"Let's say you're going on a first date and you want to make sure the person you're meeting up with isn't a registered sex offender. If you live in the US, you can find this out very quickly: there's a centralized website provided by the US Department of Justice that lets you search a name or location in seconds. This doesn't mean that everyone found liable for sexual abuse comes up, of course."
"If you live in Tennessee, however, that situation has just changed: the state has created the first registry in the US to track repeat domestic violence offenders. Anyone convicted of more than one domestic violence offense after 1 January will be registered in a public database maintained by the Tennessee bureau of investigation. The new legislation, Savanna's Law, is named for Savanna Puckett, 22, who was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, James Jackson Conn."
"The new law, which was passed with bipartisan support, is very much a step in the right direction. It raises awareness of intimate partner violence and signals to survivors that the state is on their side. Nevertheless, it's important to bear in mind the limitations to a registry like this. Domestic violence cases are underreported and can be notoriously difficult to prosecute so a large number of offenders will never end up in the system."
A centralized US Department of Justice sex offender registry allows quick name or location searches. No equivalent nationwide registry exists for domestic violence, making searches reliant on varied court records. Tennessee created the first US registry tracking repeat domestic violence offenders, requiring anyone convicted of more than one domestic violence offense after 1 January to be listed in a public database maintained by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The law, Savanna's Law, honors Savanna Puckett, a victim of a repeat offender. The law passed with bipartisan support and aims to raise awareness and support survivors. Limitations include underreporting and prosecution challenges that will leave many offenders unregistered.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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