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January 19, 2007
City May Ban Sex Offenders
Topics: NewsBy ELLEN GEDALIUS The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jan 19, 2007
TAMPA - A 2,500-foot buffer between sexual offenders and children might not be large enough for city council members.
After first discussing the buffer in November, the council decided Thursday to consider banishing some sexual offenders from living in the city all together.
Interim Councilman Chip Fletcher introduced the idea Thursday during a nearly two-hour workshop on sexual offender residency requirements.
"Children are just as important no matter what part of the city we live in," Fletcher said.
The concept is already drawing criticism from legal groups, who question the constitutionality of such a law.
"This total ban would raise some serious red flags," said Becky Steele, regional director for the American Civil Liberties Union. "This type of total ban would have the effect of totally banishing someone from the city."
Fletcher brought up the banishment idea after seeing maps of the city that show the effects of a 2,500-foot buffer. With that restriction, sex offenders would only be able to live in a few neighborhoods, including New Tampa and areas off West Shore Boulevard.
His motion was quickly supported by other council members, who voted 7-0 to have the city attorney explore the constitutionality of the measure, which, if approved after two public hearings, would not apply retroactively. Sex offenders already living in the city would be permitted to stay.
The council also voted unanimously to direct the city's legal department to draft an ordinance that prohibits some sexual offenders and predators from living within 2,500 feet of schools, day care centers and parks. Councilwoman Mary Alvarez insisted that school bus stops also be included, and her colleagues backed her.
Thursday's discussion sprang from a decision by the council in November to find ways to further limit where sexual offenders can live, and that is when the 2,500-foot buffer first was introduced.
The board was responding to some New Tampa parents who complained about a convicted sex offender living near Benito Middle and Hunter's Green Elementary schools.
The 2,500-foot restriction is more stringent than state law, which prohibits sexual offenders and predators from living within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center, park or playground.
Other states and municipalities have enacted ordinances that further restrict where sexual offenders can live, but not without legal challenges.
City Attorney David Smith said banishing new offenders from Tampa might be an option.
"The law is unclear," Smith said. "Most of the cases decided didn't deal with banishment."
Mayor Pam Iorio declined to comment until Smith completes his research.
Lawyers Say Ban Is Unconstitutional
Corwin Ritchie, executive director of the Iowa County Attorneys Association, is fighting a state law that imposes a 2,000-foot buffer from schools and day care centers.
"We don't find it effective in protecting children," he said. "We don't see any nexus between where a person resides and where he might re-offend."
A ban, he said, wouldn't pass constitutional muster. He pointed to the 14th Amendment, which prohibits the deprival of life, liberty and property by the government without due process. Challenges to a banishment law could be made under that amendment, Ritchie said.
Banishment also could be considered cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited by the Constitution, he said.
Stephen Bright, senior counsel for the Southern Center for Human Rights, was equally critical. The Atlanta-based firm defends people whose civil rights are being violated through the criminal justice system.
"A complete ban, I think, would be unconstitutional," Bright said.
"The problem is going to be they can't show there's a rational relationship between this provision and the goal of protecting children."
Most children who are assaulted, he said, are hurt by those they know, such as a relative, a clergy member or a teacher. A residency ban wouldn't help children in those situations, Bright said.
Tampa is home to about 450 sexual offenders and about 50 sexual predators. Crimes committed by predators are considered more severe than those committed by offenders.
"Maybe we ought to have a lepers' colony to put these people in," Alvarez said.
"Sounds good to me," Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena replied.
City, County Boards Work Together
After the city first proposed the 2,500-foot buffer, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan made a similar proposal to his board. Since then the two jurisdictions have been working together on the issue so that sex offenders don't leave the city's borders for the county.
County Attorney Renee Lee said she has concerns about the city's banishment proposal and wants to research it.
"I don't think you can do that," Lee said. "How do you enforce that?"
During the workshop, the council heard from Florida Department of Corrections representatives, who said the agency would enforce any ordinance the council passed.
Lynn Chernin, a New Tampa mother who has been pushing for stronger residency restrictions, never asked for banishment.
"I don't know how realistic it is," Chernin said after the meeting. "In a perfect world that would be nice, but that's not reality."
She told the council about how devastating it was to have a sex offender so close to her children.
"Our neighborhood pretty much shut down," Chernin said. "No one was going outside and playing in the parks. The community center was empty. It really affected us."
STATE LAW
Like many cities across the nation, Tampa is considering residency restrictions for sex offenders that are more stringent than state law.
Those convicted of sex crimes are classified as either sex offenders or sex predators, with predators being repeat offenders or those who commit the most heinous sex crimes.
Florida law prohibits sexual offenders and sexual predators from living within 1,000 feet of any school, day care center, park or playground if:
•They are convicted of one of four criminal offenses - sexual battery; lewd or lascivious offenses committed upon or in the presence of people younger than 16; sexual performance by a child; selling or buying minors
•The victim was younger than 16 at the time of the offense
•The offense was committed after Oct. 1, 2004
Sexual predators may not reside within 1,000 feet of any school day care center, park, playground, bus stop or other place where children regularly congregate if convicted and:
•The predator is on probation
•The victim was younger than 18 at the time of the offense
•The crime was committed on or after Oct. 1, 1995
Source: City of Tampa
STATE LAW
Posted by admin at January 19, 2007 8:04 AM
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