Local communities may lose control of sex offender placement

3-14-2010 Wisconsin:

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) says more than 100 communities have drawn up their own ordinances that spell out where sex offenders are not allowed to reside.

(STATE CAPITOL) Local communities would no longer be allowed to decide where sex offenders can and cannot live under a plan state lawmakers are considering.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) says more than 100 communities have drawn up their own ordinances that spell out where sex offenders are not allowed to reside. The DOC says that's created an incoherent patchwork where one community tries to one-up its neighbor by coming up with tougher restrictions.

Milwaukee Assembly Democrat Fred Kessler says by making it harder to find a place to live, these communities are making the state less safe. He says this leads to forcing local sex offenders into other communities, or forcing them underground. He’s sponsoring a plan that would end the patchwork of local ordinances.

Around 20 lawmakers have signed on, split roughly down the middle between Republicans and Democrats.

But it's staunchly opposed by the communities that have drafted these ordinances, including Wauwatosa. Mayor Jill Didier told a panel of state lawmakers at a public hearing that communities like hers are better positioned than the state to decide where offenders should not live.

She says taking away the ability of communities to provide safety is “not the right direction for Wisconsin”.

About 4,800 sex offenders are currently under supervision by the state Department of Corrections. But there are another 8,900 who've served their sentences who are still restricted by these local ordinances. ..Source.. Shawn Johnson, Wisconsin Public Radio