LAKE MONROE, FLORIDA – March 17, 2014
This
past Saturday, the ACLU of Florida held a forum on the efficacy of sex
offender residency restrictions. The event, moderated by CBS 4 Reporter
Jim DeFede, sought to answer the question of whether the residency
restrictions imposed on sex offenders are based on evidence or politics
and, more importantly, whether they are actually making our communities
safer.
The
panel for this forum was comprised of Jeanne Baker; an ACLU cooperating
attorney who has worked on cases challenging residency restrictions,
Gail Colletta; President of the Florida Action Committee, Dawn Thompson;
assistant executive director Kristi House child advocacy center and
Marc Sarnoff; Miami City Commissioner.
Surprisingly,
although the panel included a children’s advocate and one of the
commissioners who was responsible for architecting measures to zone sex
offenders out of communities, the panelists all agreed that the
restrictions were based on politics, ran contrary to empirical
evidence and studies consistently show they are ineffective and that
they are not making our community safer.
The
most shocking facts to emerge from the forum were that of the 2,017 sex
offenders in Miami-Dade County. 82 are incarcerated and 42 are
deceased, leaving 1,893 in the community. Of those; 342 (18%) are
registered as “Transient” (homeless) and 224 (12%) are listed as
“Absconded” (have gone underground to avoid registration/residency
requirements). An unintended consequence of residency restrictions is
that almost one-third of registrants are harder to track.
Those
who have absconded are likely in the community; police just don’t know
where they are and certainly cannot check up on them. Those who are
transient lack housing stability and are removed from family support;
both are triggers for re-offense.
Not
only have the residency restrictions created an intolerable and
inhumane lifetime punishment imposed on registrants, but they are
endangering the citizens of Miami-Dade.
Florida Action Committee (FAC),
founded in 2006, is a state-wide consortium of concerned citizens and
professionals whose purpose is to promote the prevention of sexual abuse
while preserving the safety and dignity of all citizens through
carefully structured laws targeting the truly violent, forced, and/or
dangerous predatory acts of sex. FAC believes that many aspects of the
current approach to sex offenders seriously undermine justice and
actually increase the threat of sexual assault against others,
particularly children. FAC opposes a publicized registry of sex
offenders and seeks to bring an end to the humiliation of people who
have already paid for their crimes. FAC asserts that only by supporting
justice for all people—offenders and victims alike can a truly safe
society be built and secured for all Americans.
