Former official criticizes offender registry

A former member of the state's Sex Offender Registry Board is questioning the way it classifies its targets.

The seven-member board ranks convicted sex offenders on a scale of 1 to 3, with level 3 considered the most likely to reoffend.

Forensic psychologist David Medoff went to work for the board in 2001, but resigned after only eight months.

``Public safety is undermined" by the board's process, according to Medoff, who said he has not previously spoken publicly about why he quit. ``The way they choose to go about classifying offenders is flawed in some serious ways."

Analysts at the board use actuarial-like tables that measure various risks for reoffending. Based on that number, a board member assigned to the case will review the recommendation and approve or deny a sex offender's level.

Medoff, now director of training at the Children and the Law Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, has worked with both victims and sex offenders .

He said that one of his chief objections is that the method the board uses to classify sex offenders has not been scientifically validated. The board consists of an expert in criminal justice, who acts as chair man; three licensed psychologists who have worked with sex offenders; two probation, parole, or corrections employees; and an advocate for victims.

Medoff said the staff analysts who initially screen cases often have no background working with sex offenders and function like technicians entering data into a grid. Medoff said that when he and other psychologists on the board tried to train analysts to help them understand how to weigh various risk factors, they were told by administrators to stop.

``There was just immense pressure to classify people quickly," he said. ``Accuracy came second and the ability to say `X number of offenders had been registered' came first."

Charles McDonald , spokesman for the board, said the criteria that analysts and board members rely on is based on well-accepted studies. He said Maine is considering using the Massachusetts system as a model for its own.

``We have a system that is virtually second to none as far as providing due process," he said. ``What you see is a board that is extremely even-handed in the way it handles cases."

Typically, magistrates -- some of whom are board members -- hear five appeals a day from lawyers representing sex offenders. A board member's decision is upheld by a Superior Court judge about 90 percent of the time, McDonald said.

``This is not a psychological or scientific decision," McDonald said.

``This is a legal determination."

Carol Donovan , special litigation director for the Committee for Public Counsel Services for Massachusetts, which represents indigent sex offenders, called the registry's process for classifying offenders unpredictable and arbitrary because the initial analysis is conducted by workers who are not trained lawyers.

Donovan recalled one instance in which an offender convicted of the rape of an adult woman had the rape of a child factored into his classification erroneously.

``The whole scheme is ridiculous, truly ridiculous," she said. ``We have many, many people -- literally thousands -- who finished their sentences, probation, and parole many years ago and they're still getting the designation of level 2 and 3."

The board has classified sex offenders dating back to 1981 . McDonald said the board's database lists about 2,100 sex offenders who have never registered, but he said much of that information could be inaccurate.

As of June, there were 2,496 level 1 sex offenders in Massachusetts, 4,936 level 2 offenders, and 1,191 level 3 offenders, he said. Information about level 3 offenders can be found at www.mass.gov/sorb.

Megan Woolhouse can be reached at woolhouse@globe.com.