NH- Panel: Let offenders reside near schools

11-3-2009 New Hampshire:

MANCHESTER – The city should not enact a policy banning registered sex offenders from living near schools or day care centers, a city task force says in a new report.

"I've said it from the beginning: Residency restrictions are 'feel good' policy," said police Sgt. Scott Fuller, who chaired the task force.

Fuller was one of four task force members who signed the report yesterday, though only three of those signatures could be interpreted as an endorsement. One member, state Rep. Leo Pepino, wrote a note next to his signature to show he was not on board.

The 14-page report favors less dramatic measures to combat sex crimes, such as a campaign to publicize the state's online sex offender registry. It also urges the city to set up a committee to continually monitor the way the city deals with offenders and how it fights sexual violence.

The report is being forwarded to Mayor Frank Guinta, who appointed the panel in May 2008 after word got out that a convicted child murderer had moved to Amherst Street. A mayoral aide, Nick Vantine, said Guinta "approves of" the report, but he did not say what the mayor intends to do with it.

In its key sentence, the report says the task force "does not recommend" residency restrictions "at this time." It does, however, acknowledge that city officials may be tempted to carve out some restrictions anyway and suggests that if they do write up a policy, it should be a narrow one.

Such a policy, the report says, would only target Tier III offenders -- those who have committed the most serious crimes -- whose victims were younger than 18. The offenders would be prohibited from living next door to a school or a day care center.

Fuller, who oversaw sex-offender registrations for the Manchester Police Department from 2003 to 2007, maintains that even a narrow policy could have negative repercussions. He has consistently argued that offenders who can't find an affordable place to live because of residency restrictions may not register with the city, making it difficult for the police to keep tabs on them.

Pepino was at odds with the police department before the panel was formed, and he continued to advocate for residency restrictions at every one of the meetings he attended. "That's why I asked the mayor to form this committee," he said yesterday, "so we can do something. Actually do something. We've done nothing."

Pepino, a Republican running for alderman in Ward 4, vowed to continue to push for residency restrictions if elected. His opponent, Alderman Jim Roy, opposes restrictions.

"The program that the Manchester Police Department has in place now is far better," Roy said. "They go and do surprise checks on these guys, and it's much more effective." The concept also divides the candidates for mayor, with the Republican candidate, Alderman and state Sen. Ted Gatsas, expressing some interest in it. The Democratic candidate, Alderman Mark Roy, declined to take a position but hinted he has some concerns.

"I always err on the side of protecting our children," the Democratic candidate said, "but we have to do it in a constitutional manner."

The task force's report is the latest word in a long-running debate in the Queen City. In February 2008, Pepino's plea for restrictions was rejected by a committee of aldermen.

The report says residency restrictions are now in place in 30 states and hundreds of cities and towns across the country. The restrictions have faced repeated legal challenges, it says, but for the most part, the courts have upheld them.

In August, a district court judge struck down a Dover ordinance banning sex offenders from living less than 2,500 feet from a school or a day care center. The judge said the ordinance violated an offender's rights. He also said he had no evidence that the residency restriction was protecting children.

The task force's report says there are about 406 registered sex offenders in Manchester. Of those, 361 were offenders against children.

One of the task force's recommendations would ban residents from offering child care services in a house that is also occupied by a sex offender. It may be hard to believe, Fuller said, but as a police detective, he occasionally heard complaints that a woman was operating a child care center in her home, even though her live-in boyfriend or husband was a sex offender. ..Source.. by SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff