Nees said there is a program for a small number of sex offenders at halfway houses in Boulder and Longmont. Recidivism for incest offenders is 10 percent or less. Selkin said the recidivism rate is higher for rapists and for those who have served time in prison. But three years after passage of a Colorado law allowing residents to examine names and addresses of convicted sex offenders, letting them know who's living next door so they can take appropriate precautions, the law's effectiveness is being questioned. The law puts the responsibility for tracking sex offenders on virtually everyone but law enforcement agencies.
Offenders are responsible for registering themselves.
Residents must visit the local police station to check whether a convicted sex offender has moved into the neighborhood, because the law does not allow police to warn residents. And no one in law enforcement is required to check on whether offenders are registering or their addresses are correct. A review by the Daily Camera revealed that on the Boulder County lists, many addresses are wrong, some offenders don't register and there is limited verification of offenders' addresses by local law enforcement. Plus, relatively few residents ask to examine the lists. Most of them are not law-abiding citizens to begin with, or they would not have been incarcerated for sex offenses.