Commission undecided on sex offender proposal

2-9-2012 Texas:

A more focused proposal for regulating where some registered sex offenders can live in Amarillo didn’t clear up questions two Amarillo city commissioners have about whether such a law would make children here safer.

“I just honestly can’t find any clear and existing and compelling evidence that an ordinance of this sort will do what you think it will,” Commissioner Brian Eades said during a work session discussion about the proposal.

Commissioners began discussing residency restrictions for sex offenders registered on a statewide law enforcement database in late 2011 but slowed the debate to collect more research.

The proposed ordinance would bar convicted sex offenders from living near public or private schools, state-licensed day cares, and public parks and pools. The measure would make it illegal for offenders to live within 1,000 feet of those places, plus public recreational areas, youth centers and video arcades.

State law prohibits certain convicted sex offenders required to register on a Texas Department of Public Safety database from living within 1,000 feet of schools and other locations where children gather. But while they still must register their residences once their supervised release ends, the state-mandated residency restriction does not continue, police officials said in November.

The draft ordinance presented to commissioners Tuesday addresses concerns about which offenders would be subject to the ordinance, by defining the affected group as graded as high- or moderate-risk offenders and those listed as “nonreported,” City Manager Jarrett Atkinson said.

The nonreported category takes into account offenders whose crimes occurred before state law enforcement began using a rating system or offenders whose rating determination is in process, Atkinson said.

The city has no involvement in the ratings, which are determined by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice with input from law enforcement, rehabilitation or treatment counselors and others, Atkinson said.

The draft ordinance further defines registered offenders who would be subject to the residency restrictions as those convicted of crimes involving victims age 16 or younger, Atkinson said.

A Tuesday report to the commission showed 312 of 491 registered sex offenders living within its limits would be subject to the updated proposal.

The revised draft ordinance also spells out more clearly the definitions of some crimes that can make a registered offender subject to the law. Definitions of kidnapping and burglary of a habitation have been amended so the ordinance refers to them as crimes committed “with an intent, attempt or actual commission of a sex-
related offense.”

The updated draft also addresses concerns that offenders have a means of seeking a waiver from the restrictions. An offender could apply for a waiver, for example, if he has been away and is returning to a home he owns that sits too close to a school, or if he is hospitalized and the medical facility is too close to a park.

Eades and Commissioner Ellen Robertson Green continued to raise questions Tuesday about whether the ordinance would actually accomplish the intent of protecting children from predators. Eades has cited research that shows a majority of victims are abused by people they know. Experts who work with abused children also raised that point during a November public hearing about the proposal.

Barring sex offenders from living near a park or school doesn’t keep them from actually being within 1,000 feet of those places, Green said.

Police Chief Robert Taylor and Mayor Paul Harpole argued the ordinance would keep a sex offender from having the kind of access to children needed to establish trust and groom potential victims.

Harpole suggested the ordinance be placed on the commission’s agenda for a first vote next Tuesday. Ordinances must be passed in two separate votes by the commission to become law.

During the commission’s regular meeting Tuesday, the panel unanimously approved the first reading of a proposal that would significantly speed up the condemnation process and reduce the chances of owners avoiding making repairs on decaying structures. It must be approved in a second reading by the commission, set for next Tuesday, in order to become law.

“We have done a great service to the community by speeding up the process,” Commissioner Lilia Escajeda said. “The current ordinance is pretty burdensome … so, if there are unsafe structures, we’ll be able to move quickly on them.”

Harpole said the proposed process would allow decaying properties to be addressed within about 88 days.

“We’ve had delays that have kept us from taking action on property,” he said. “It’s hurting neighborhoods with kids getting there and drugs being sold.”

In addition to exposing the public to danger, the decaying properties have made it tough to revitalize older neighborhoods, Atkinson said.

The ordinance includes a provision for regulation of properties with decaying structures, accumulated junk and debris or excess vegetation in a buffer zone of 1,000 feet outside the Amarillo city limits. The state grants cities such authority, Atkinson said.

Atkinson said city inspectors will focus first on property within the city limits, but will address complaints about property outside the city. The law leaves room for the city to prioritize those problems it opts to address, City Attorney Marcus Norris said. ..Source.. by KAREN SMITH WELCH