Pennsylvania Auditor General, State Police Commissioner, Attorney General Unite to Protect PA Families From Sex Offenders

30 November 2005

State Police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller, Auditor General Jack Wagner, and Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced that their offices will immediately begin working together to ensure that the Commonwealth is performing its responsibilities to protect Pennsylvania families through Megan's Law. Under the historic agreement, Wagner's office will complete the special performance audit of the State Police's administration of Megan's Law that had been started by Wagner's predecessor, State Treasurer Robert P. Casey, Jr. Corbett's staff will assist in this audit in preparation for the Attorney General's own annual Megan's Law audits, which are now required by Act 152, enacted in November 2004. The Attorney General may call on the Auditor General for assistance with those audits. Representatives of the three agencies will meet to formally kick off their joint effort within the next two weeks. "Keeping Pennsylvania safe is State Police's goal," said Col. Miller. "If we're able to improve safety and keep children further away from predators with the help of this audit, then we want to do that. We will cooperate with the auditors and consider their recommendations." Wagner's audit will determine if the State Police followed prescribed procedures for providing notice about sexually violent predators and other sex offenders to local police departments. It will also determine if the information maintained and displayed on the Commonwealth's Megan's Law website is complete and accurate. "Combining the auditing expertise of my staff with the law enforcement expertise of the staffs of the Attorney General and the State Police means triple protection for the children of Pennsylvania," said Wagner. "I appreciate the willingness of Colonel Miller and General Corbett to work with us towards a truly positive result." Wagner will issue a public report of his audit findings in April 2006. In November 2006, Corbett will issue the first report of his required annual audits of the practices, procedures, and records of the State Police and other state and local agencies under Megan's Law. "Through our Megan's Law audits, as well as other initiatives such as our Child Predator Unit, we will stop those who seek to prey upon and steal the innocence of our most vulnerable citizens, our children," said Corbett. "I thank General Wagner and Colonel Miller for their personal commitments to this effort." Megan's Law is named for Megan Kanka, a seven-year-old New Jersey girl who was brutally raped and murdered in 1994 by a twice-convicted sex offender who had moved across the street from her family without their knowledge. The public outcry following this crime led to the adoption of a "Megan's Law" by the federal government, every state, and the District of Columbia within two years. These laws generally require the establishment of registration programs so that local law enforcement will know the whereabouts of sex offenders released into their jurisdictions, and notification programs so that the public can be warned about sex offenders living in the community. The General Assembly passed Pennsylvania's Megan's Law in 1995 and amended it in 2000 and again in 2004. Today's agreement settles litigation currently pending in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania between the Auditor General and the State Police. Casey had sued the State Police in May 2003 to obtain information needed for a performance audit of Megan's Law. Before leaving office in January of this year, he released a report on the audit without that information. Auditor General Jack Wagner is the Commonwealth's elected independent fiscal watchdog, responsible for ensuring that all state money is spent legally and properly. The Department of the Auditor General conducts more than 5,500 financial audits, performance audits, and special investigations each year. For more information, visit http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us. The Pennsylvania State Police, under the supervision of Colonel Jeffrey B. Miller, enforces state law and preserves the peace of the Commonwealth through the detection of crime, apprehension of criminals, and patrol of highways. For more information, visit http://www.psp.state.pa.us and http://www.pameganslaw.state.pa.us. Attorney General Tom Corbett is the Commonwealth's elected chief law enforcement officer. The Office of Attorney General investigates and prosecutes crimes and represents the Commonwealth in civil litigation. For more information, visit http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.

Source: PR Newswire

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