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Florida's Draconian Sex Offender Residency Rules
Florida's sex offender residency requirements have received national attention recently -- not for their effectiveness, but as an example of how far states will go to punish convicted sex offenders.
September 12, 2009 /Parenting PR News/ -- Florida's Draconian Sex Offender Residency Rules
Article provided by Law Offices of Mark L. Horwitz, P.A.
Visit us at www.mlhorwitzlaw.com
Florida's Ban Goes Too Far
Florida's sex offender residency requirements have received national attention recently -- not for their effectiveness, but as an example of how far states will go to punish convicted sex offenders.
Florida law prevents sex offenders from living closer than 1000 feet from schools, day care centers, parks and playgrounds. This type of residency restriction is not unique to Florida: At least 30 states have similar bans. But many counties and municipalities in Florida have opted to pass much more restrictive residency ordinances than the one imposed under state law.
Miami-Dade is one of the most egregious examples, with a law requiring sex offenders to live at least 2500 feet from any school, park, day care center or playground. The Miami-Dade ban has effectively eliminated any eligible housing for sex offenders within the city. As a result, more than 70 sex offenders have converged in a community living underneath the Judy Tuttle Causeway Bridge.
There are more than 160 municipalities within Florida that enforce restrictions on where sex offenders can live that are more severe than the state law. Some areas have passed the ban in order to prevent their communities from becoming havens for sex offenders.
The push for the bans began in earnest after the 2005 rape and murder of Jessica Lunsford. Such horrific stories of young children being harmed by repeat offenders created a wave of fear across the state, with citizens demanding that their local governments take action to protect their children and prevent such a tragedy from happening again. Residency restrictions were determined to be one of the best ways to accomplish this goal.
The Problem with Residency Restrictions
There are several problems with imposing residency restrictions on convicted sex offenders. First is the inherent injustice of the restriction. Sex offenders are treated unlike any other criminals. Once they have served their sentence and been determined eligible to re-enter society, they are punished a second time for their crimes by being forced to register as a sex offender for life and by being restricted in where they can live.
This second punishment is even more severe when one considers the full scope of those who are defined as "sex offenders" under Florida law. Those who have been determined to be the most dangerous offenders are labeled as sexual predators. But sex offenders are defined much more broadly and include the 18-year-old who was charged with the statutory rape of his 16-year-old girlfriend. Even though the 18-year-old may not have spent even one day in prison for his crime, state law still will force him to suffer the stigma of being labeled a convicted sex offender -- a punishment much worse than the one imposed for the crime of statutory rape.
Second, residency restrictions have been shown not to work. State lawmakers and concerned citizens alike have effectively argued that the residency restrictions are necessary in order to protect children and prevent offenders from reoffending. But the problem is residency restrictions do not prevent either from happening. In the case of Miami's 2500-foot restriction, it only forces sex offenders to go "off the radar," where law enforcement officials cannot keep track of them.
Further, by providing them with at best limited living options, the residency laws actually prevent offenders from re-entering society. Many professionals, including mental health professionals, argue that the residency restrictions prevent offenders from settling into stable environments and give them little to no incentive to become productive members of society. It is under these conditions that offenders are likely to become re-offenders or commit other crimes.
The Future of Florida's Residency Requirement
Even the strongest supporters of residency restrictions for sex offenders are having second thoughts about the efficacy of the bans. State Attorney General Bill McCollum has been vocal in his belief that the 2500-foot restriction in Miami goes too far. Lobbyist Ron Brook, who personally traveled across the state to convince communities to pass stricter sex offender ordinances after his daughter was victimized, now believes there must be a better solution than forcing sex offenders into homelessness. Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against Miami-Dade County in July, challenging the legality of the ban on the grounds that it impedes the state's ability to monitor sex offenders.
Regardless of the current political interest in scaling back the more restrictive bans like the one in Miami-Dade, it is unlikely that all residency restrictions will be lifted. Also, whether the political process will be able to do anything about the more restrictive measures imposed by communities across Florida, given the reluctance of politicians to be known as "soft on crime," is questionable.
It is still important, however, that we recognize the problems inherent with state and local sex offender residency restrictions, and that lawmakers are finally taking some action to remedy them.
Article provided by Law Offices of Mark L. Horwitz, P.A.
Visit us at www.mlhorwitzlaw.com
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