Public Policy Considerations
for Sex Offender Housing
Cathy Rodriguez
Copyright 2009 Rodriguez
Presenter
► Cathy
Rodriguez
 Adult Standards and Community Notification
Coordinator for the SOMB
 Colorado Department of Public Safety, Division
of Criminal Justice, Office of Sex Offender
Management
 303-239-4499
 Cathy.Rodriguez@cdps.state.co.us
Reports/Literature
► http://dcj.state.co.us/odvsom/sex_offender/
index.html
 Report on Effectiveness and Safety Issues
Related to Shared Living Arrangements (SLA’s)
 Use of Residence Restrictions as a Sex Offender
Management Strategy
 White Paper on Adult Sex Offender Housing
 SLA Fact Sheet
Presentation Agenda
► SOMB
► Legislation
and History
► Research
► Residence
Restrictions in Other States
► Residence Restrictions/Local Ordinances in
Colorado
► Current Practice and Policy in Colorado
► Unintended Consequences
► Resources
SOMB
► Philosophy
and Guiding Principles
 Community and victim safety
 Research based policy development and “best
practice” implementation
 Collaborative approach
 Ongoing risk based assessment, evaluation, and
treatment
Nationally recognized for research, policy, and
practice
SOMB
► Focus
 Continuum of Care
 Risk, Need, Responsivity
 Community Education
Housing for Sex Offenders
► Why
is it important?
 Directly impacts recidivism (i.e. likelihood a sex
offender will reoffend)
► Who
should care?
 Everyone
CCJJ endorsed a policy statement indicating the
SOMB should conduct community education in
2012 re: the negative effects of zoning and
residence restrictions.
Housing Restrictions
► Zoning
 Prohibits more than one unrelated registered
sex offender from residing in the same
residence
► Residence
 Prohibits registered sex offenders from residing
within a certain distance from areas frequented
by children (e.g. parks, schools, daycares, etc.)
Federal Legislation
► Wetterling
Act 1994
► Megan’s Law 1996
► Pam Lychner Act 1996
► Campus Crimes Act
► Adam Walsh Act 2006 (pending Statewide
implementation in Colorado)
History & Facts re: Proximity
Laws
► Delaware
and Florida first to enact, 1995
► 40% of States enacted laws from 2005 to
2007 after Jessica Lundsford and Sarah
Lunde abducted and murdered in Florida
► 30 states have implemented statewide RR
(Ohio State Univ. 2009, USA Today 2009)
► Nearly every state has some municipalities
with local ordinances (*Kansas)
Premise for Proximity Laws
► NIMBY
► Sex
Offenders are dangerous to children and
should not be where children congregate
► Stranger based sex offenses are common
► Keep sex offenders out of the community
► Assumption that where a offender sleeps at night
has a direct impact on new crime or victim
selection
► Multiple sex offenders living together is a bad idea
Research Regarding Sexual
Offending
► 65%
of convicted offenders are granted
community supervision at sentencing in CO
► 93 % of child sex abuse victims know their
abusers (Dept of Justice, 2000)
► Most sexual offenses are committed in the
offender’s home or the victim’s home (Colo. DOC;
Greenfeld 1997; Smallbone and Wortley 2000)
► The younger the age of a child victim, the more
likely they are to be victimized by someone they
know (Snyder 2000; US Dept Just Bureau of
Statistics)
Research Re: Sexual Offending
► Nationwide
of the 60,000 to 70,000 arrests for
sexual assault each year, 115 of them constitute
abductions by strangers (U.S. Justice Dept.)
► Family dynamics make children more vulnerable to
sexual assault than proximity to sexual offenders
(California Position Paper-CCASA, 2008)
► 87% people arrested for sex offense were never
previously convicted of sex crime (U.S. Dept. of
Justice)
Research Regarding Recidivism
► Sex
offenders with stable housing, employment,
and social support are much less likely to commit
new sex offenses (Willis & Grace 2008)
► Varies by population, type of offender, and type of
crime
► Sex offenders who successfully complete
treatment have lower recidivism rates than nontreated offenders (Alexander 1999; Aos et al 2001;
Hal 1995; Hanson et al 2002 Losel and
Schumucker 2005)
Research re: Out of State
Residence Restrictions
► Minnesota
(Minnesota DOC 2003)
 NONE of them would have been deterred by a
residence restriction ordinance
 Limiting offenders to residences in rural,
suburban, or industrial areas
 Fewer supervising agents and less available
services/resources
Research re: Out of State
Residence Restrictions
► Minnesota
DOC 2007
 N=224 Sexual recidivists released between
1990 and 2002
► 85%
of offenses occurred in a residential location
► 79% of victims knew the offender prior to offense
► 50% established victim contact through collateral contact
► 9% made direct victim contact within 1 mile of the offender’s
home (none in park, school, playground)
NONE OF SEXUAL RECIDIVISTS RETURNING TO PRISON
IN 16 YEARS CONTACTED JUVENILE VICTIMS NEAR A
SCHOOL, PARK, OR DAYCARE
Colorado Research
► Child
molesters in CO who re-offended
sexually did not live closer to schools or
daycare centers than those who did not reoffend (Colo. Dept. of Public Safety, 2004)
► Sex offenders receiving positive support had
significantly lower numbers of probation
violations and recidivism than those lacking
support or with negative support (Colo.
Dept. of Public Safety, 2004)
Colorado Research
► SLA’s
(Shared Living Arrangement)
►A separately contained living unit in which more
than one adult sex offender in treatment resides
for the purpose of increased public safety,
increased accountability, intensive containment,
and consistent treatment intervention.
►Moderate to High Risk Sex Offenders
►Positive Informed Support
Colorado Research
► Colorado
Dept. of Public Safety 2008
 N=28 law enforcement jurisdictions
 6 had residence restrictions
►Higher
number of registered sex offenders and sex
crime arrests
►Number of offenders who failed to register increased
after ordinances were enacted
Residence Restrictions in Colorado
►
►
►
►
►
►
Castle Rock
 SVP Restriction
Englewood
 62 Registered Offenders/Population 31,727
Greenwood Village
 3 Registered Offenders/Population 12,817
Commerce City
 77 Registered Offenders/Population 34,189
 Also has Loitering Restriction
Greeley
 240 Registered Offenders/Population 76,930 (Applies to Juvenile and Adult
offenders)
 Also has Loitering Restriction
Lonetree
 2 Registered Offenders/Population 7,354
Zoning Restrictions
► Most
Denver Metro Cities except DENVER
►Limits the use of SLA’s
►Limits Community Corrections, Group Homes,
and other therapeutic options
►Limits housing options overall
►*Remember, stable housing is the number 1
factor in recidivism with sex offenders
Current Colorado Policy &
Practice
►
►
►
►
►
Registration (Juvenile and Adult)
Community Notification (SVP)
Supervision
 Probation, SOISP
 Parole
 Community Corrections
Treatment
 Outpatient
 SLA’s
Incarceration/Imprisonment
Unintended Consequences
► Registration
& Tracking / CN
 Purpose: Know offender location
►Underground
►Abscond/Disappear
►Register
False or Inaccurate Addresses
►Homelessness/Transience
Unintended Consequences
► Supervision
 Purpose: Monitor offender, provide
accountability, and ensure safe in community
►Limits
housing options, available support,
employment (if transportation is issue), and
resources
►Concentration of offenders in rural areas making
monitoring more challenging
►Prohibits community corrections programs from
accepting sex offenders due to proximity or zoning
Unintended Consequences
► Treatment
 Purpose: Change offender’s thoughts and
behaviors/choices
►Zoning
and Proximity Laws prohibit SLA’s (Shared
Living Arrangements)
►If offender is forced to reside in isolated area, may
not have treatment available or may have to
commute long distance
Difficulties
► Counterproductive
to public safety
► Enforcement and Prosecution Issues
► Ineffective and exhaustive use of resources
► Promote false sense of security and safety
► Lawsuits re: civil rights and civil liberties
► Juvenile offenders
► Banishment
Resources/Alternatives
► Shared
Living Arrangements
► Community Education
► Utilization of Community Corrections and ISP
Programs
► Collaboration among Agencies
► Ordinance: No Loitering for Sex Offenders or Child
Safety Zone
► Research utilized in policy making and enacting of
laws
► Continue using risk based classification