Editorial Editorial (August 27, 2004)

Sex offender worries residents

When Mountain View police set out last week to notify residents that a high-risk sex offender was moving into the 2000 block of Montecito Ave., they were following the provision in Megan's Law designed to alert neighbors that a possibly dangerous convicted felon may be moving in next door.

Such warnings often are pro forma and carry the name, address, description and photo of the offender, along with a criminal history, although the information can be tailored to fit different circumstances, local police say. In the case of Hector Chavez, police distributed fliers around the Montecito neighborhood last week, but to the consternation of some residents, listed Chavez's address only as "2000 blk Montecito Av" without giving the specific building or apartment number.

For at least one resident, who was informed by a Voice reporter that Chavez was actually going to be living in her building at 2047 Montecito Ave., the lack of a complete address in the flier was alarming. "My first reaction was that I wanted to purchase a gun," she said. She also raised concerns about other residents in her building, which includes many single women who live alone.

Mountain View Police Chief Scott Vermeer told the Voice this week that although state law permits use of a complete address in the flier, the department attempts to balance the notification of neighborhood residents with the often short-term stays by a sex offender. Exact addresses printed on a flier, which can often remain in circulation months or years after a sex offender departs, could stigmatize a neighborhood, Vermeer said. In the case of Chavez, who has been out of prison for nearly 10 years, police said they wanted to make sure his rights were protected as well.

It is certainly appropriate that police be careful about stigmatizing a neighborhood or building by using exact addresses on a warning flier, but residents who live in the same building should not be placed in that category. Those who live next door to a potentially dangerous offender, even one whom police deem less harmful, should receive full notification, including a complete address with an apartment number. Anything less is really no help at all to someone who, by simply living in close proximity to the offender, is much more likely to interact with him than those who live a block or two away.

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