disappearance in Grand Forks. Yet no matter how strong our corrections and criminal justice system is, we always need to work toward improving and strengthening it to make sure the public is protected.”
First, the state needs to establish an open civil commitment process for sex offenders deemed at high risk to re-offend, Hoeven said. He said he will support legislation in the next session that creates transparency in the process so that the public is kept informed.
“The public has a need and right to know not only when, but also why a violent sex offender is released into the community and not civilly committed despite a recommendation to commit,” Hoeven said. “An open process can help to ensure that citizens are better informed.”
Second, Hoeven has instructed the Department of Corrections to review sex offenders who relocate to North Dakota from other state corrections systems in order to make recommendations for civil commitment.
“Our Corrections Department reviews all offenders before release from our system, but we are also going to review offenders who move to North Dakota from other systems,” Hoeven said. “Although that will not stop an offender who lives in another state and comes here to commit a crime, it will enforce our standard if he takes up residence in North Dakota. We will evaluate these people and, when appropriate, refer them to the states attorney and attorney general for civil commitment.”
Third, Hoeven announced he will establish a Task Force on Violent and Sexual Offenders in conjunction with the attorney general to review and strengthen, where appropriate, North Dakota’s sentencing and probation laws for violent offenders. The task force will consist of individuals representing states attorneys, county sheriffs, city police departments, the North Dakota State Hospital, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, crime victims’ advocates and the public at large.
The group will be charged with four tasks:
- To examine North Dakota’s sentencing laws to ensure that they provide the appropriate and necessary level of incarceration and supervision for violent sex offenders.
- To evaluate North Dakota’s probation standards to maximize the supervision given violent and sexual offenders.
- To evaluate methods of electronically monitoring certain high-risk violent and sexual offenders released into the community.
- To assess the standards and laws by which we civilly commit sexual offenders to ensure they provide maximum protection to the public.
“Year after year, North Dakota is cited in national surveys as the safest state in America, and we intend to do all we can to make sure we keep it that way,” Hoeven said. “That means we must constantly review and improve our criminal justice and corrections system to ensure that our laws and procedures are strong and our professionals are vigilant.”
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