Reentry Task Forces Urge Florida Legislators to Preempt Residency Restrictions for Sex Offenders
Reentry task forces for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties submitted a Report and Recommendation to all Florida Senators and Representatives, urging them to create a law that would preempt the patchwork of municipal sex offender residency restrictions that create a homeless problem in Southeast Florida.
While Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach have 28% of the State of Florida’s registrant population, they have more than half the homeless registrants in the state.
In Miami-Dade 27.2% of the registered population is homeless, in Broward 28% are homeless. 13% of the registrant population in Palm Beach are homeless, but that number has increased by more than 12% in two years. The task forces point to municipal residency restrictions that more than double the State’s exclusion zone as the cause. The task forces, which have studied the problem for years, also pointed out in their report the fact that residency restrictions are not effective.
A copy of the report can be seen here: Tri-County Report and Recommendations – September 2020
We urge you to share the report with your representative and encourage them to follow the recommendations.
Please go a step further and state the truth. The Registry in its’ entirety is not effective. It just causes more problems and does not allow anyone to prove they can change or reform on their own.
Registries just suppress and depress us. I have known of at least two people on the registry who said the heck with it and just self violated so they could have the state take care of them for the rest of their lives. Great, so you would rather the tax payers flip the bill for housing, feeding and health care for an ex offender for life?
I can’t see this as a victory of any kind. Their own data suggests ending residence restrictions altogether, yet the task force only recommends preventing only those enacted by counties and cities.
Besides, the Florida legislature will just ignore them anyway. They have been given scores of data regarding the ineffectiveness of the registry en totem over the years and blew it all off in favor of political expedience and the financial favor of Ron Book and the like.
I think people are overlooking the fact that even if the municipal SORRs are kicked out, there’s still the State SORR.
Exactly. The state SORRS are a huge issue too.
I live in a state that preempts localities from instituting residency restrictions. I’ve seen a couple of advantages. First it reduces uncertainty when moving, and in being evicted when municipal codes change after the fact. Second, registration restrictions need to be fought in only one place, i.e. the legislature, allowing focused energy.
I see the recommendation as a positive, albeit insufficient, move for Florida registrants.
Veritas.
Every municipal residence restrictions I’ve ever seen grandfathers in people who already own homes in the city. The ordinances vary in their treatment of renters. Some of the harshest ordinances mandate that offenders who rent property have to be evicted immediately at the end of the rental period following the passage of the ordinance.
I’m rather surprised the Palm Beach County stats are still that bad.
The ordinance in the unincorporated part of the county is now only 1000 feet. The only difference between Palm Beach County ordinance and the state ordinance, is that the county ordinance also applies to people with offenses before 10/1/2004.
Forest
Are they grandfathering people in or do you have to SELL your house if you lived there already when the ordinance came into effect.
Dont worry bovo will be mayor and he will fix all the problems by locking us up! There is real trouble coming. Miami is so corrupt.
Deltona meeting this Monday to add residency restrictions:
https://www.wftv.com/news/local/volusia-county/deltona-considers-tightening-restrictions-where-sex-offenders-can-live-within-city/IW3VVSZS3FG3FDFILNC7S5FZ4Q/?outputType=amp
Jacob
I already sent that story 5 minutes after the news aired it. The story is now posted. If you know anything about this city, it is already HELL to live there as an offender. If this passes, essentially there will be almost no place to live as they already run a tight ship there with restrictions.
They already did with penal statute 775.215. The question is whether a penal statute deprives a home rule County (such as Dade) the power to enact a similar remedial ordinance that imposes a greater punishment than the State. To be clear statute 775.215 was intended to create a new crime, living within the 1000 foot exclusionary zone, not a remedial ordinance. Its intent is to punish.
You may say the County declares it’s merely a public safety ordinance not punishment and I will ask: does the constitution prohibit a home rule county from enacting remedial ordinances that conflict with state enacted penal codes? Does the constitution grant state legislation supremacy?
When asking the State to pre-empt be careful for the State may just compromise, creating a uniform restriction of 2500 feet…They are bastards you know.
CMC
2500 is just shy of a 1/2 mile. In Some counties it would be impossible to find ANYWHERE to live with that restriction. It may sound bad but, impossing that may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back legally.
Mine is a State Constitutional question not an ex post facto question. In the State of Florida, the State legislature has the sole power to enact “PUNISHMENTS” and create knew crimes. Counties are prohibited by law from creating new crimes or increasing the penalties opposed.
So, did the State of Florida intend 775.215 to be criminal or remedial? Because the statute is silent of legislative intent, I’m seeking judicial review of the question. If it is found to criminal, that ends the inquiry and controls in the State.