Florida’s housing crisis has struck the sex offender community
Arielle Stevenson, a reporter for Creative Loafing with the Tampa Bay News, says, “Florida’s housing crisis has struck the sex offender community, with very few places to go after release that meet the state’s restrictions.”
As of November 2018, there were 166 local residence restrictions in 48 Florida counties, including 29 county and 137 municipal ordinances. (Sex Offender Registration and Monitoring Triennial Review – 2018, Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability – OPPAGA – research arm of the Florida Legislature).
“The Tampa Police Department recently presented its long-awaited report to the (Tampa) City Council on what some residents say is a clustering of sex offenders in Ybor City.
A parole who lives in one of the areas where there is some clustering, spoke at the recent meeting, saying that the transition home he moved into was crucial to his recovery, which now includes a college education and steady employment.
Since residents of Ybor have no evidence to prove that Ybor is less safe because of these homes that accept registrants, they continue to bring up at meetings that these houses violate the city’s fire code cap of 16 people per building. In the past two Tampa meetings, a city attorney has stated that the fire marshal advised Tampa that there was latitude in the code allowing for additional occupancy. It is legal for 30 people to live in each of the houses. No violation has occurred.
Ybor residents continue to look for reasons to have these law-abiding registrants removed from their locality. There is none.
That’s the whole purpose of the residency restrictions to begin with. It’s displayed as a safety net, but we all know better. No invisible barriers are going to protect anyone, unless those you are trying to be protected from, have some obedience collar on that’s triggered by the barrier. Either that, or some sci-fi energy shield or dome.
The State Legislature knows all about this, yet, they could care less about the actual empirical data/statistics and continue to create this outlandish laws with ZERO regard to the health and well-being of these individuals who most are simply trying to maintain and live a normal live! Who/What gives any one in legislation the right to take that away from any human being??
TB
People like myself and others whose crimes were more than 30 years ago and have had no other offenses should prove that. But the prosecutors, judges and law makers say either we just haven’t been caught or that “The registry is working” is why we have not offended.
To borrow a British phrase “PoppyCock”. (Means nonsense)
“a city attorney has stated that the fire marshal advised Tampa that there was latitude in the code allowing for additional occupancy”.
THANK YOU to that honest official. So many officials will go along with false narratives because they have hatred towards us. Refreshing to see some honesty and truth. Not saying that person cares anymore about us that anyone else but as a fire official, you are sworn to keep people safe.
Orange County sex offender sent to unlicensed assisted living facility
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3 days ago
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