Florida's Bright Idea: Don't Force Sex Offenders to Be Homeless

A pair of bills moving through Florida’s legislature could finally bring a dose of sanity to the state’s sex offender registry. The proposed reforms would reduce the no-go zone for sex offenders around schools and parks from 2,500 to 1,000 feet. They would also have some much-needed impact beyond that: like allowing sex offenders to live in actual houses and apartments, rather than under bridges.

As Sam Harnett has previously written here on Criminal Justice, Florida is far from alone in the extremely restrictive nature of its laws governing the movements and residences of registered sex offenders. But the state has gained some particular notoriety for the homelessness its laws have caused, especially in Miami, where the New York Times found a community of sex offenders forced to live under a bridge because they couldn’t find anywhere else. Yeah, that story might have turned a few heads.

Of course, this issue is nothing new to Change.org readers. We’ve written about Florida’s harsh guidelines, and about the Michigan man who died in the snow because the two shelters in Grand Rapids couldn’t allow sex offenders (the shelters were located too close to schools). Our bloggers at End Homelessness have also covered this issue with several great pieces.

So it's about time this issue got tackled. The Florida lawmakers behind this bill deserve major kudos. It’s a vital reform, and there are jurisdictions from Georgia to Massachusetts to California that should be taking notes.

But no matter how no-go zones are defined, the state should also make sure its sex offender registry includes only people with actual sex offenses, and that it distinguishes between violent predators and people convicted of minor offenses, like public Romeo-Juliet relationships (or public urination).

Florida lawmakers are on the right path in trying to reduce unnecessary restrictions on registered sex offenders, but the fact is, this bill has been proposed before without much progress. This year let’s hope that, in the aftermath of appalling headlines from Miami and elsewhere, the smart solution prevails.

Photo Credit: spcbrass