Kalispell sex offenders (Missoula: house, school, maintenance)

[brandy77]

Why so many sex offenders in Kalispell? According to CITY-DATA there are 97 sex offenders in Kalispell or 191-1. That is a huge amount. Why?

[brandy77]

No one is responding to my post about the sex offenders. I love Montana. Went to school at the U of M Missoula. I want to live in the flathead valley because of the awesome combination of lakes, rivers, mountains and wildlife. But there is an abnormally high concentration of sex offenders in Kalispell which doesn't bode well for my family and children. I am wondering if there is a statistical anomaly or something which for some reason shows a high concentration of offenders even though it is actually on par with other cities and states. Or is there really a bunch of offenders there. Is there an authority here or someone you might know who can explain this? Thanks!

[Victor 13]

At least your town government is keeping track or your area sex offenders. This is indeed a national (and world wide) problem. I had one living around the corner from us. I showed my grandsons the actual house he lived in and a picture they luckily had posted of him on our sex registry list, and instructed them accordinly on what to do if ever approached by this person or any one for that matter. I was happy he moved away a few weeks ago.

[WestCoDude]

Originally Posted by brandy77

Why so many sex offenders in Kalispell? According to CITY-DATA there are 97 sex offenders in Kalispell or 191-1. That is a huge amount. Why?

I think the sex offender registry is a crock. The people you should worry about are not the people on the registry--those are the ones following the rules. It's the weirdos who aren't getting caught.

I saw something on 20/20 last night about a kid who was 19 and got caught sleeping with his 15 year old girlfriend by an angry mom and now has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He waits 2 months and he's golden. Does that make sense? They've got 12 year old kids on there for playing slap-ass. It's a joke.

Just be a good parent and make sure your kids are around people you feel comfortable with. If Kalispell is the area you want....don't let that keep you from being there.

[brandy77]

So it appears that NW Montana is full of these types of people. No one is refuting this yet. This is alarming.

[jimj]

No body is refuting it because it may or may not be true or concern them. Just because someone's on the list doesn't mean that A. They actually live there and haven't moved or B. Did something YOU need to worry about.
I would be more concerned about child abductions and murder/assaults if it were me. Can you look at that list and tell me when the last non-parental child abduction happened? I can tell you... NEVER! Can you tell me when the last kid was murdered? I can, NEVER!
I'm sorry if I sound a little terse but this is not the first time this has come up and it never ceases to amaze me that the latest social hype/news fad gets people all wound up about nothing. 75 people (if there are truely 75) in an area as big as this is really not that big a deal. If it was 75 murderers then I'd be more worried since people who kill can kill anyone anytime anywhere without knowing them.
History shows over and over again you have more to worry about from the people YOU KNOW like friends and family than a stranger doing something to your family. So, if you want to protect your kids watch Uncle joey, Aunt Sally, the kids best friends etc. not worry about some "list" that is most probably way out of date as are most things in this state.

I have a child and moved here SPECIFICALLY because it's safer than most other places. I haven't met a parent here yet that's not totally comfortable about letting their kidlets out in the morning and not seeing them until dark or take the bus to the mountain all day or float the river.
If your that worrried, move outside of town so your away from it.

[brandy77]

I have compared Kalispell to many other cities around the nation and there is a huge statistical difference. Kalispell seems to have a massive amount of sex offenders per capita. This leads me to believe that either a. Kalispell is counting and recording their offenders differently than other areas, or b. there really is an alarmingly high number of offenders in the area. For example: Minneapolis (POP 400,000) has 106 offenders or 3516 - 1. Kalispell (POP 20,000) has 97 offenders or 191 - 1! Kalispell has the same number of offenders as Minneapolis! Like jimj I would like to move my family to NW Montana, but I would never move my family to an area that I know is a sex offender magnet. I hope other people are curious about this and look into it because it's your valley. I currently live in Duluth, MN (POP 80,000) and there are only 17 offenders or 4987 - 1.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by brandy77

I currently live in Duluth, MN (POP 80,000) and there are only 17 offenders or 4987 - 1.

That you are aware of. Is it possible that in MN there isn't strict enforcement of registration? That it's way under reported? Imagine that, underreporting a stat that would look bad for a city....
How about site maintenance? Is it really at the top of the states priorities? I doubt it.
You also didn't catigorize the offenders, how many were adult on juvenile or better to know adult on unkown child? Virtually nil here as far as I can see. How many offenses happened here, or were they from years ago elsewhere? Also you have to look at the "Kalispell" designation. That's a rather large area of land.
Whatever you decide that's ok, maybe this place isn't for you so your free to look elsewhere. That's your right but please don't try and make our valley out to be some haven for and occupied by a mass of devient behavior. Most here have no fear about leaving their doors unlocked and I don't see that changing anytime soon....
I just did a curisory search of the MN database and are you aware that they only report level 3 offenders? Those are the most likely to reoffend in their opinion. That leaves a whole bunch not reported to you that "could" be a danger. I believe MT currently reports ALL levels so I guess that's why you see what you see. I'd be more concerned about what they're NOT telling you than what they are.

[WestCoDude]

Brandy,

You're flipping out for no reason. I'd be far more concerned about gang violence and meth labs--both a growing concern in rural parts of the midwest and west--than sex offenders. What we're trying to tell you is that just being a registered sex offender tells you very little. Don't be spooked by a longer register than you'll find in other areas--that may just be a sign of draconian law. Many states have adopted romeo-and-juliet laws for couples that would be, in other states, statutory rape. And, not surprisingly, those states with the amended laws have less sex offenders.

I appreciate your concern for your family. Sexual abuse is VERY serious. But Montana is a fine place to live and some ad hoc sex offender list shouldn't discourage you from moving. Don't be a sheep and join the hysteria--you really have no reason to worry.

[Terryj]

Brandy, if you check out [SIZE=-1]www.familywatchdog.us and search Kalispell, you can look at the convictions of each person. This should ease your mind a little.
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