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Written by Cheryl
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Wednesday, 03 March 2010 12:04 |
Not only has Florida received ridicule from other states but the ridicule extends from other Nations. Germany and Great Britain are two that I think of right away.Other states have passed their versions of the Jessica Lunsford Act with its strict residency restrictions only to find that they are expensive, ineffective and the homelessness that is created for sex offenders a far greater risk to safety than any imaginary benefit. As noted in the short article from Crime Scenc KCFlorida is one of the most restrictive states when it comes to registered sex offenders and where they can live. You might remember the group of RSOs that decided to live under a bridge because they couldn't find anywhere else to live that wasn't too close to a school, park, etc. The Jessica Lunsford Act -- named after a girl who was kidnapped from her bedroom, raped and buried alive -- also helped institute stronger monitoring and registration requirements. The Miami Herald reports that legislators are starting to revisit these laws to see if they really work. Florida spends about $36 million more per year than when Lunsford was killed, but their rates of sex-offender convictions hasn't changed. Experts say that, nationally, these kinds of crimes started dropping in the 90s, before a lot of the laws were passed.
There has now been multiple studies conducted regarding the effectiveness of residency restrictions and all have found that despite their seemingly common sense value, the residence of a registered offender has nothing to do with where, when, and if, he will re offend. They do, however, warn us of the obvious dangers of registered offenders roaming homeless, jobless, without support, lacking even the things that make up the most basic of human needs. More and more States, Cities, media, and researchers are asking themselves this same quiestion "Do sex offender laws really protect the public" and finding the answer a resounding NO!Most of our politicians are aware of this. They have been provided with education and information that proves the dangers of ineffective, knee-jerk laws. Those who have the intelligence and courage to seek to change these laws and institute ones that truly make sense to protect our children are quickly discouraged by political opposition.Would they stay in a burning building just because those who did not know that it was burning urged them to stay? I think not. I think they would be quick to point out the facts for the safety of the others who did not know. Yet our politicians, after years of my begging have refused to educate or even state the facts about who is molesting your children and what to do about it. As Martin Luther King Jr. is quoted "There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right."
— Martin Luther King Jr. There is no better time to put politics aside and do what conscience tells us is right. It is right to educate the public to the truth. It is time to get rid of the over 90 different residency restrictions that are in our state that make it impossible for registered sex offenders to find a place to live.It is time to develop true risk assessments and use those risk assessments when creating any restrictions for registrants. It is time to take no risk, low risk offenders OFF THE REGISTRY so that our ever diminishing law enforcement officers can concentrate our ever diminishing resources on those who present the most risk to our community. It is time for our politicians to step up and do what's right, even if its on popular or politic.
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