sex offender registries = no place for people to live

[mominatrix]

I know we don't exactly have a lot of sympathy for sex offenders around here, but I think this situation is completely crazy.    The craziest thing:  this is what officials are telling people to do.

------------------------


Inside Miami’s Hidden Tent City For ‘Sex Offenders’


BY NICOLE FLATOW POSTED ON OCTOBER 23, 2014 AT 10:53 AM UPDATED: OCTOBER 24, 2014 AT 9:01 AM


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In a Tuesday Feb. 5, 2008 photo, an elderly sex offender relaxes outside his tent at the makeshift camp he and other offenders call home under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/DAVID ADAME



In 2009, Miami-Dade County drew national criticism when reports emerged that more than 100 individuals on the sex offender registry were camping under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in the middle of the Biscayne Bay with the blessing of the corrections department, because a patchwork of restrictive laws made it so they had nowhere else to go. In response, officials cleared out the camp and changed the law, in a shift that was supposed to give these offenders a habitable place to live.

But four years after that new law was passed, those on the sex offender registry who consider Miami-Dade County home are just camping somewhere else — in makeshift encampments on the outskirts of the county near a railroad track. There is no sanitary water source, no bathrooms, and no shelter from the elements. Many of them used to sleep in an empty warehouse. But after the owners complained, they moved north to a small strip of land, where the only shelter they can find is from their own tents or cars, and sometimes another abandoned warehouse.

Officials and probation officers know they are sleeping there. In fact, they often direct sex offenders there who have no other place to go, according to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

How does this happen? Like many places, Miami-Dade County has restrictions on where those on the sex offender registry can live, often known as “child safety zones.” In their case, they cannot live within 2,500 feet of a school.

Miami-Dade’s law was passed two years ago after several even stricter laws that created buffer zones around a range of facilities were deemed too restrictive. But since the law was passed, more and more places have been classified as “schools.” And the significant radius — much greater than the 1,000-foot requirement in the state law — has left those on the sex offender registry with few options for affordable, habitable living space. For a time, these individuals were living at River Park mobile home. But residents lobbied to have a youth emergency homeless shelter defined as a “school” under the law, and dozens of those on the offender registry were ejected.

The ACLU of Florida filed a lawsuit Thursday morning to challenge this law, charging that it “arbitrarily renders off-limits broad swaths of habitable land” such that sex offenders have nowhere to live but in camps. They also allege that sex offenders have been ejected from their homes and relocated without notice, and without the opportunity to argue as to whether surrounding properties should indeed be classified as a “school.”

Those classified as sex offenders are perhaps the most ostracized class of residents. Laws across the country explicitly limit where they can live — as well as work or even walk, effectively evicting these individuals from counties and cities where they have community ties. In other cities, school bus stops have been dubbed “child safety zones,” and those on the sex offender registry have been banned from libraries, parks, and in Huachuca City, Ariz., all public places. In some places, “child safety zones” are so over-inclusive that cities only enforce them selectively to suit their interests, while offenders have little notice or understanding about what will be deemed a violation of the law.

Anthropology professor Roger N. Lancaster called the child safety zones “tantamount to practices of banishment” — a punishment that he deems disproportionately harsh for many of these people. In many places sex offender registries include not just the “worst of the worst” such as child rapists and violent repeat offenders but also “adults who supplied pornography to teenage minors; young schoolteachers who foolishly fell in love with one of their students; men who urinated in public, or were caught having sex in remote areas of public parks after dark.” In fact, in many instances, individuals pleaded guilty to an offense like urinating in public decades ago, not realizing the result would be their placement on a sex offender registry, and all of the ever-increasing restrictions that come with that list.


For the most part, residents have little sympathy for those subject to these restrictions, so it’s politically easy to make them ever-more expansive. But in the Miami case, there are likely few individuals — for or against child safety zones — who think having those on the sex offender registry relegated to outdoor encampments is good for public safety. In fact, academics who study sex offender laws point out they do little to make kids safer even when they’re not rendering that population homeless. Studies have found that offender registry laws have had no effect on the rates at which individuals commit another sex offense. And those former offenders who find steady employment and treatment are least likely to re-offend. There’s one more troubling statistic that limits the effectiveness of sex offender registry laws: Some 90 percent of abused minors are sexually assaulted by a relative or acquaintance — not a stranger.


thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/10/23/3583307/in-miami-dade-sex-offenders-are-relegated-to-outdoor-encampments/

[iammalcolmx]

ttt frlcb BAMFMrsB

That picture is EXACTLY what it looks like when you are entering the connector southbound from 20 West. EXACTLY. 

[Deleted]

Many homeless shelters who conduct screens for permanent beds and transitional housing programs won't allow them, either. Federally funded housing subsidy is restricted as well.

I deny a lot of sex offenders from my program and they really don't have any place to go.

[sugarglider]

I wrote a paper about how sex offender registries are a tool of the patriarchy used to infantilize women and keep them in fear.

Got the top grade in the class.

[heyjude]

There might be an opening at the Honey Boo Boo estate.

[eponinepontmercy]

Oct 24, 2014 10:39:09 GMT -5 sugarglider said:

I wrote a paper about how sex offender registries are a tool of the patriarchy used to infantilize women and keep them in fear.

Got the top grade in the class.

Can you elaborate on this?  I'm genuinely interested.

Sex offender registries are ridiculous.

[W.T.Faulkner]

I genuinely don't know how to feel about this.

[ttt]

Oct 24, 2014 10:27:26 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

ttt frlcb BAMFMrsB

That picture is EXACTLY what it looks like when you are entering the connector southbound from 20 West. EXACTLY. 

It does. 

Sex offender registries are so incredibly useless and cause far more harm than good (do they actually do any good at all?). If someone is dangerous enough that they can't be trusted to live within a certain distance of a school, they should still be in prison. 

I know this sounds like something from olden times, but is it possible to have some sort of remote colony-like state-owned community where people like this could voluntarily live and where nobody under 18 would be allowed to enter? I know there are lots of problems with that, but it seems like there are lots of problems with pretty much every solution. Certainly the current situation is good for exactly nobody. 

[downtoearth]

Oct 24, 2014 10:40:01 GMT -5 heyjude said:

There might be an opening at the Honey Boo Boo estate.

You are just trying to get time outs these days, aren't you?

As for the OP - I think we've talked about this in the past. It does seem like former sex offenders who have served their time are never thought of as rehabilitated and they have so little voice or support. What kind of life do we expect them to try to live after jail time?

[Deleted]

There’s one more troubling statistic that limits the effectiveness of sex offender registry laws: Some 90 percent of abused minors are sexually assaulted by a relative or acquaintance — not a stranger.


The above quote right there is the problem with registry laws. Everyone has this perception that sex offenders are random strangers, but the reality is that it is someone you know. Someone you didn't think you be harmful, who you might allow access to your child. As a parent, you have more control over preventing this from happening than a registry law ever could.

[heyjude]

I was disappointed when SCOTUS said child rapists can't be executed. Sooo. That's where I stand on this.

[emilyj]

Then what's the answer? If they are going to be put back in to society, should they have their own separate community to live in? An apartment building, built way out? A neighborhood designated for them? One specific area that's kind of separate from schools, churches, etc? I understand that in cities, you can't just put them off on some remote piece of land, but if the system is going to put them back out in to society, then maybe they don't get to be all picky about where they live?

Yes, I get that further adds to the stigma, but really? Between that and living in a tent, which is worse?

I don't know. Some of these people should never be released from prison, period, so there's that too.

[mrsbro]

Lisa Ling did a Our America on one of these didn't she? {goes off to look}

ETA: SHe did, my memory served me

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebjD1r4e9-4

[decemberwedding07]

So, I know that this is an actual problem and that it's serious, but like someone up thread said, I just don't know how to feel about this. We've talked before about how seniors in HS who are 18 and dating 16 year old sophomores/juniors can be convicted of rape and placed on the sex offender registry. Things like that are ridiculous and make me want to do away with the registry.

At the same time, I have a right to know if the person next door to me is convicted of raping someone, especially since rapists seem to spend less than a year in jail, since we need to make room for all of those people who were caught with an ounce of marijuana on themselves.

And also at the same time, I feel like suggesting immediate execution of anyone who has ever r.aped a c.hild (to prevent p.e.do-you-know-whats from showing up) in the worst, most torturous way possible, to help scale down the problem some.

[blink]

Aren't there already sex offender communities/towns, like Miracle Park? (I know the whole town is sex offenders but it does seem to cater to them.)

[secretlyevil]

There's a difference between an 18 year old dating a 16 year old and parents get offended for whatever reason, a drunk idiot who urinates in a park and a real-life heinous child molester. It is my understanding that you end up on the list for any of the above and there is no differentiation. Is that correct?

[sangria]

Oct 24, 2014 10:58:30 GMT -5 secretlyevil said:

There's a difference between an 18 year old dating a 16 year old and parents get offended for whatever reason, a drunk idiot who urinates in a park and a real-life heinous child molester. It is my understanding that you end up on the list for any of the above and there is no differentiation. Is that correct?

I had a case once where a 18 yo was on the phone with his girlfriend while driving. They were having phone sex and she told him to whip it out and he did. Old lady pulls up next to him at stoplight and witnesses. She calls the cops and he's arrested for public indecency, lewd acts etc. 

He was required to register.  

[MrsAxilla]

Oct 24, 2014 10:50:55 GMT -5 @missusbee said:

There’s one more troubling statistic that limits the effectiveness of sex offender registry laws: Some 90 percent of abused minors are sexually assaulted by a relative or acquaintance — not a stranger.


The above quote right there is the problem with registry laws. Everyone has this perception that sex offenders are random strangers, but the reality is that it is someone you know. Someone you didn't think you be harmful, who you might allow access to your child. As a parent, you have more control over preventing this from happening than a registry law ever could.

The few children I know who have been sexually abused were abused by trusted relatives who were babysitting.  I live very close to a school, so there are no sex offenders in my immediate vicinity.  There are a few deeper in the neighborhood, but I fail to see how they are a threat to my children.  My kids aren't roaming unsupervised and have no opportunity to befriend random adults.  

[ESF]

These laws have gotten completely out of hand.

It's all bad.

First, the entire NIMBY approach to dealing with them has resulted in them being pushed into the very poorest areas. To the extent there is a risk of reoffending, it basically assures that only other homeless people, people living in trailer parks, and areas on the margins of society, will be their targets. Which is fucking disgusting.

Second, you've got all the "sex offenders" that aren't child molesters, child pornographers, rapists, or violent offenders. To which all I can say is holy shit, what the fuck purpose is served by banishing these people?

Third, I'm so fucking horrified by the due process violations involved in increasing the punishment after the law has been committed. I understand that court challenges to that have been unsuccessful, no doubt because in most cases, they are being decided by state judges subject to elections. In particular, I CANNOT WITH THIS.

in many instances, individuals pleaded guilty to an offense like urinating in public decades ago, not realizing the result would be their placement on a sex offender registry, and all of the ever-increasing restrictions that come with that list.

How many guys do you know got too drunk in college and peed somewhere inappropriately?  And, who amongst us was not once caught up in a surge of hormones and got it on in an inappropriate place?  The idea that a BJ in a wooded park could land someone in a rapist shanty town for life is fucking insane; it is even more insane to think that had that person been caught and just quietly pled in exchange for a certain set of terms and conditions,  and moved on with his or her life, then one day, a decade after it happened, be told that they are a risk to society, that the state is revoking their end of the bargain, that while the person cannot change their plea the state can change their punishment, and that they need to move immediately or be thrown in jail is beyond comprehension.  That this is completely legal is one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard.  It is so fucking unconstitutional that I'm just besides myself with rage.


On a lighter note, did Larry Craig have to register?

[PinkSquirrel]

Oct 24, 2014 10:58:30 GMT -5 secretlyevil said:

There's a difference between an 18 year old dating a 16 year old and parents get offended for whatever reason, a drunk idiot who urinates in a park and a real-life heinous child molester. It is my understanding that you end up on the list for any of the above and there is no differentiation. Is that correct?

I believe there are different levels within the registry, but that yes, they would all end up on it.

[sugarglider]

Oct 24, 2014 10:41:41 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

Oct 24, 2014 10:39:09 GMT -5 sugarglider said:

I wrote a paper about how sex offender registries are a tool of the patriarchy used to infantilize women and keep them in fear.

Got the top grade in the class.

Can you elaborate on this?  I'm genuinely interested.

Sex offender registries are ridiculous.

Basically reinforces this notion that there are big bad wolves around the corner ready to attack at any moment's notice when statistically most rape is not stranger rape. Also, the registries arent effective as a deterrent.

[starlily]

Oct 24, 2014 10:58:30 GMT -5 secretlyevil said:

There's a difference between an 18 year old dating a 16 year old and parents get offended for whatever reason, a drunk idiot who urinates in a park and a real-life heinous child molester. It is my understanding that you end up on the list for any of the above and there is no differentiation. Is that correct?

No that's not correct.

The list of registerable offenses varies by state.

ETA: For example, in my state drunk peeing in public generally doesn't meet the standard of proof for indecent exposure, which is a registerable offense. The prosecution has to prove an intent to arouse, so those cases are settled under a different, non-registerable, code section.

[MrsAxilla]

:::applauds ESF:::

[Velar Fricative]

Oct 24, 2014 10:55:57 GMT -5 decemberwedding07 said:

So, I know that this is an actual problem and that it's serious, but like someone up thread said, I just don't know how to feel about this. We've talked before about how seniors in HS who are 18 and dating 16 year old sophomores/juniors can be convicted of rape and placed on the sex offender registry. Things like that are ridiculous and make me want to do away with the registry.

At the same time, I have a right to know if the person next door to me is convicted of raping someone, especially since rapists seem to spend less than a year in jail, since we need to make room for all of those people who were caught with an ounce of marijuana on themselves.

And also at the same time, I feel like suggesting immediate execution of anyone who has ever r.aped a c.hild (to prevent p.e.do-you-know-whats from showing up) in the worst, most torturous way possible, to help scale down the problem some.

But my problem with this is that there's no "murderer registry" for murderers who didn't have to spend the rest of their lives in jail. Or "multiple-DUI registries," or any number of registries for groups of people that may one day harm me. The information should be public record of course, I just don't think there should be "special" records, KWIM? I agree with what you're saying overall though.

I have no sympathy for violent sex offenders. These laws are just woefully unrealistic and ineffective but everyone wants to feel safe, so...

[Velar Fricative]

Also, I want to read sugarglider's paper.

[sugarglider]

Oct 24, 2014 11:38:36 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Also, I want to read sugarglider's paper.

PM your email address, and I can send it to you on my lunch break.

[notsocreepylurker]

Oct 24, 2014 10:55:57 GMT -5 decemberwedding07 said:

At the same time, I have a right to know if the person next door to me is convicted of raping someone, especially since rapists seem to spend less than a year in jail, since we need to make room for all of those people who were caught with an ounce of marijuana on themselves.

I understand this thought - I have had it myself.  BUT what about all the unconvicted people that might be living next door to you?  I honestly believe the most dangerous ped0.ph.iles are the ones we don't know about.

[jeaniebueller]

Oct 24, 2014 11:27:14 GMT -5 starlily said:

Oct 24, 2014 10:58:30 GMT -5 secretlyevil said:

There's a difference between an 18 year old dating a 16 year old and parents get offended for whatever reason, a drunk idiot who urinates in a park and a real-life heinous child molester. It is my understanding that you end up on the list for any of the above and there is no differentiation. Is that correct?

No that's not correct.

The list of registerable offenses varies by state.

ETA: For example, in my state drunk peeing in public generally doesn't meet the standard of proof for indecent exposure, which is a registerable offense. The prosecution has to prove an intent to arouse, so those cases are settled under a different, non-registerable, code section.

I know that in Michigan, you would not be placed on the SOR for peeing in public, if there are no other factors. Also, MI has removed the 16 year old/14 year old consensual sex scenarios from being on the registry as well.

[gottadobe]

Oct 24, 2014 11:53:03 GMT -5 sugarglider said:

Oct 24, 2014 11:38:36 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Also, I want to read sugarglider's paper.

PM your email address, and I can send it to you on my lunch break.

Can you PM me also?
It sounds interesting.

[heyjude]

How are sex registries a tool of the patriarchy when many offenders are on there for abusing boys?