Convicted sex offenders attending or employed at UW-Madison now face a policy requiring them to register with the State Department of Corrections who, in turn, provides the university with the offender's criminal background.
Though the Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act became a federal law in 2000, this will be the first full academic year officials must follow through on the plan because the grace period for adjusting to the change is up, according to Capt. Steven Rogers of the UW-Madison Police Department.
Once UW Police receive the information, they post the name of the sex offender on their Web site and notify the chancellor's office if they think the offender will be dangerous to their or other students, according to Lori Berquam, associate dean of students.
Last year, UW Police and UW-Madison administrators said they were unsure if they should devise a rigid system for dealing with offenders. However, under the current policy, officials assess each case individually, according to Berquam.
\We approach this on a case-by-case basis and work with University Police and the Department of Corrections to determine not only what's best for the individual but what's best for the community,"" said Kevin Helmkamp, student service program manager for University Housing.
According to Helmkamp, another reason each case must be assessed individually is officials have little experience dealing with offenders because the policy has affected only one such offender to date.
""We don't have a lot of cases to ... build a history with,"" he said.
The policy of assessing each case individually will remain indefinitely, according to Rogers.
According to Helmkamp, housing officials may terminate an offender's housing contract if they pose a threat in the dorms.
However, Helmkamp said not all convicted offenders are necessarily threatening.
According to Berquam, there are a wide array of sexual offenses, some more serious than others.
For example, a convicted pedophile poses a higher threat than an 18-year-old who had sexual relations with a 17-year-old, she said.
Additionally, when UW Police informed UW-Madison officials of last year's sex offender, the university housing department deemed the offender non-threatening. However, the offender moved out of the dorms anyway.
Rogers said he thinks the policy will help the UW-Madison community stay informed about possible threats.
""The overarching intent of all this type of federal legislation is to try to give people as much information about people who could be dangerous as is possible to do by law,"" he said.
