Communities in the US who say their neighbourhoods have been blighted by high concentrations of registered sex offenders have found an unusual way of driving them away. The phenomenon of ‘pocket parks’, which are built on patches of waste land, is spreading across the country and forcing sex offenders to move out.
Under Jessica’s Law, which is named in honour of nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford who was abducted and murdered by a convicted sex offender, anyone on the register cannot live within 2,000 feet of a park or school.
Because of that, communities that are considered “park poor”, with few schools or play areas, have become havens for high concentrations of registered offenders. Full Article
“Legal” segregation of a class or group of people. Restriction of movement of a select class or group of people. Direct Clear violation of the constitutional rights of tax paying American citizens to use public services that their tax dollars are funding.
If that class or group of people was based on religion or race there would be no question about this but because people are manipulated by politicians with BS sound bites like “think of the children” – “what about the children” they blindly allow this abuse of fellow citizens rights to go on.
Well, good people. Just wait until the group you are in becomes the next scapegoat…Just wait until they come for you.
This article shows the ignorance of the one who wrote it as well as many of those who are posting on the site of the article. They call all sex offenders pedophiles without acknowledging what it takes to be labeled as a sex offender. Even if it had been established that the location of an individual’s residence related to recividism and all the arguments for these restrictions were actually based on fact, I still don’t see how anyone in their right mind could actually believe someone convicted for urinating in public should be told where they are allowed live.
I note, new Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has just announced a plan that includes adding pocket parks to all the neighborhoods around Los Angeles. No, he did not say anything about sex offenders, but the effect on sex offenders would happen anyway.
This is so ill conceived and unthought out, even without any consideration of sex offenders. One reason there are not pocket parks all around Los Angeles already is because in years gone by, the communities rightfully fought them, knowing they would really be nothing but a hangout spot for the local gangs and/or homeless people. Now, with nothing but shallow consideration — Garcetti is about the shallowest politician to hit Los Angeles in as long as anyone alive would know — it is being pushed as something great.
No, people want real parks, not money spent stupidly on a few feet of grass declared to be a park — and all the money wasted on it that could be so much better spent.
But if you say “sex offender,” you will see pocket parks absolutely everywhere.
You are so correct. Nobody cares until they are also included in a segregated group. I used to have many friends and was well known in my small Lake County, CA community, but since the listing rules changed in 2010, everyone has shunned me and some businesses will not allow me in anymore because of the listing. My crime seemed minor at the time, with no prison and the court psychiatrist said I was unlikely to re-offend. But now I’m in a prison within my own house, afraid to leave the house and go to the store or restaurant. 13 years since my offense an it keeps getting worse. This web site gives me some hope though. Thank you.
“They came first for the Communists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up.” Martin Niemoller, German clergyman imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp.
The unquestioned assumption which the reporters, cops and ‘concerned parents’ never challenge is the assumption that sex offenders “degrade” their neighborhoods in any meaningful way other than property values. And the reason why property values decrease is simply because of Megan’s Law websites. Get rid of Megan’s Law and watch property values go back up and without any consequential rise in crime, as crime statistics have clearly shown.
Thank you, Janice. Our society has abandoned our common law protections against extreme punishments and traditions meant to control the power of government to inflict cruel and innovative forms of punishment. Now anything goes, as long as it is popular. A lot of people died in WW II to stop this type of facism, which was evolving in the German legal system long before the Nazis took control. The Nazis took it to its logical extreme. Shortly after in 1947, California came up with the sex crimes registry. Now we are adopting the techniques of the defeated enemy. There has been a bright spot in the civil rights movement, although it never really enlightened the punishment system. Life imprisonment for misdemeanors, racial profiling, a bloated prison system, vurtual branding and humiliating people for the rest of their lives, these area the fruits of a fearful population, manipulated by the power hungry. The sooner we say no to it, the better chance we have of avoiding a complete descent into state run violence. None of us can stop the machine, but we can do something to add grit to it’s gears, wear it down, so it doesn’t run over so many people, until reason prevails.
The German clergyman left out something. He should have said: “They first came after the sexual deviants, because they knew we would all approve of sending these perverts to the gas chambers”.
Im going to laugh when all of these new pocket parks become home to gang bangers than we will see where all the priorities are left and saving children.
Governments have always used fear to subvert human rights. Knowing that the writers of the constitution put in the Bill of Rights.
Shouldn’t someone sue the city for these new laws?
I was an attendee at this past weekends meeting in Berkeley. I became aware of the provision of CA code 290 prohibiting discrimination in housing, employment etc.
I’m obviously not an attorney, but does this not make people registered under the terms of 290 member of a protected class… Enabling class action?
A case was mentioned in which the opposition employs delay tactics so that persons with standing in the suit “time out” (no longor on probation or parole) and no longer have standing, causing the suit(s) to be dismissed.
Just a thought.
Wow, what an article. Lets see, parks attract drug dealers, prostitution and gang members. ALthough, lets make sure we get the guy convicted of indecent exposure 19 years ago out of the neighborhood! I concur with the provision mentioned above. Its just a matter of time
This is Sky News after all one of Murdock’s tabloids and itself under investigation for illegal email hacking. I saw another story on RT TV that was even more biased. It commented on the fact that the British Supreme Court had ruled that some of its citizens could get off the lifetime registry when their is evidence that they are no long a danger to society. Although Murdock paints a sensational picture to inflame emotion and therefore sell news, the British courts in this case, seem to be more rational than ours.
One comment, and I feel that most people are ignorant of this fact. Just go on
the Megan Law webster and you will see just how many p.c.290 registrants are
living around these parks. It all is just a smoke screen and when we waste energy
talking about something so stupid we loose. Go after PAROLE AND PROBATION, and
then you will bring tough on crime advocates to the bargaining table. Our schools
are suffering while they pour more and more money into the above two agency’s
to pay for there so call safer America agenda.