The Groveland Police Department’s authority to disseminate information on registered sex offenders is strictly regulated by the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB). Below are guidelines the Police must follow and information on how citizens can access information about registered sex offenders. For information about Level 2 Offenders, please visit the police department an fill out the request form which will be given to Lt. McDonald for processing. For Level 1 offender information, please visit the Massachusetts SORB website.
Level 3 Sex Offenders in Groveland
User Acknowledgement and Acceptance
Sex offender registration information shall not be used to commit a crime against an offender or engage in illegal discrimination or harassment of an offender. Any person who uses sex offender registration information for such purpose shall be punished by not more than two and one-half (2 ½) years in a house of correction or by fine of not more than $1000.00 or both. M.G.L. c. 6, § 178N.
Any person who uses sex offender registration information to threaten to commit a crime may be punished by a fine of not more than $100.00 or by imprisonment for not more than six months. M.G.L. c. 275, § 4.
General Information Regarding Sex Offenders
A sex offender is any person who resides, works or attends an institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth and who has been convicted of a sex offense, or who has been adjudicated as a youthful offender or as a delinquent juvenile by reason of a sex offense, or a person released from incarceration or parole or probation supervision or custody with the Department of Youth Services for such a conviction or adjudication, or a person who has been adjudicated a sexually dangerous person or a person released from civil commitment on or after August 1, 1981.
Sex offenders will be classified according to the degree of dangerousness they pose to the public and their likelihood for re-offense. An offender’s classification will be:
- Level 1 or “low risk” offender,
- Level 2 or “moderate risk” offender, or
- Level 3 or “high risk” offender
Where the Sex Offender Registry Board determines that the risk of reoffending by an offender is low and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public by that offender is not such that a public safety interest is served by public availability, the Board shall give that offender a Level 1 designation. Information on Level 1 offenders will not be available to the public. Neither the police nor the Board has the authority to disseminate information to the general public identifying a Level 1 offender. Information identifying Level 1 offenders may only be given to the Department of Correction, any county correctional facility, the Department of Youth Services, the Department of Social Services, the Parole Board, the Department of Probation and the Department of Mental Health, all city and town police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for law enforcement purposes.
Where the Board determines that the risk of reoffending is moderate and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a public safety interest is served by public availability of registration information, it shall give a level 2 designation to the sex offender.
The public shall have access to the information regarding a level 2 offender through the Groveland Police Department and through the Sex Offender Registry Board.
Where the Board determines that the risk of reoffending is high and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a substantial public safety interest is served by active dissemination, it shall give a level 3 designation to the sex offender.
The public shall have access to the information regarding a level 3 offender through the Groveland Police Department and through the Sex Offender Registry Board.
Resources for Parents
A Parents Guide For Preventing Child Abduction (All information below is Credited to the Haverhill Police Department)
Taking a proactive approach to the problem of abduction is the way to help prevent this from happening to someone you care about. Here are some of the proactive things that you can do:
- Be aware of changes in your child’s behavior. find out what is causing the changes and address them.
- Be alert to anyone paying too much undue attention to a child. This might include a teenager as well as an adult.
- Know where your child is at all times and who they are associating with. Communicate with your child openly and freely.
- Make sure that your child understands that they are to never accept gifts from people they do not know.
- Your child should understand that no one should ever approach them and touch them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable or uneasy. They need to know that it is sometimes all right to say NO to an adult.
- Children should feel comfortable approaching and talking with parents and teachers of any problems. They should be told that if they ever are approached, they should immediately tell their parents, teachers, or a person in authority.
- Children should understand that if they ever get separated from their parents they should not wander around. Let the parents find them.
- If a child gets lost and needs assistance, they should be taught to find a person in authority.
- A child should ask a parent’s or teacher’s permission to leave a yard or play area BEFORE they leave.
- They should NEVER get into a car or vehicle without a parent’s ok.
- They should immediately run away from anyone following them on foot or in a vehicle.
- Children must be taught that is is NOT ok for someone to tell them to keep a special secret.
Child molesters and abductors usually look like everyday people. Tell your kids not to talk to adults they do not know. Anytime they are approached by an adult they should check with a parent or trusted adult immediately.
Often times they will befriend a child by asking for help. Some examples are:
- Asking to help find a lost pet;
- asking directions to someone’s house;
- offering reward money for assistance;
- saying Mom or Dad have been hurt or need their help;
- acting like an undercover police officer (children should only approach uniformed police officers, and/or marked police cars).
They may also gain your child’s trust by very minor contacts over several days, such as saying hello to them repeatedly. Make sure your children know to tell you if a stranger is trying to make friends with them.
Individuals who prey on children wait for an opportunity when the child is alone. Children should not be outside their home by themselves, even for short periods of time. They should walk to and from school and bus stops in groups. Working together with other families in your neighborhood to develop a formal plan for kids to walk together is a good idea.
A car or other vehicle is often the means by which the abductor removes the child from the neighborhood. Children should never approach a vehicle unless they are absolutely sure they know the occupants. Abductors entice children to walk near their vehicles and then pull them inside.
If children routinely see the same car parked (or following them) on their normal walking routes (to and from school, etc.) they should report it to trusted adults immediately.
Act like a stranger and see how your children react. Teach them the proper way to respond. Kids should:
- Run away.
- Yell loudly.
- Say exactly what is happening
- Examples:
- Help, this is not my Dad.”
- “Help, this is not my Mom.”
- “Help, I’m being kidnapped.”
- “Help, call the police.”
If Children just scream, people may think they are only throwing a temper tantrum. The more you practice the better your children will be at responding to difficult situations.
What the Community Can Do:
- Be aware of all strangers in their neighborhood, especially if they pay undue attention to a child.
- Write down information about strangers in your neighborhood.
- Write down information about strange vehicles in their neighborhood.
- Call the police immediately if someone is screaming or being chased by anyone.
- When calling the police it is very important to give the call taker an accurate description of the suspect along with any vehicle being used.