Sex offenders may soon be able to live closer to schools, day care centers in Jacksonville
News About Florida Sex Offender Laws
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Registered sex offenders in the River City may soon be able to live closer to schools, public libraries and other places children frequent if the Jacksonville City Council has anything to say about it.
The city council will undergo a second reading of city ordinance 2017-667 on Tuesday. The bill’s primary function is to reduce the required distance a registered sex offender or predator can reside near various locations from 2,500 feet to 1,500 feet, according to the bill’s description.
The bill also advises, if passed, that new and upcoming day care centers will be required to plan their locations around the 1,500 feet-rule for sex offenders.
The ordinance also expands the bill to includes schools, public libraries, day care centers, parks, playgrounds and other locations that children regularly congregate at, the bill summary said.
The Planning and Development Department will need to produce a neighborhood search map using the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) database of registered sexual predators to determine if such residents exist within 1,500 feet of a proposed day care center.
The current situation with sex offenders makes it “where there are no places for (them) to lawfully reside in Jacksonville.”
The bill continues by saying this “does not protect the community, but rather results in a transient (or homeless) population that poses a significant danger and menace to public health and to children if the predators go unregistered and become less traceable through the FDLE registration process.”
Councilman Bill Gulliford, who is sponsoring the bill, said the current state is penalizing small businesses, such as day care centers, who are unable to find a location to set up care centers due to the current 2,500 feet requirement.
Jacksonville councilman calls for objective look at distance requirements for sex offenders
“I think we need to take a more objective look and more rounded look (at the issue),” the councilman said.
One reason the current requirement has become a struggle for businesses is that it’s unclear how far sex offenders are from proposed day care center sites. Gulliford explains that a day care center may be located within 2,500 feet of a sex offender’s residence if you draw a straight line on a map, but the distance walked or driven between those two locations may be outside the 2,500-feet requirement.
When asked if he was concerned about a potential increase in sexual crimes against children, Gulliford said he does not see that as a foreseeable issue at this time. He said he believes schools, libraries and day cares have stronger forms of security to counteract that concern.
A ChildTime location in Jacksonville would not comment on the pending legislation and calls to their corporate office were not immediately returned.
As for the bill’s progress in the city council, it will go for a second reading on Tuesday. If it moves forward from there, it will go to public hearing, committee, then a final vote in the future, Gulliford said.
If passed, the bill will go into effect Jan. 1, 2018.
Apparently, education of the plight of registered citizens is having an effect. Small changes like these tend to have a snowball effect. The more we educate the public, the more change we will see.
You got that right, Mike 😀
I’m sorry to be a naysayer but I wonder how much of this was due to education or just realizing that they created a whole other problem by creating homelessness. I am glad that those people can get some relief however if they really were reacting to the education they would’ve abolished escape the living restriction all together in my opinion
I live in Jacksonville and myself and another fellow RSO have been contacting Gulliford’s office to see if we can further educate him on these issues. It seems on the surface, that this whole change is occurring because, let’s be honest, it is hitting the pocketbooks of the citizens of Jax who want to open businesses and make a living. I find it ironic, that it is mainly affecting those who want to open child care related facilities. But the way I see it, if this is a way to open the door to reducing or even overturning the RR’s then it’s a good strategy to use. Convince potential business owners or current ones how this affects their ability to start or expand their business. I personally love that this is happening like this. It’s amazing what people will be willing to change once their money gets involved. Just goes to show you the whole damn thing is all just about money. Has nothing to do with public safety, child safety, or being “tough” on crime. Hopefully this bill passes. I know quite a few predators who live in horrid conditions who this will help find a better place to live.
Also…notice how the headline of this article slants it negatively against sex offenders??? That is not the actual issue at hand and is misleading as hell. The actual change is happening because people want to be able to open up businesses who can’t because RSP’s live in the areas they want to do business in. Where did this article come from? The FL Times Union?
I’m not sure who, if anybody at FAC, changed the wording of the source article. Not sure if the article was changed either, but my point is this restriction has always applied to predators, not offenders. Offenders fall under state law, the local ordinance only applies to predators.
I thought that you could only expand to more than 1000 for schools? Also, what is wrong with the 1000 foot state “buffer zone”