Reforming Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Laws
In what can only be described as a breathtaking leap from questionable policy to outright farce, Fresno is now considering banning registrants from attending city council meetings. Under the new measure, registered sex offenders would be prohibited from attending city council meetings in person. Not schools. Not playgrounds. Not parks. City council meetings! The kind held in echoing chambers with
Read moreA study, currently under review, concludes that registries obscure sexual recidivism risk. The citation to the study is: Hanson, R. Karl, German Marquez Alcala, and J. J. Prescott. “UNDER REVIEW (submitted July 7, 2025, to Psychology, Public Policy, and Law). The conclusion is: There is no evidence,however, that current public sex offender registries contribute to community safety. One reason they
Read moreTwo recent reports out of Texas and California should force a long-overdue conversation about what “tough on crime” policies actually produce over time—not just in theory, but in real human and financial costs. In Texas, officials are grappling with soaring medical costs tied to aging individuals held under sex offender civil commitment and extended incarceration. Meanwhile, in California, policymakers are
Read moreIn recent months, we have noticed a growing trend. Many people write to us explaining that they have researched their legal issue using AI tools such as ChatGPT and believe they have discovered cases that support their position. Unfortunately, in many instances the conclusions generated by AI are simply wrong. We regularly see examples where the cases cited do not
Read moreA recent report out of Scotland shows that the United Kingdom is beginning to face a reality that the United States has been struggling with for decades: once governments expand registries and surveillance systems for people convicted of sex offenses, the number of individuals under those systems steadily grows—and communities must eventually confront the question of where those people are
Read moreWhen lawmakers say they’re acting to keep kids safe, most of us want to believe the solution must be a good one. But public safety policy shouldn’t be judged by its intentions. It should be judged by whether it actually works. Let’s consider a recent ordinance passed by Middleburg Heights City Council in late February. The law, which mirrors one
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