Laws would limit residency for convicted sex offenders

Local municipalities will consider implementing pedophile free areas

By: William Wichert
It is up for debate in the state Legislature and it may soon be brought before the U.S. Supreme Court, but now, legislation restricting where convicted sex offenders can live has become a local issue.
      As part of a growing national and statewide effort, some local municipalities are considering ordinances that would prohibit sex offenders from living near schools, parks, and other places where children can be found.
      New Hanover Township introduced such an ordinance last week, but Florence Township and Bordentown City – the only two local municipalities where convicted sex offenders against minors are known to live-are still trying to craft legislation that will hold up in court.
      "(Township officials) just want to make sure whatever ordinance they adopt is defensible," said Florence Township Administrator Richard Brook, "and not an overreaction."
      According to the Sex Offender Registry posted on the state police Web site, there are four convicted sex offenders whose last known addresses were located in Florence.
      The township is expected to create an ordinance within the next few months that bans convicted sex offenders from visiting certain public places, such as parks, and from living within a certain distance from others. Mr. Brook said the municipality is being very careful in its chosen boundaries.
      "You have a feeling, you can’t just shut out your entire community," he said.
      In the 1-square-mile community of Bordentown City, the specific limits placed upon sex offenders is also on the minds of local officials. The Sex Offender Registry lists three convicted sex offenders with addresses within the city.
      "Anywhere in the city could be considered public property or (near) the schools," said Police Commissioner James Lynch. "It’s the constitutional issue. It has to be done the right way, and that’s what we intend to do."
      The specific distances within these residency restrictions remains an issue on the state level as well. Of the two state Assembly bills introduced over the last few months, one proposed a 500-foot restriction from schools, playgrounds, and child-care centers, while the other proposed a 2,500-foot boundary.
      The latter bill, Assembly bill A-4068, which also proposed an electronic monitoring system to track convicted sex offenders, has since been combined with another piece of legislation authorizing regional pilot programs for this monitoring system.
      While Mr. Brook said 2,500 feet seemed a little excessive, that is exactly the restriction proposed in the New Hanover ordinance. That ordinance, which will be up for final adoption on Dec. 12, would prohibit sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school, child-care center, bus stop, or park or playground. Sex offenders would be banned from public parks, and prevented from loitering within 300 feet of a school or other designated areas.
      Assembly bill A-4068 would have forced convicted sex offenders already living in the restricted zone to move within 90 days of the bill’s effective date, but the New Hanover ordinance would not apply to these offenders. Any offenders who move into the zone after the ordinance’s adoption will have 60 days to move.
      "I think it’s a very simple and smart move," said New Hanover Mayor Sharon Atkinson, who said this ordinance follows the township’s previous efforts to restrict the location of adult bookstores and to close down businesses that had been a front for prostitution. "It’s just cleaning up the town."
      The imperative nature of this ordinance, however, is evident in one of the opening passages: "Experts in the field of psychology have concluded that there is no cure for sex offenders, and by imposing restrictions on the proximity of sex offenders to schools and other facilities where children are regularly present reduces the temptation of offenders for recidivism."
      There are no New Hanover residents listed on the Sex Offender Registry, but Mayor Atkinson said this ordinance seemed like the only tool at the municipality’s disposal to prevent these crimes from occurring.
      "I don’t know what else you could do," she said. "It’s for the kids."
      But just like the specific distances of these restrictions, the need and effectiveness of such legislation is also a matter of debate.
      The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) states that while there is no cure for sexual offenders, there is also no research proving that residency restrictions prevent sex crimes from occurring.
      Fourteen states have enacted residency laws, but studies have showed that repeat sex offenders have not lived near schools or child care centers, and that most offenders travel outside of their neighborhoods to find victims, according to a report on the ATSA Web site.
      Instead, these laws may reduce the housing options available to sex offenders, and force them to live in more rural areas, where a lack of employment and mental health treatment can act as triggers for committing new crimes, according to the ATSA report.
      "Research has shown that criminal offenders with stable housing, employment, and social support are much less likely to commit new offenses compared to those who lack stability," according to statement released by ATSA on Nov. 3. "ATSA also contends that sex offender residency statutes are driven by fear, rather than facts."
      Acting on behalf of ATSA, the Ohio Justice and Policy Center has submitted several of these findings as part of an amicus brief, or petition, filed on Nov. 3 with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to hear a case regarding a sex offender residency statute in Iowa. This statute prohibits sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools and child-care centers.
      In New Hanover, though, Mayor Atkinson is convinced that the municipal ordinance is a positive step for her township.
      "I think it’s a good thing," she said, "and I’ll go to my grave, saying it’s a good thing."