FL- Sex offenders could live in industrial zones, Broward County task force suggests

7-9-2009 Florida:

FORT LAUDERDALE — A Broward task force studying the problem of where convicted sex offenders can live once they are released from prison has recommended that the county study the possibility of establishing special residential exceptions in industrial zones.

The task force was formed by the Broward County Commission to study the problem after many municipalities in the county created special buffer zones stipulating that convicted sexual offenders and sexual predators could not live 2,500 feet from a school, playground, daycare center or, in some cases, school bus stops.

The commission passed a similar, temporary ordinance in April for the entire county, but asked the task force to study the problem before it became permanent.

The task force report released Monday raises serious questions about the expanded buffer zones.

Many municipalities in Florida - including in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast - have also expanded their buffer zones making it difficult for such offenders to find a place to live.

It is believed the Broward report may influence policy around the state.

"Despite their best intentions, these laws have resulted in an array of unintended consequences," reads the report. "The restrictions limit housing availability to a point where the number of homeless sex offenders is increasing.

"This raises concerns because if sex offenders cannot find housing, they may be forced to register as 'transient,' " making them more difficult to track and supervise or less likely to register with authorities," the report continues.

"Research indicates that housing instability is a consistent and robust predictor of absconding, probation violation, and recidivism for criminal offenders in general and sex offenders specifically," the authors conclude.

The expansion of buffer zones began in 2005, after the rape and murder of Jessica Lunsford, 9, by convicted sexual predator John Couey, in Citrus County.

Before then, almost all Florida cities adhered to the 1,000-foot buffer zone prescribed by state law. Critics of the expanded zones say local officials have over-reacted and created even larger problems in tracking offenders.

Convicted sexual offenders must register with local authorities and check in regularly. The task force tracked those sexual offenders in Broward before and since the expansion of the buffer zones.

According to the data obtained from the Broward Public Defender's Office, that office handled 16 "failure to register" cases in 2004, 50 cases in 2005, and 70 cases in 2009.

"Thus, since local residence restrictions were first enacted in 2005, the number of failure to register cases has increased more than four-fold," the task force said.

The report states that there are more than 640,000 registered sex offenders in the United States, and research indicates that anywhere from 5 percent to 25 percent of them will be rearrested for committing a new sex crime in the future.

But the authors state that the distance an offender lives from schools, playgrounds or daycare centers does not appear to be a factor.

"Researchers in Florida compared the number of recidivists who lived within 1,000, 1,500, or 2,500 feet of schools or daycare centers," the authors say. "Sex offenders who lived closer to schools and daycares were not more likely to re-offend, and living farther from schools and daycares did not diminish the probability of sexual re-offending."

The report cites a Minnesota study, which found that in less than 4 percent of cases was the sex offender a neighbor of the victim.

Initial contact with victims was usually established more than one mile from the offender's home.

"Though relationships with minor victims were sometimes cultivated within 2,500 feet of the offender's home, none took place in or near a school, daycare center, or park," the report states. "An offender's social relationship with a child victim is much more likely to facilitate sexual abuse than residential proximity."

The report cites Palm Beach County as a place where municipalities have increased their buffer zones, but often not as much as cities in Broward and Miami-Dade.

Out of 20 ordinances in Palm Beach County, 14 have set their buffer zones at 1,500 feet or less, the report says. Of the ordinances in Miami-Dade County, including a countywide zone, all set the distance at 2,500 feet or more.

"It is interesting to note that there are 175 registered sexual offenders (listed) as transient in Miami-Dade County, and 21 registered as transient in Palm Beach County, suggesting that larger buffer zones result in larger numbers of transient sex offenders," the report says.

In addition to the possibility of establishing housing for sexual offenders in industrial zones, the task force made other recommendations.

The authors recommended that buffer zones be established that would prohibit sex offenders from loitering within a certain distance of schools, playgrounds and daycare centers during daytime hours. At the moment, ordinances only regulate where sex offenders can be between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

It also recommends that living restrictions distinguish between repeat offenders who are considered potentially dangerous sexual predators, and one-time offenders who are considered much less likely to relapse.

The authors also recommended that cities in Broward County make their buffer zones uniform and that local officials urge state legislators to address the problem for all of Florida. ..Source.. by JOHN LANTIGUA, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer