New ATSA Report Concludes Residency Restrictions are Ineffective
The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) just issued a report on the effectiveness of residency restrictions as tools for sex offender management.
The entire report can be read here, but below are some of the findings:
- Residency restrictions create more problems than they solve, including homelessness, transience and disproportionate clustering of offenders.
- Residency restrictions create housing instability.
- Housing instability exacerbates risk factors for offending.
- Employment and housing disruption, as well as separation from supportive and/or dependent family hinders effective treatment and may interfere with the goal of reducing recidivism.
- There is no evidence that these laws accomplish the goal of child protection.
- Research shows that proximity to schools or daycare centers does not increase risk of sexually re offending.
“There is no research to support the effectiveness of residence restrictions in reducing sexual recidivism and these types of policies often have the unintended consequence that may compromise, rather than promote, public safety.”
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A probation officer came to my home. She told me that there is a park down the street from our house. She made her point…by raising her voice…this retention pond is at least a quarter of a mile from our home. .I told her it was not a park…it is a large retention pond with benches facing the pond…..most of the senior citizens use it when walking their dogs….the threat she made was that my son would not be able to live here at home.
Nancy – please contact [email protected] with more details.
There are some really dangerous offenders out there that should be strictly monitored. That is not a very large number in comparison to the vast number of people on the sex offender roles. The list throws them all together and makes it hard on Law Enforcement to keep up with the ones that they really need watching.