Registered Sex Offenders: Suing to Find a Place to Live
It seems that the thorny issue of where registered sex offenders should be allowed to live just won't go away. In 2007, I wrote an article entitled "Sex Offenders: Where Can They Live?," and in 2008 I wrote an article entitled "Where Can You Live in Florida if You Are a Registered Sex Offender?" Palm Beach Post staff writer John Lantigua has now written an article entitled "Registered sex offenders: Where can they live?"
In his article, Mr. Lantigua reports that just last week the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida sued Miami-Dade County over an ordinance that prohibits individuals convicted of sex crimes involving minors from living within 2,500 feet of such places as schools, playgrounds, and school bus stops. According to the article, however, the ACLU is not suing out of a concern for the safety of those sex offenders living under a bridge but rather out of a concern for the safety of the general public.
In that regard, the executive director of the ACLU of Florida is quoted as saying that "[p]eople have to realize that making them live under that bridge has created a more dangerous situation. Because of the conditions, some of these individuals are absconding, evading supervision. These ordinances interfere with the Department of Corrections' ability to keep track of them. This is a crisis situation."
Apparently, the Florida Department of Corrections--the agency in charge of supervising sex offenders--agrees. A spokesperson for that agency is quoted as saying that "[o]ur concern is for public safety. If they are homeless there is more of a chance they will abscond. There are already 91 homeless offenders around the state, mostly in South Florida, and the problem is getting bigger."
When two unlikely bedfellows such as the ACLU and the Florida Department of Corrections agree on something as serious as where registered sex offenders should be allowed to live, perhaps it's time to change the law.
I wish people had realized this earlier. Pushing convicted sex offenders to the edges of town only further alienates them and makes it that much more likely that they will commit another crime. Trying to keep them away from the general population isn't going to rehabilitate them at all.
I agree with Joe. I'm a retired cop so I'm all about public safety, But the term(s) sex offender and sexual predator should be better distinguished. Some offenders (partiulary the ones when didn't realize the age of the victim and made unlawful sexual advances towards them for example) don't have much of a chance even trying to rehabilitate themselves as they seem to fall under the umbrella as predators (those who knowlingly harmed/advanced on minors). Anyway, the problem with finding employment and a home either put many of them under the bridge physically & emotionally. Not much re-hab there and causes each city & county a lot of pains. I'm only speaking for first time offenders trying to return to good citizenship status.
My husband is a (non violent) sex offender. We currently residing in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We live in an apartment, and our lease is up at the end of this month. The landlord will not renew our lease so we are tyring to seek for another place to live. We have been looking for a place to live, but none of them will accept us because of my husband's criminal background. It's so unfair..where are we suppose to live now?? =( I just hope that the goverment/senate will do something about this..