|
TITLE
RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO REQUIRE SEXUAL PREDATORS AND SEXUAL OFFENDERS TO WEAR ELECTRONIC MONITORING DEVICES FOR THE REMAINDER OF THEIR NATURAL LIVES
BODY
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners is concerned about convicted sexual predators and sexual offenders who are released from custody and repeat the unlawful acts for which they had originally been convicted; and
WHEREAS, the Board finds that the recidivism rate for released sexual predators and sexual offenders is high, especially for those who commit crimes against children; and
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County has a compelling interest in protecting children from predatory sexual activity; and
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County has already taken efforts to address this issue by prohibiting sexual predators and sexual offenders from establishing temporary or permanent residence in certain areas where children are known to regularly congregate, by prohibiting the renting or leasing of certain property to sexual predators or sexual offenders if such property is located where children are known to regularly congregate, and by restricting sexual offenders’ and sexual predators’ access to parks and child care facilities; and
WHEREAS, Florida law also requires sexual predators and sexual offenders to comply with a number of statutory requirements, including the requirement that he or she provide the address of legal residence and address of any temporary residence to the local sheriffâs department within 48 hours of sentencing or of establishing a residence; and
WHEREAS, sexual offenders and predators are also required by Florida law to register at a state driverâs license office within 48 hours of the initial registration at the local sheriffâs department, and must report any change of permanent or temporary residence within the state to the driverâs license office within 48 hours; and
WHEREAS, despite these requirements, local law enforcement has still encountered difficulties in locating many sexual predators and sexual offenders; and
WHEREAS, a 2012 report by the Florida Legislatureâs Office of Program Policy Analysis & Governmental Accountability found that 40 percent of sheriffâs offices surveyed reported that they had difficulty locating sexual predators and sexual offenders who were listed at transient residences; and
WHEREAS, it is believed that some sexual predators and sexual offenders list their addresses as âtransientâ for the express purpose of avoiding law enforcement oversight; and
WHEREAS, requiring sexual predators and sexual offenders to wear electronic monitoring devices would eliminate many of these problems by providing law enforcement with the capability of determining the a sexual predator or sexual offenderâs precise location; and
WHEREAS, an electronic monitoring system for sexual predators and sexual offenders would also enable law enforcement to be immediately informed if a sexual predator or sexual offender was near a park, child care facility, school, or other location where children regularly congregate; and
WHEREAS, the implementation of this technology can only help law enforcement marshal their resources and more effectively protect children from predatory sexual activity; and
WHEREAS, similar legislation has already been passed in California, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin; and
WHEREAS, none of these state statutes have been struck down despite various legal challenges,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the Florida Legislature to require sexual predators and sexual offenders to wear electronic monitoring devices for the remainder of their natural lives.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit certified copies of the resolution to the Governor, Attorney General, Senate President, House Speaker, and the Chair and Members of the Miami-Dade State Legislative Delegation.
Section 3. Directs the Countyâs state lobbyists to advocate for the issues identified in Section 1 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to include this item in the 2015 state legislative package when it is presented to the Board.
|
The misplaced heavy hand in this matter continues it’s basis on misinformation. For recidivism statistics of the US Dept of Justice and other state sponsored research of recidivism regarding sex offenders and compared to all offenders see the following research that refutes the “high recidvism” misinformation:
http://whidbeynewstimes.wordpress.com/sex-offender-recidivism-conclusions/
Here is the text of the bill:
Florida Senate – 2015 SB 134
By Senator Diaz de la Portilla
40-00226-15 2015134__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to lifetime electronic monitoring of
3 sex offenders; creating s. 943.71, F.S.; establishing
4 the lifetime electronic monitoring program within the
5 Department of Law Enforcement; requiring the
6 implementation of an electronic monitoring system to
7 monitor sex offenders sentenced to lifetime electronic
8 monitoring; requiring tracking the movement and
9 location of each sex offender; requiring timely
10 reporting and recording of the sex offenderâs presence
11 in certain circumstances; requiring that such records
12 be available upon request; requiring a sex offender
13 sentenced to lifetime electronic monitoring to wear or
14 carry an electronic monitoring device as determined by
15 the department; requiring the sex offender to
16 reimburse the department for the cost of the lifetime
17 electronic monitoring; creating s. 943.711, F.S.;
18 defining the term âsex offenderâ; requiring a
19 convicted sex offender to be sentenced to lifetime
20 electronic monitoring; providing criminal penalties;
21 authorizing a term of imprisonment imposed for
22 specified violations relating to lifetime electronic
23 monitoring to run consecutively with other violations;
24 providing an effective date.
25
26 WHEREAS, the Legislature is concerned about convicted sex
27 offenders who are released from custody or supervision and
28 repeat the unlawful acts for which they were originally
29 convicted, and
30 WHEREAS, the Legislature has a compelling interest in
31 protecting children and other individuals from predatory sexual
32 activity, and
33 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that, despite registration
34 and reporting requirements, law enforcement agencies encounter
35 difficulties in locating many convicted sex offenders, and
36 WHEREAS, a 2012 report by the Office of Program Policy
37 Analysis and Government Accountability found that 40 percent of
38 sheriffâs offices surveyed reported that they had difficulty
39 locating convicted sex offenders who provide transient
40 residences, and
41 WHEREAS, the Legislature believes that some convicted sex
42 offenders report their addresses as âtransientâ for the express
43 purpose of avoiding law enforcement oversight, and
44 WHEREAS, requiring a convicted sex offender to wear an
45 electronic monitoring device for the duration of his or her
46 natural life would provide law enforcement with the capability
47 of determining the offenderâs precise location, and
48 WHEREAS, an electronic monitoring system would immediately
49 inform law enforcement if a convicted sex offender was near a
50 prohibited area such as a park, a child care facility, a school,
51 or another location where children regularly congregate, and
52 WHEREAS, the implementation of this electronic monitoring
53 technology can assist law enforcement agencies in marshaling
54 their resources to more effectively protect children and others
55 from predatory sexual activity, NOW, THEREFORE,
56
57 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
58
59 Section 1.âSection 943.71, Florida Statutes, is created to
60 read:
61 943.71âLifetime electronic monitoring program.â
62 (1)âThe lifetime electronic monitoring program is
63 established in the department, which shall implement a system of
64 monitoring sex offenders who are released from prison,
65 probation, community control, or conditional release and who are
66 sentenced by the court to lifetime electronic monitoring. The
67 lifetime electronic monitoring program shall require all of the
68 following:
69 (a)âElectronic tracking of the movement and location of
70 each sex offender sentenced to lifetime electronic monitoring
71 from the time that he or she is released from prison, probation,
72 community control, or conditional release for the remainder of
73 his or her natural life.
74 (b)âUse of an electronic system that actively monitors and
75 identifies a sex offenderâs location and movement, and timely
76 reports and records his or her presence near or within a crime
77 scene or in a prohibited area or his or her departure from
78 specified geographic limitations. Such recorded information must
79 be available upon request to the court or a law enforcement
80 agency.
81 (2)âA sex offender who is sentenced to lifetime electronic
82 monitoring shall wear or otherwise carry an electronic
83 monitoring device as determined by the department and in the
84 manner prescribed by the program. A sex offender subject to
85 electronic monitoring by the department shall pay the department
86 for the electronic monitoring services as provided in s.
87 948.09(2).
88 Section 2.âSection 943.711, Florida Statutes, is created to
89 read:
90 943.711âLifetime electronic monitoring.â
91 (1)âFor purposes of this section, âsex offenderâ means an
92 offender convicted of a crime committed in this state on or
93 after October 1, 2015, for which he or she is required to
94 register pursuant to s. 775.21, s. 943.0435, or s. 944.607.
95 (2)âA person convicted as a sex offender shall be sentenced
96 to lifetime electronic monitoring as provided under s. 943.71.
97 (3)âA sex offender who willfully or knowingly commits any
98 of the following acts commits a felony of the third degree,
99 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084:
100 (a)âIntentionally altering, tampering with, damaging, or
101 destroying electronic monitoring equipment.
102 (b)âFailure to notify the Department of Corrections of any
103 damage to an electronic monitoring device.
104 (c)âFailure to reimburse the Department of Corrections or
105 its agent for the cost of electronic monitoring.
106 (4)âA term of imprisonment imposed for a violation of this
107 section may be served consecutively to any term of imprisonment
108 imposed for any other violation of law which is committed by the
109 offender while in violation of this section.
110 Section 3.âThis act shall take effect October 1, 2015.