LA sex offenders need rehabilitation
What is more innocent and idyllic than a public park? The idea of one, however, has taken a dark turn. Instead of existing for the sake of fun and perhaps a bit of fresh air, small “pocket” parks have opened up across the country in order to drive out sex offenders, according to the Denver Post.
Christina Ellis | Daily Trojan
Jessica’s Law states that sex offenders cannot live within 2,000 feet of a school or public park, according to the Post. And thanks to the rising number of sex offenders living in the Harbor Gateway here in Los Angeles — where parents say that they routinely see paroled convicts wearing GPS ankle bracelets — neighborhoods have been opening up small parks wherever they can.
Officials view the parks as tools to change the resident makeup of surrounding areas and call the strategy “a novel way to move out offenders while providing more recreation space,” according to the L.A. Times.
The creation of pocket parks is only a topical fix, however, and it fails to solve the problem of sex offenses. Instead of using pocket parks to further marginalize registered sex offenders, California should focus on rehabilitation programs.
Though various restrictions make the number of sex offenders in Los Angeles lower than the state average, certain areas have much higher concentrations of offenders. For example, the area around Torrance only has 767 residents per registered sex offender, while the city of Los Angeles has 1,174 residents per every sex offender. These densely populated areas, dubbed “pervert rows” by local residents, result from California’s Jessica’s Law. These strict residency restrictions push many sex offenders either to become transient or to settle in highly concentrated areas. According to USA Today, California has over 2,000 sex offenders without permanent addresses. Not only does this make them harder to track, but they might also be more likely to commit another crime, according to Jill Levenson, a sex-crimes policy analyst.
Yet, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation plans to strengthen laws that punish sex offenders rather than focusing on rehabilitation and treatment programs. Though California prisons offer educational and vocational programs, this is not enough to prevent sex crimes. The CDCR notes on its website that “of the almost 92,000 sex offenders statewide, [it] is only responsible for a little more than 11 [percent] (10,781).”
It hopes to change this statistic, however, by enforcing Jessica’s Law and Megan’s Law, which dictates that offenders must register with the state department. Other forms of monitoring include CDCR-enforced GPS tracking more than 7,000 sex offenders. Yet, as USA Today writes, “The people you need to be worried about most are the ones who aren’t registering at all.”
Instead of expending effort to displace registered sex offenders, the state needs to address the problem of transient and repeat offenders. Though California is willing to put $6 million toward the creation of small pocket parks, it does not fund sex offender treatment programs in its prisons. Even though data from the CDCR shows that only about 2 percent of convicted sex offenders are sent back to prison on a new sex-abuse offense, considering the 92,000 offenders in California, this number is appreciable. In fact, the California Sex Offender Registry lists 16,671 residents as “in violation,” a statistic that needs to be addressed through reform and rehabilitation programs. Money should be channeled toward preventing repeat offenses rather than creating pocket parks to drive sex offenders away.
Despite the stigma attached to sex offenders, progress is being made on their behalf. Organizations, such as the California Reform Sex Offenders Laws Organization advocate for the “constitutional rights for all citizens.”
They fight an uphill battle, however. According to RSOL President Janice Bellucci, hysteria clouds public perception and obscures the facts. RSOL promotes treatment programs as a solution to decreasing sex crimes. Findings by the Canadian Psychological Association support their efforts: treated sex offenders are 10 percent less likely to repeat their crimes than those who do not receive treatment.
Neither stricter laws nor pocket parks will solve the underlying problem of sex offenses. Like Band-Aids, these measures only represent topical fixes. Instead, the state needs to address the root of the problem with in-prison rehabilitation and treatment programs.
Veronica An is an undeclared freshman.
I think everyone has a great point! Joe Friday sounds like a pretty big idiot! ALthough, he obviously has no educational background and is both making pointless and baseless comments. Its rather disturbing to see people make silly/stupid comments like this. The article was well written and makes total sense!
I’m all for rehabilitating sex offenders on the public’s dime as long as they are castrated first.
A group that goes completely forgotten, yet deeply affected in these matters is the children of registered sex offenders.
When these pocket parks and measures such as Jessica’s Law are enacted, some families are forced to move or split up and at no small cost.
Many registered sex offender’s crimes are 30+ years old and they have been faithfully registering while leading productive lives. Until the Megan’s Law became public they were anonymous, law abiding citizens who had served their time and moved on to build careers, families, etc. But that all changed when their names and addresses were published for all to see. No thought was given to the kids of the registrants who would face public humiliation and start paying for the sins of their fathers.
Imagine the 5 year old girl who has no friends in kindergarten. Parents of her classmates told their children to stay away from the girl with the bad daddy. She has no birthday parties or play dates. She is alone in the sand box, very sad, unable to understand why she has no friends.
Despite his 30 year old conviction, her father developed a successful career as a professional in a service industry. But he lost his job when the Meagan’s Law site launched and has had trouble finding work since.
Their income half what is was, the mother now does the work of a single mom, ferrying the kids to and from school while trying to stay anonymous herself in other areas of life. She uses her maiden name in her career and limits personal relationships.
The father is forbidden from school functions, even though his crime did not involve a child and was non-violent. He cannot attend the Christmas show and see his little girl sing, or join in the PTA conference. The little girl asks him regularly why he never takes her to school, or why he did not come and see her in the play.
He struggles to answer in ways that will make her feel better.
What damage is being done to these forgotten children? What good does it do to force them to pay for the sins of their parents? What will be the final cost when we expect these children to grow up and be productive members of our society?
There isn’t a way to “like” these comments, but Like, Like, Like!
This is so beautifully written and articulated. Blessings to you and your family. You might enjoy reading this article: http://www.corrections.com/news/article/30787-if-it-saves-one-child
Yes, CA and all states need to address the issue of registrants with meaningful rehabilitation programs. They need even more desperately to address the far larger issue of child sexual abuse by addressing its root cause, which is not found by looking at sex offender registries but rather by looking at individuals in the lives of the children being molested. Sexual crime against children is committed by family members, peers, and authority figures. Less than 1% of it, according to the FBI, is attributable to someone already on the registry. And since those responsible have not been identified, a comprehensive education and prevention program is essential, and it must start now. It won’t happen overnight, but the current system has had twenty years and hasn’t and will never address the actual problem. We must re-align our priorities and our resources. Punishing after the fact does nothing for the victims of today and tomorrow.
I agree that the efforts should shift from punishment to help. Sex offenders don’t want to have the desires that they have. In fact, they want more than anything to not have the desires. Help them. And if you’re true goal is to help children, then help the sex offenders. If you keep punishing them, they will not have the will to move on with their lives in a positive manner. The more you whip them, they will be locked into the darkness, and will be more likely to re-offend.
And for others out there who have the same desires, give them a means of getting help. Why not prevent future offenses instead of waiting until they occur and then punishing?
We need a park on the Row so we can close it down as well!