IA- Seize chance to fix Iowa predatory law

12-7-2008 Iowa:

Federal match deadline gives legislators even more incentive to make a change

Iowa lawmakers might have an opportunity to fix the broken sex offender residency law without suffering dire political consequences. They must seize this chance.

Iowa faces a deadline to update its sex offender law to match a stricter federal one. If Iowa doesn't comply with the federal provisions by the July deadline, the state could lose up to $450,000 for law enforcement activities.

That could be just the nudge state lawmakers need to get rid of the controversial 2,000-foot rule restricting where offenders can live. Sheriff's officials, police, county attorneys and victim advocates have long said that the rule doesn't protect children. On the contrary. Parents may get some false sense of security because of the law. It also forces sex offenders to congregate when there are only small areas of a community in which they can legally live.

Lawmakers have heard strong testimony from law enforcement. They have sympathized. And they have done absolutely nothing. The reason is simple: politics. Anyone who would vote to repeal the legislation would be painted as soft on predators come election time. Elected officials don't want to take that risk. Disappointing as that is, it's a political reality and it's understandable.

In conforming to federal law, the state has an opportunity not to simply dismantle the residency requirement but to restructure sex offender laws. Under the federal law, sex offenders would have to stay on an online public registry at least five years longer, reveal more personal information about where they work and go to school, and face more supervision from law enforcement. The state could enact "exclusion zones," which would limit where sex offenders might be present or loiter and require written permission to visit school grounds and child care centers. It makes much more sense to police where sex offenders are allowed to go than where they are allowed to live.

Here's the simple fact: There is no evidence that keeping convicted predators from residing within a certain distance of a school or day-care center makes them less likely to reoffend. The only people who get some measure of security from having the current law on the books are lawmakers.

Our elected officials have an opportunity to replace our ineffective law with a better one. A federal deadline and potential loss of federal dollars is further incentive to make it happen. This is the year our lawmakers should create predator laws that truly offer protection for children. ..News Source.. Editorials reflect the consensus of the TH Editorial Board.