Many people in the leadership of Warwick, Rhode Island see no benefit from the residency restrictions
As reported by the Warwick Beacon, the chief of the Warwick Police Department “gets it”, as he says, “The elimination of residency restrictions for Level III sex offenders does not pose a danger to students at local schools.” Chief Bradford Connor goes on to say, “I do not believe that the elimination of the 1,000-foot law will add any more risk to the community.” Connor got that right!!!!
Given Rhode Island’s diminished housing market, the residency restrictions seemed likely to further contribute to the state’s surging homelessness rates. The Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless issued a statement in support of the 2015 injunction, stating that the new regulations would not only make it more difficult for homeless people to obtain housing but would also increase the number of shelter residents by eliminating the stable housing they have and causing them to enter an already overcrowded homeless shelter system.
This same advocacy group fighting to eliminate homelessness stated that the three most important factors in reducing sex offender recidivism are stable housing, gainful employment, and comprehensive treatment.
Why don’t the so-called homeless advocacy groups in the Miami/Dade and Fort Lauderdale areas not understand this as they show no will to fight the residency restrictions that have forced so many people on the sex offense registry to become homeless?
Iowa has actually seen a steady increase in child sex crimes since introducing a 2,000-foot residency restriction in 2005.
Efforts to protect students might benefit from less of an emphasis on drawing school borders and paying more attention to what actually goes on within them. The overwhelming majority of sex abuse cases involve perpetrators such as teachers, coaches, and school staff.
Warwick, Rhode Island has a 100% compliance rate among its over 170 registrants.
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Did anyone see the part “In an affidavit submitted during a similar case in Massachusetts in 2012, Dr. Jill Levenson noted several studies from across the country indicating that these restrictions have a negligible impact on public safety; in fact, Iowa has actually witnessed a steady increase in child sex crimes since introducing a 2000 foot restriction in 2005. Levenson also noted that the laws can render as much as 95% of a state’s residential housing market as off-limits to offenders.”
The source of the 2,000 ft restriction and increased crimes in IA would be interesting given it does not say whether it was increased to 2,000 or rolled back to 2,000 from a longer distance. Maybe Dr. Levenson can note that here in a response to FAC on this matter. 3/8th of a miles is a heck of an alleged buffer…