The Trouble With Tracking Homeless Sex Offenders

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-05-22 20:59:00 UTC
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Citizens, police officers, schools and day care centers in Rochester, New York are on high alert these days. Christopher Michael Loving, a Level 3 sex offender (considered at highest risk of reoffending), was released from prison onto the streets of Rochester, homeless.

The problem is not unique; without coordinated re-entry programs for prisoners, anyone can end up on the streets. Even people considered so dangerous that schools and day care centers must be alerted of their release from prison.

NOTE: This post is not meant to use exploitive fear tactics to cram a message down your throats, but this is a disturbing reality of homelessness.

The presence of just one homeless sex offender in a community creates unique challenges. Law enforcement must protect citizens from possible recidivism while controlling public hysteria that may ensue. Here's a clip from the Rochester Post-Bulletin:

Police Lt. Al Kuehl emphasized that Loving, 37, has served his prison term and is no longer under supervision. However, he must continue to register as a predatory offender until 2023.

Kuehl conceded that Loving's homelessness adds challenges. He told the people at the meeting that Loving must meet with police weekly and let them know where, in general, he expects to be during the coming week.

Regardless of whether Loving is indeed a danger to others, his lack of a permanent residence will change the way people act in their community. Law enforcement will also have to go out of their way to track his whereabouts. Seems to me, the tangible and intangible costs of this one man's episode of homelessness could have been avoided with a coordinated prison reentry program, or through permanent, supportive housing.

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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