Sex Offenders React To Tougher Residency Restrictions

Local sex offenders said they are fed up with yet another round of proposed restrictions on where they can live. The ordinance being drafted by the Kern County Board of Supervisors would enhance Jessica’s Law, passed in 2006, and would limit newly paroled sex offenders from living near school bus stops, churches, day care facilities, and other places where children gather. The ordinance would apply to all offenders regardless of whether they committed crimes against children. Full Article

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Kudos to Hamilton Oser for showing up, standing up and speaking up. He’s mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. How about you? In order to stop the pendulum from swinging in the wrong direction, we first need to stop it and then send it swinging back in the opposite direction. How can you do that? Join us on September 15 in L.A. for the next meeting, sign the petition to Orange County, and/or make a donation to this great cause.

This is an odd article, as it is undated and I was unable to find anything on the upcoming Kern County agenda dealing with this. However, the article piqued my interest and I went and looked up the HRW article quoted, with reference to other countries. Interesting read:

“The United States is one of just eight countries that have sex offender registries, and the only country besides South Korea known to have community notification provisions. Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Japan, and the United Kingdom have sex offender registries that are kept by the police. …

Victims’ rights groups in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Japan are advocating for community notification laws. Singapore is also considering a system of sex offender registration and community notification modeled on the US as well.

Human Rights Watch knows of no other country besides the United States with residency restriction laws for sex offenders. Lawmakers in the United Kingdom recently considered and rejected adopting community notification laws, noting the United States’ experience with vigilante violence and the lack of proven effectiveness.”

http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/us0907webwcover.pdf – p 118