WI- Some can’t live with sex offender decision

No doubt, the police will have a field day misinterpreting this one to incarcerate registrants, opps you weren't loitering just birdwatching...I can see it now.

1-28-2009 Wisconsin:

Defeat of residency restrictions anger rules’ supporters in Greenfield

Supporters of an ordinance that would restrict where sex offenders can live in Greenfield are not giving up, despite the Common Council’s recent denial of one set of proposed rules.

Alderwoman Linda Lubotsky, who proposed such an ordinance, and other proponents plan to protest at 6 p.m. today, Jan. 29, on the steps of City Hall, 7325 W. Forest Home Ave. Plus, Lubotsky said a new proposal will come back to the Legislative Committee in the coming weeks.

Those prospective actions come on the heels of the Greenfield Common Council’s Jan. 20 meeting, in which the governing body took two votes — one on an ordinance restricting where sex offenders can live and one on where they can loiter.

Loitering ‘yes,’ living ‘no’
The loitering ordinance passed unanimously. Under the new rules, sex offenders cannot loiter within 1,000 feet of a public park, parkway, swimming pool, library, recreation trail, playground, school, day care center, specialized training facility (such as for gymnastics or dance academy programs) or athletic fields used by children.

It is not illegal for a sex offender to use a path to walk through a park, but the rules prohibit an offender from being in the child safety zone “under circumstances that warrant alarm for the safety of persons in the vicinity.”

-So, will people just start sounding alarm to everyone hoping to catch a sex offender? This is unbelievable, hysteria permeates the minds of lawmakers, creating conditions that are meaningless, unless a sex offender is "walking on a path through a park (presumably applies to child safety zones mentioned -albeit all unmarked-)." What a joke!


But, after a testy discussion between aldermen and audience members, the council, on a 3-2 vote, denied restrictions on where sex offenders can live.

As proposed, the ordinance would have allowed sex offenders now living in the city to stay put but no sex offenders could move to a residence within 1,000 feet of those places named in the loitering ordinance.

Questionable effectiveness
In voting against the residential restrictions, aldermen Donald Almquist, Shirley Saryan and Tom Pietrowski said they have not heard any complaints about sex offenders and questioned whether the ordinance would be effective.

Melissa Becker, director of the sex offender program for the state Department of Corrections, and resident Bill Stevens said the data does not prove these ordinances are a deterrent.

“Sex offenders obtain their victims through social networks, through their churches, through their hobbies, through mentoring, through babysitting, through dating women with children … nothing to do with where they live,” Becker said.

“Even the rare stranger offender does not offend in his neighborhood,” she added. “There’s just too much chance of getting caught.”

The map showing the areas where sex offenders would not be able to live was called into question, as city officials pointed out a park and a day care center that were missed when it was drawn up.

An unwelcome sign?
Supporters of the ordinance now fear Greenfield will become a “dumping ground” for sex offenders, given that several neighboring communities have passed residency restrictions for sex offenders.

They often point to Steven Hanke, a convicted sex offender who was evicted in connection with a new ordinance limiting where sex offenders can live in Franklin.

The law survived a court challenge and Hanke moved to a Greenfield hotel, much to the ire of some residents who spoke at the Jan. 20 public hearing.

Not passing the ordinance, supporters said, threatens the safety of the city’s children and other residents.

“Asking for 1,000 feet ain’t asking for much,” resident John Butschli Jr. said. “There’s plenty of other places for them to move.” ..News Source.. by MARK SCHAAF