Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Cities ZONE OUT Sex Offenders


05/29/2007


Given the choice, it’s unlikely anyone would let a sex offender live next door.But those offenders, including the 155 registered sex offenders in Tuscaloosa County, have to live somewhere,The question is where.As one of 18 states that restrict where sex offenders can live, Alabama requires sex offenders to live at least 2,000 feet away from a school or day-care facility.In the past six months, Tuscaloosa and Northport have extended the state restrictions with ordinances giving sex offenders decidedly fewer options in Tuscaloosa and Northport.In Tuscaloosa, sex offenders -- excluding offenders convicted of statutory rape -- cannot live or work any closer than 3,000 feet from a school.


Northport went even further last month, adopting one of the strongest sex offender ordinances in the state. The ordinance requires sex offenders to live and work at least 3,000-feet away from schools, daycares and preschools, after-school programs and public parks. Like Tuscaloosa’s ordinance, Northport’s also excludes statutory rapists. With only seven of the county’s 155 sex offenders living in Northport, city leaders said they want to prevent that number from increasing.While the intent of both ordinances is to make certain areas safer, in effect they could increase the chances in some neighborhoods that a sex offender will move in.The effect of the overlapping restricted zones has been to shrink the areas where sex offenders can live.


The areas that are open to sex offenders within Northport and Tuscaloosa city limits are few, especially in the center of both towns.In the unincorporated areas of the county, the restrictions fall back to the less stringent state code.Effects on home valueFor Jon Anderson, it is comforting to know that sex offenders can’t live in his area. Anderson, president of the East Tuscaloosa Neighborhood Association, spearheaded the effort to strengthen Tuscaloosa’s sex offender law last year after 13 sex offenders were living nearby at the Moon Winx Lodge and Chateau Apartments.“There is no question about it. It is a detriment to have sex offenders live in your area," Anderson said. “There is no magic bullet, and these things are going to happen. But [the sex offender law] clearly makes people feel more safe.


People’s perception is reality."Some residents think the restrictions should be even tougher. Glenn Griffin, who lives in Northport, suggested that neighborhood pools or subdivisions that have private lakes should be added to the list of banned areas for sex offenders. Doing so would protect more “family" neighborhoods, he said.“Pools and lakes are tempting places for people who shouldn’t be there," Griffin said.While stricter sex offender laws may make residents in covered areas feel safer, they could increase the number of sex offenders in other areas. Not only does this give rise to concerns about safety, it also can affect property values.


According to a 2003 study from The Appraisal Journal, property value can drop 17.4 percent when a violent sex offender lives within 1/10th of a mile. When a violent offender lives within 2/10th of a mile, home prices drop by 10 percent, and within 3/10th of a mile, the values drop 9.3 percent, the study found.Even with a low-risk sexual predator, property values decreased by 7.5 percent within 1/10th of a mile.A study published last year by the National Bureau of Economic Research reported similar results, with property values decreasing by 4 percent within 1/10th of a mile of a sexual offender.“From what literature I’ve seen, having a sex offender in residence could obviously have a detrimental effect," said Leonard Zumpano, the Alabama Association of Realtors endowed chair of real estate at the University of Alabama. “How many people do you know who would choose to live next to a sex offender?


"But real estate agents and sellers are not required by law to publicize whether a sex offender lives in the area. It is up to the buyer to do the research and ask, Zumpano said.“If a buyer asks a broker, and if that broker knows it, they should respond truthfully. And if they don’t know, they should say as much," Zumpano said. “There is a certain degree of 'buyer beware’ that buyers have to exercise."Effects on offendersLimiting the areas where sex offenders can live also can be viewed as an infringement on a their basic rights, and could possibly even force them back into that behavior, according to some studies.“If you are going to narrow where somebody could live to the point where they are hunted out of an area or out of a state, it becomes a human rights issue," said Bronwen Lichtenstein, a medical sociologist in the Department of Criminology at the University of Alabama.


“It bleeds over to such things as freedom and liberty, which is guaranteed under the Constitution."According to a 2006 study from the Journal of Law and Health, sex offenders who have a difficult time finding housing or employment often report feeling increased isolation, financial and emotional stress and decreased stability. The study suggested that housing restrictions may inadvertently increase the likelihood sex offenders will offend again.Harrison Taylor, president of the Tuscaloosa City Council, said that Tuscaloosa’s sex offender law is unfair not only to sex offenders, but their families as well.


Taylor was the sole member of the City Council who voted against the ordinance when it was approved in November. His son is serving a six-year prison term for rape.“People do things, and that is a part of life. They pay their price," Taylor said. “But you are trying to push them out of the city and out into the county, and I just think it’s unfair. Everybody should have a decent chance to come back and make a life for themselves."Taylor said he hopes someone will challenge the city’s current law, because it will be a hardship on offenders and their families, as well as neighborhoods that could become overloaded with offenders.Are the laws effective?Laws regulating where sex offenders can live are still relatively new.


In 1994, Congress passed the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Act, which requires states to implement a sex-offender registration program.Congress later amended the act to include “Megan’s Law" which requires states to notify the communities of sex offenders who live or work there.Over the past decade, legislatures have been adding more restrictions on sex offenders, studies show.Lichtenstein said that national phobias arise from time to time in society, and that the fear of sex offenders is at its peak because of national media attention on violent sex crime cases.


The fear has resulted in stricter laws against sex offenders.In Alabama, sex offenders must fill out a verification form after they are released from jail, every time they consider relocating, when they move, when they are considering a new job and when they accept a new job, said Sgt. Abner Green of the Tuscaloosa Police Department. In addition, people convicted of violent sex crimes must verify where they live and work four times a year by reporting to their local law enforcement agency. Non-violent sex offenders must report twice a year.The Tuscaloosa Police, Northport Police and Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office physically verify each person’s information, Green said.But ultimately, the array of restrictions might have little effect.The laws might make people feel safe, but based on the statistics, that’s not necessarily true, Lichtenstein said.According to research from the National Center for Victims of Crime, 90 percent of child sexual abusers are male and have been married.


They are often family members, family friends or acquaintances of those they abuse.“These are generally people who people know," Lichtenstein said.Denise Evans, University of Alabama professor and author of The Complete Real Estate Encyclopedia agreed.“Studies show that the laws reinforce the stranger danger myth, which is that the danger of a sexual predator is a stranger," Evans said. “But, in fact, 80 to 95 percent of all sexual offenses against children were from family members, babysitters and childcare givers."While local sexual offender laws are often seen as positive legislation that protects the vulnerable, are they effective enough?


“The law might make people feel safe, but the truth is, child abuse and sexual predation is usually within the family or someone near the family," Lichtenstein said.Reach Lydia Seabol Avant at Lydia.seabol@tuscaloosanews or 205-722-0222.Studies that were used in this report:“The Effect of Proximity to A Registered Sex Offender’s Residence on Single-Family House Selling Price," by James Larsen, Kenneth Lowrey and Joseph Coleman, Appraisal Journal, 2003.“There Goes the Neighborhood?


Estimates of the Impact of Crime Risk on Property Values from Megan’s Laws" by Leigh Linden, Johah Rockoff, National Bureau of Economics Research working paper, 2006.“Ohio’s Sex Offender Residency Restriction Law: Does it Protect the Health and Safety of the State’s Children or Falsely Make People Believe So?" by Margaret Troia, Journal of Law and Health, 2006.

3 comments:

MrCoffee said...

Glad to see you stopped by my blog and stole my graphic.

http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/

`ChewY` said...

Yeah nice graphic eh? *wink*

MrCoffee said...

Yes, thanks Chewy! :)