Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Felons’ check-in law to be relaxed

A 52-year-old Henderson ordinance requiring all convicted felons and even misdemeanor drug offenders to register with the police department 24 hours after their arrival in town to live or visit is going off the books.

The Henderson City Council is scheduled tonight to repeal the ordinance adopted in 1953 that has since been superseded by a less restrictive state law in effect for about a year.

Henderson hasn't enforced its more- stringent ordinance during the past year, but that hasn't stopped those convicted of felonies and misdemeanors from trying to register with police, said Henderson Assistant City Attorney Mark Zalaoras.

The state law requires only those convicted of two felonies rather than one felony, or one violent felony, to register with a police or a sheriff's office. The state law doesn't allow registrations for misdemeanor offenders as Henderson had required for drug and weapons cases, Zalaoras said. The revised state law also gives offenders an extra 24 hours to register, Zalaoras said.

Zalaoras said many offenders and their attorneys were unaware the city no longer required the extensive registrations and that removing the 52-year-old ordinance from the city's municipal code should clear up any confusion. He called it an oversight that the ordinance wasn't repealed.

Henderson Police spokesman Keith Paul said frequently people "believe they have to register when indeed they do not."

Failure to register is a misdemeanor.

The revised state law has no bearing on those convicted of crimes against a child or a sexual offense, Zalaoras said. They are still required to register with police, even with one felony conviction.

Henderson Police post the block where sex offenders live on the city's Web site. Under state law, the city can't release information to the public on where other felons live.

Las Vegas defense lawyer Chip Siegel, vice president of the Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice, said Henderson's law was burdensome on those convicted of crimes and the revised state law strikes the right balance. He said he had one client charged with failure to register in Henderson, only to have the city ultimately dismiss the case when the city attorney realized it made a mistake.

"Should someone convicted of a misdemeanor have to register with police if they are visiting someone or changing their address?" Siegel asked. "That is too restrictive."

Some 450 felons, including sex offenders, registered with Henderson in 2004, Paul said.

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, has led past efforts in Carson City to rid the state of its registration requirement. She contends there is no purpose in making felons register if they are not sex offenders.

"Police shouldn't be focusing on who is registering and who isn't but simply focus on arresting those committing crimes now," Giunchigliani said. "If you have done your time and paid your debt to society, why should we be going after these people just because they are ex-felons."

Officials said there has been a push to lessen Nevada's registration requirement, one of the strictest in the country, as part of a trend to restore civil rights of those convicted of a crime.

Stan Olsen, a lobbyist for the Metro Police, said the revision of the registration law hurt law enforcement because it made it more difficult to track felons. Some felons are just one-time offenders, but there are plenty of others who have committed more crimes and haven't been caught, he said.

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