The post Jay puts off decision whether to hire sex offender as city manager indefinitely appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

These municipal agencies are responsible for maintaining public infrastructure. Workers would provide services such as; Maintaining and repairing roads, streets, and sidewalks. Snow plowing and ice removal during winter. Collecting leaves, brush, and sometimes garbage or recycling, Maintaining public buildings and municipal facilities, Repairing and maintaining water and sewer infrastructure, Caring for parks, trees, and other public spaces, Installing and maintaining street signs, traffic signals, and streetlights. And maintaining municipal vehicle fleets and equipment.

You can vote on this poll at: https://cnycentral.com/news/local/poll-should-high-risk-sex-offenders-be-hired-to-work-in-the-dept-of-public-works

The post NY: Poll: Should ‘high risk’ sex offenders be allowed to work for the Department of Public Works? appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

Whether that support comes through a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, recovery program, treatment provider, civic organization, veterans’ group, peer support network, or any other healthy community, the principle is the same: people are far less likely to succeed when they are completely isolated. If our goal is safer communities, we should be encouraging healthy support systems — not discouraging them.

For many people of faith, this is not merely a matter of compassion; it is a matter of obedience. One of the most widely known communities in Florida to embrace this philosophy is Matthew 25 Ministries, a community in Pahokee that provides housing for people on the registry. This comes not from financial opportunity, but from biblical commandments. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat… I was a stranger and you invited me in… I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25:35-36) When asked when they had done these things, Jesus replied: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40) For some, these are not merely inspirational words. They are commands from a power with much more authority than politicians or law enforcement, from God.

Throughout history, countless religious congregations have believed they have a biblical duty to minister to those whom society rejects. They may not condone a person’s past actions, but they believe every human being possesses inherent dignity and the capacity for redemption. To many believers, God’s command to love one’s neighbor, show mercy, visit those in prison, and welcome the stranger carries greater moral authority than public opinion or pressure from those who would prefer permanent exclusion.

Recently, two news stories highlighted this very tension. In Australia, the Christian Brothers defended their decision to continue housing elderly convicted offenders, explaining that they believed their religious mission required them to care for even those who had committed grave offenses while maintaining appropriate supervision and accountability. Rather than abandoning vulnerable individuals, they viewed providing housing as part of their Gospel obligation. In Virginia, a church faced intense criticism after employing a man who had completed his sentence for a sexual offense committed decades earlier.

Reasonable people can disagree about this topic, and every congregation should establish appropriate safeguards and exercise sound judgment. But the broader question remains: Should people who have completed their sentences be forever excluded from the very institutions that are best equipped to help them live stable, law-abiding lives? The evidence suggests the answer should be no.

Research consistently demonstrates that social support is one of the strongest protective factors against future offending. Stable housing, employment, treatment, family relationships, community involvement, and positive social connections all reduce the likelihood of recidivism. Isolation, hopelessness, homelessness, and rejection have the opposite effect.

Ironically, many of the very things we know reduce risk have themselves become viewed as suspicious. If a registrant seeks counseling, redemption, community, self-improvement, or just a closer connection to a higher power, people inherently assume his or her motivation is suspicious.

We have created an environment in which nearly every positive step toward rehabilitation is interpreted as something sinister. That serves neither justice nor public safety. No one is suggesting that faith communities abandon common sense or ignore legitimate concerns when they arise. But there is a profound difference between exercising appropriate caution and insisting that a person be permanently ostracized from every source of support.

People rarely rebuild their lives in complete isolation.

At FAC, we believe that safer communities are built not only through accountability, but also through opportunity. We should encourage every positive influence that helps someone remain stable, connected, employed, housed, treated, and hopeful. Whether that support comes from a pastor, rabbi, imam, therapist, sponsor, mentor, or simply a caring group of people committed to accountability and personal growth, healthy relationships matter.

A community that encourages accountability, compassion, and successful reintegration is safer than one that relies solely on exclusion. Whether you are religious or not, or whether you belong to any religion or none, perhaps Matthew 25 still has something to teach us — not just about mercy, but about what genuine public safety really looks like.

Please share this with your faith-based community and ask them to share it with their congregants.

The post When Compassion Becomes Suspicious: The Role of Faith Communities in Reintegration appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

In Florida, a registrant who inadvertently forgets to report a vehicle tag or another registration requirement is subject to a mandatory minimum and can never be removed from the registry. Why are unknowing or unintentional technical mistakes by registrants treated more harshly than knowing and intentional misconduct by the officials responsible for enforcing the law?

FAC has long maintained that accountability should apply equally. If the registry is as important as lawmakers claim, then those who administer it should be held to at least the same standard as those required to comply with it.

SOURCE

The post The Double Standard Is Hard to Ignore appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

Today, we are setting our sights on an important milestone: 10,000 signatures. Because numbers matter. Every signature represents a voice demanding that policymakers, journalists, researchers, and the public take a closer look at the human consequences of public registration laws. A petition with a few hundred signatures can be dismissed. A petition with thousands becomes harder to ignore. A petition with 10,000 signatures sends a powerful message that this issue affects far more people than those directly listed on a registry.

We are currently at 9,188 signatures. If you have already signed, thank you. Now we ask one more favor: share this petition with your friends, family members, colleagues, and anyone who believes that human rights apply to everyone. Send it to human rights organizations and ask them to promote it. If you are in group, share it with the other participants. If you belong to a religious community, social group, book club, or anywhere else you have an audience, share it with them and ask them to promote it.

Together, let’s reach 10,000 signatures and show that there is a growing movement of people willing to stand for fairness, dignity, and policies grounded in facts rather than fear.

The petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/public-sex-offender-registration-is-violation-of-universal-declaration-of-human-rights

The post Setting our sights on an important milestone: 10,000 signatures. appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

Four different people stepped up and offered to let me stay at their place, for free, but all four of their addresses were rejected. Within 1,000 feet of a school, a church, a park. One was rejected because of an HOA.

READ MORE. ITS INSPIRING

The post The Sex Offender Registry Changed How I See Homelessness appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

The Mayor claimed he was surprised to learn 180 people were living homeless in this parking lot. Frankly, we found the Mayor’s statements difficult to reconcile with reality, considering FAC has been sounding the alarm to him about this crisis for years!

Now that television cameras are shining a light on the problem, we hope city leaders will move beyond expressions of feigned shock and finally confront the consequences of the policies they have supported or tolerated for years. It’s time for Mayor Trantalis to accept responsibility for his own inaction.

We copied Local 10 News on our letter because the public deserves to know that this crisis was not only foreseeable—it was foreseen. FAC, researchers, advocates, and even government reports have been warning about the impact of residency restrictions for decades.

You can read a copy of our letter by clicking on this link.

If anyone wants to share your own thoughts with Mayor Trantalis (please keep them polite and respectful) or contact Local10 News and ask them to please do a follow up piece on this story, contact information is:
Mayor Dean Trantalis: DTrantalis@fortlauderdale.gov
Jeff Weinsier: jweinsier@wplg.com
Local10 News Desk: newsdesk@wplg.com

We’ll continue fighting for evidence-based policies that enhance public safety rather than create homelessness.

The post Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Acts Surprised by a Crisis FAC Warned Him About Years Ago appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

The solution is obvious. Florida lawmakers must immediately enact legislation prohibiting women from residing within 1,000 feet of any lake, river, pond, canal, retention basin, drainage ditch, swamp, marsh, puddle, birdbath, decorative fountain, or any other location where an alligator might conceivably exist.

After all, women are among our most vulnerable populations. And if it saves just one woman, won’t it all be worth it?

Some critics may object that there is no evidence forcing women from their homes would reduce alligator attacks. Others may point out that alligators are found throughout Florida and that such a law would make large portions of the state effectively uninhabitable. But those people are clearly missing the point. This is about public safety!

Some have suggested this would amount to banishment. Ridiculous. Women would still be allowed to visit their homes. They simply couldn’t sleep there. As every Floridian knows, alligators are extremely respectful of government regulations and almost never operate between the hours of 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM. By requiring women to leave their homes between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM, we can dramatically reduce the risk posed by these highly schedule-conscious reptiles. This is just common sense.

Opponents may ask where displaced women are expected to live, since nearly all of Florida is within 1,000 feet of water. That question misses the larger issue. Housing is not the Legislature’s responsibility.

If a woman finds herself unable to locate a lawful residence, perhaps she should consider living under an overpass, in a parking lot, or in a colony established miles away from any natural body of water. Surely that is a reasonable tradeoff for public safety.

Others may point out that women are statistically more likely to be injured in automobile accidents, suffer falls in the home, or face countless other risks that are not addressed through exclusion zones. Studies suggest there is no correlation between where a woman lives and whether she will get attacked by an alligator or that the overwhelming majority of reptile attacks come from people’s pets. Again, irrelevant. A woman was attacked by an alligator. Therefore, all women near water must be restricted. The logic is airtight.

If it saves one woman, it will all be worth it. Right?

The post Florida Must Act Now: Keep Women 1,000 Feet Away from Alligators appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

For those of us who have been fighting for reform for years, there was nothing surprising about this story. In fact, it is a pattern we have seen over and over again. A person is released from incarceration. They want to go home. They want to live with family. They want to reconnect with a support system that research consistently shows is one of the strongest predictors of successful reentry. But because of residency restrictions, registration requirements, zoning rules, probation conditions, or bureaucratic obstacles, many are prevented from doing exactly that.

Instead, they end up in places no one would ever choose as a residence: under bridges, in encampments, in industrial areas, and now apparently in a shopping center parking lot. With no access to restrooms!

Authorities quietly direct people to these locations, either explicitly or implicitly by telling them where they can and cannot go. The public eventually discovers what is happening and reacts with outrage. Reporters start asking questions. Elected officials express surprise. And suddenly the agencies responsible deny any involvement.

For years, FAC has warned policymakers that when you make lawful housing unavailable, people do not magically disappear. They still exist. They still need somewhere to sleep. The choice is not whether these individuals will live somewhere. The choice is whether they will be allowed to live in stable housing with their families or be forced into homelessness and instability.

What makes this story particularly frustrating is that many of the people sleeping in that shopping center have family members who would welcome them into their homes. They could be sleeping in a bed instead of a parking lot. They could be rebuilding their lives instead of simply surviving another night outdoors. Yet the same policies that create these situations continue to be defended as public-safety measures.

If public safety were truly the goal, we would be encouraging stable housing, family reunification, employment, and community support. Instead, we continue to create barriers that push people into homelessness and then act surprised when homelessness appears. The Local 10 investigation did not expose a mystery. It exposed the inevitable consequence of policies that prioritize exclusion over reintegration.

FAC has been saying this for years. When people are prevented from living with their families, they do not vanish. They end up somewhere. The only question is whether that “somewhere” will be a home or a shopping center parking lot.

Politicians created this problem. Politicians need to fix it!

The post Sent to a Shopping Center Instead of Home appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).

The Sheriff is not saying people should be punished according to the law. He’s not saying people should serve the sentence imposed by a judge. He’s saying an entire class of people should be imprisoned forever, regardless of what the law provides, because he personally believes they “can’t be cured.” That is not law enforcement. That is prejudice!

The reality is that decades of research have shown that people convicted of sex offenses are not a homogeneous group and that already low recidivism rates decline dramatically with time, age, and offense-free behavior. Most never reoffend at all. Yet here we have the chief law enforcement officer of one of Florida’s largest cities publicly declaring that every one of them belongs in prison for life and can’t be cured!

Statements like this should concern everyone — not just registrants and their families. We expect sheriffs to enforce the law fairly and objectively, not to substitute personal bias for facts and evidence. When a sheriff openly declares that an entire group of citizens is beyond redemption, it raises serious questions about whether those individuals can ever expect fair treatment from his agency.

Whether someone is popular or unpopular, sympathetic or unsympathetic, justice requires facts, evidence, and individual assessment. Not blanket assumptions and fear-driven rhetoric. A sheriff who believes an entire class of people should be imprisoned forever despite what the law says has forgotten his role. His job is to enforce the law, not rewrite it based on personal opinion. Someone like this should not be in office because he’s a danger to the community.

SOURCE

The post “Put them all in prison forever.” appeared first on Florida Action Committee (FAC).