McNeal and Warth on Seniors, Housing, and Sex Offense Registration

9-27-2013 National:

Mary Helen McNeal and Patricia Warth (Syracuse University College of Law and Center for Community Alternatives) have posted Barred Forever: Seniors, Housing and Sex Offense Registration (Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 22, No. 2, p. 317, 2013) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Since the early 1990s, the federal government, states, and municipalities have enacted a series of laws and restrictions making it increasingly difficult for people convicted of a sex offense to reintegrate into their communities. These laws and restrictions include sex offender registries, community notification requirements, residency restrictions, and statutory bars to employment, public assistance, and housing.

An examination of empirical research reveals that recidivism rates decline with age and length of time in the community after conviction, and that community notification policies and residency restrictions are destined to fail because such polices are designed to protect the public against repeat offenders and adults who prey on children unknown to them, but most sexual crimes are committed by first-time offenders, and most crimes against children are perpetrated by people well known to them.

Research also demonstrates that stable housing is essential to reintegration into the community for those convicted of sex offenses, and further reduces re-offense rates.

While the research has revealed many flaws in the assumptions underlying sex offender laws, the passage of time has revealed a growing array of unanticipated costs and consequences associated with these laws, such as the difficulties people on sex offense registries face in reuniting with their families and accessing treatment, employment, and stable housing.

As our population ages and the sex offense registries continue to expand, more elderly and infirm people are being denied access to housing, including independent housing with supportive services, subsidized housing, and assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. This lack of access to suitable and stable housing has profound implications for seniors and further exacerbates the challenges many seniors already face, including declining health, a sense of isolation, cognitive decline, and insufficient social interaction.

This article discusses this unintended consequence by exploring the gap between the empirical evidence and the popular perceptions that underlie the laws and policies that prevent seniors from securing appropriate housing.

• Part I offers an overview and history of the registration and community notification laws enacted since the 1990s, focusing on federal legislation and providing an overview of state and municipal laws that restrict where people convicted of a sex offense can live, concluding with a discussion of the non-legal, social stigma associated with being deemed a “registered sex offender.”
• Part II discusses the demographics of the population on sex offender registries and explains why this population is growing both in size and in age. It also addresses the various housing options available to the elderly on the registries, particularly those who — because of their medical condition or economic status — are in need of federally subsidized or supportive housing, as well as the housing restrictions and bars they face.
• Part III examines the empirical research and evidence that has developed over the past twenty years, identifying the inaccurate popular perceptions and assumptions underlying many of the laws and policies previously enacted.
• Finally, Part IV bridges the gap between the evidence and popular misperceptions by identifying much needed law and policy changes.

These policy recommendations capitalize on the wealth of empirical evidence and research, and urge our communities to develop alternative, well-considered policies specifically designed to promote public safety and the successful reintegration of people who have a past sex offense conviction. ..Source.. by CrimProf BlogEditor

MA- Enforcing bylaw on sex offenders may be a challenge

ISSUE : Senior Housing. Can registered sex offender STOP the aging process? Since every human being will age, it is likely that elderly sex offenders would need housing typical to anyone else who is elderly. This ordinance would prevent elderly sex offenders from obtaining the senior housing they need.

5-10-2008 Massachusetts:

It's one thing to adopt a bylaw restricting where convicted sex offenders can live. It's another matter to enforce the new rules.

'It really has been relatively quiet, much to my surprise. At least now we have this ability to have something to fall back on.'

Southborough adopted such a bylaw at Town Meeting on April 17. If approved by the state attorney general's office, which has approved similar bylaws in Dedham, Marlborough, and West Boylston, registered sex offenders would be barred from residing in 90 percent of the town, according to a presentation delivered by Police Chief William Webber to Town Meeting members.

The bylaw bars registered offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, day-care centers, elderly housing, parks, and other facilities. Convicted offenders deemed likely to commit another sexual assault - those classified as Level 2 or 3 predators - would also be barred from living within 1,000 feet of places of worship.

The bylaw also prohibits registered sex offenders from loitering within 500 feet of school bus stops. A grandfather clause allows offenders living in Southborough prior to the bylaw's enactment to remain in their residences.

The question now is how rigorously the bylaw can be enforced. Based on Marlborough's experience with a similar law, the question remains unanswered. Marlborough police say they've invoked the city's ordinance only three times since it was adopted in May 2007. They stand by the law as an important tool to protect children and others from sexual predators, but admit it doesn't have much of a track record.

"It really has been relatively quiet, much to my surprise," said Marlborough Police Chief Mark Leonard, adding, "At least now we have this ability to have something to fall back on."

Detective Martha Shea, who oversees enforcement of Marlborough's ordinance, said the law's residency requirement has been used twice, while its loitering clause has been invoked once.

In one case, she said, a registered offender went to jail for a short time, and since he had continued paying his rent he was allowed to return to his home. In another case, an offender left his residence and wanted to move back. Police decided the grandfather clause didn't apply and denied his request.

In October, police determined that a registered sex offender was loitering near a housing area for senior citizens on Main Street, Shea said. He was cited, but his case was dropped in Marlborough District Court at a pretrial hearing with the court's clerk-magistrate, she said. Under the bylaw, the penalty for violating the loitering clause is $150.

Shea said she thinks the ordinance has discouraged registered sex offenders from moving to the city. "We have a lot of rooming houses, so we had a lot of Level 3s coming in on a pretty consistent basis," she said. "Now there's not. I can't prove the ordinance did that. But I have to think it did."

The state Sex Offender Registry Board's website counts 33 Level 2 and nine Level 3 offenders living in Marlborough. A board spokesman, Terrel Harris, said a total of 51 sex offenders were registered in Marlborough in April 2007. The board did not have a breakdown of offender levels from past dates, he said.

'It really has been relatively quiet, much to my surprise. At least now we have this ability to have something to fall back on.'

A single Level 3 offender and four Level 2 offenders live in Southborough, according to the registry board's website, mass.gov/sorb.

Webber plans to assign an officer to handle Southborough's new bylaw and develop a system to monitor the town's 750 bus stops. That's too many for his force to patrol, so he'll probably depend on help from citizens, he said.

"Anyone loitering in Southborough, they're going to call," he said. "They call about people driving too fast. They're certainly going to call about some seedy looking character."

Webber acknowledged the possibility that offenders could circumvent the bylaw by not telling police they're moving into town. But state law also mandates that sex offenders register their whereabouts, he said; if they don't and are caught, they go back to jail.

Short of creating a massive surveillance operation, Webber said, state and local laws depend on compliance from registered sex offenders. "In an open society, these are some of the risks we take," he said.

Since July, Framingham officials have been considering a bylaw like the ones in Marlborough and Southborough. Board of Selectmen chairman Jason Smith said no decision has been made, but he supports a mechanism to keep tabs on convicted sex offenders.

"We have an abundance of them, to the point where public safety comes first," Smith said. "You should never be afraid of walking out of your front door knowing in the back of your mind a Level 3 offender is watching your every move."

Framingham has 19 Level 2 and 74 Level 3 registered sex offenders, according to the state's website.

Smith said he and his colleagues need to study how prohibiting offenders from some areas might push them into others. He would support state legislation requiring registered sex offenders to wear electronic bracelets that would give police their location at all times, he said. ..more.. by John Dyer, Globe Correspondent