Do Residency Bans Drive Sex Offenders Underground?

Early last year, Los Angeles set aside a sliver of land in its Harbor Gateway neighborhood for the city’s newest and smallest park: two jungle gyms on a fifth of an acre. The project was more than just an effort to increase the city’s green space. City Council members made clear that one of the park’s principal reasons for existence was to force 33 people on the California sex offender registry who were living in a nearby apartment building to move out. State law bars those on its registry from living within…

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Sex Offender Registry Reform Effort Aims to Parse for Future Risk

California is one of only four states that require sex offenders to register for life. The state board overseeing the registry is once again pushing to overhaul the system. The board wants to make it easier to spot sex offenders at high risk of re-offending. Reporter: Tara Siler. Radio Program Read the full story (State of Health) Related: Sex Offender Board Calls For Registry Overhaul (May 30, 2014)

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How I became a sex offender (Editorial – UK)

The neighbourhood girl, whose name I don’t recall, fought hard, but I was stronger. After a minute or so of desperate struggle I overcame her resistance and planted a kiss on her lips. I might have even felt her up, but I can’t remember that far back. You see, the incident happened over half a century ago, when both the criminal (I) and the victim (she) were 12 years old. Afterwards, she called me a moron and refused to play with me ever again. I forget how long her resolution…

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RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Sex-offender ordinance to be repealed

Riverside County is poised to do away with an ordinance that sets rules on where sex offenders can live or visit in an effort to avoid a lawsuit. The county established sex-offender residency and loitering prohibitions for unincorporated areas in 2010, but the Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval last week to repeal the law because an appeal court has invalidated similar ordinances in other municipalities. Full Article

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PA: New unit puts sex offenders on notice

A newly formed Pennsylvania State Police unit working to keep tabs on sex offenders is expected to soon come to Western Pennsylvania. The Megan’s Law Compliance Unit consists of two troopers who work with local agencies to arrest sex offenders who have failed to register their addresses or online accounts or otherwise have violated the terms of their release. Full Article

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