Sex Offender Residency (H 6025, S 0754A)

In March and April, the ACLU testified before the Senate and House Judiciary committees, respectively, in opposition to legislation extending from 300 to 1,000 feet the distance sex offenders must reside from a school. Sex offender residency restrictions are widely recognized by law enforcement officials and professionals involved in the treatment of sex offenders to be ineffective and counter-productive. Such restrictions ignore the reality of sex offenses – that approximately 90% of child sexual assaults are committed not by strangers, but by family, friends and acquaintances known to the victim. Instead, residency restrictions make it more difficult for offenders to reintegrate themselves into the community, likely increasing, rather than decreasing, their risk of reoffending. Residency restrictions mean sex offenders are more likely to end up homeless, making it more difficult for law enforcement officials to be aware of their location in the first place. In June, the Senate passed an amended version of the legislation extended the zone only to those offenders determined to be a “level III;” the House soon followed, and the legislation headed to the Governor’s desk. The ACLU and other homeless advocacy groups requested a veto, but the bill became law.