Publications Disprove Sex Offender Residency Restrictions have any impact on crimes
Weekly Update 2017-02-01
Dear Members and Advocates,
In Naples, a petition is circulating to increase the residency restrictions.
We know that sex offender residency restrictions do not work and there is a wealth of studies out there proving this fact, including:
* No Place to Call Home: Rethinking Residency Restrictions for Sex Offenders<http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/bctw36&div=14&id=&page=>
* Hidden challenges: Sex offenders legislated into homelessness<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Journal-of-Social-Work-2016-Levenson-SO-Homelessness.pdf>
* Sex Offender Residency Restrictions: Successful Integration or Exclusion?<http://criminology.fsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/Volume-13-Issue-1.pdf#page=173>
* Examining the Correlates of Sex Offender Residence Restriction Violation Rates<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jason_Rydberg/publication/303357589_Examining_the_Correlates_of_Sex_Offender_Residence_Restriction_Violation_Rates/links/573f00fc08ae9ace8413374e.pdf>
* Sex Offender Residence Restrictions: Unintended Consequences and Community Reentry<http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.585.2534&rep=rep1&type=pdf>
Yet you will find an inflammatory article somewhere, followed by a chain of comments that incite and mislead the public.
Take, for example, this article that talks about a “loophole” in the law<http://www.winknews.com/2017/01/30/loophole-in-florida-sex-offender-law-draws-call-for-change/>. One of the commenters (who happened to be featured in the report), writes, “Do you realize that the recidivism rate of these types of crimes lays somewhere between 40 and 60%? And as the years go by after their release that percentage grows and grows. Any more than half of these offenders will reoffend.”
That’s an absurd statement for anyone to make who has any knowledge in the area. If left uncorrected and not responded to, the myth will be allowed to perpetuate and spur more people to jump on the bandwagon.
It is all of our responsibilities to correct the misinformation. Anyone without internet restrictions should be posting a comment on this site, citing one of the studies above, and respectfully (and with sympathy for the victim) present the other side of the coin; that SORRs don’t work, they are counter-productive and they increase recidivism, which only perpetuates the cycle of abuse. Nobody on either side of this issue wants that!
The other fact that we NEED to stress is that there is no correlation between schools and where offenses are taking place. SORRs address where registrants can sleep at night (between 10PM and 6AM) when schools are closed! Also, 95% of offenses are committed by people NOT on the registry. Take, for example, this story yesterday out of Miami Beach<http://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-beach-assistant-principal-arrested-on-child-pornography-charges/> where an assistant principal at an elementary school was arrested for child porn. That person is INSIDE the school. Most offenders are INSIDE the home because they are someone the victim knows.
FAC is still desperately in need of help on our Media Committee. If you have no internet restrictions (ie: are not a registrant), can write reasonably well and can dedicate a few hours a week to the fight, we would sincerely appreciate (and need) the help! There is no reason we cannot get our message across and if we are going to have a strong legislative and litigation agenda in 2017, it will NEED to be supported by strong media and public relations.
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK
NC Sex Offender Lawsuit Getting Lots of Media Attention<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/nc-sex-offender-lawsuit-getting-lots-media-attention/>
North Carolina Registrants have filed an Ex Post Facto lawsuit against the State challenging the enhanced punishments imposed on its citizens AFTER their offenses were committed. It’s a challenge that has WON in Michigan, even at the Federal appellate level and it is…
The government made me a sex offender<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/government-made-sex-offender/>
For anyone who has ever had to cross the US Border coming back into our country, the following will sound familiar. For anyone who has not, it will give you insight into how unpleasant and unprofessional the process is EVERY SINGLE TIME, for someone who is registered….
Orange County, FL looking to expand residency restrictions<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/orange-county-fl-looking-expand-residency-restrictions/>
It was a matter of time until Orange County was pressured into passing an expanded ordinance. Members in Orange need to unite to come up with a game-plan to oppose this. The next county commission meeting is 2/7….
Sex Offender Laws: Fair for Some, Draconian for Others<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/sex-offender-laws-fair-draconian-others/>
In my previous posting to this site, “Is it Automatically OK to Hate Sex Offenders?,” I discussed the various types of sexual offenders, noting that some are more likely to respond to treatment and less likely to reoffend than others. In this follow-up article, I…