Jun 11, 2009 7:12 pm US/Eastern
NJ Pols Seek Residency Limits For Sex Offenders
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) ―
Some New Jersey lawmakers want to tighten residency restrictions on sex offenders.
Critics, however, say that may only make it more difficult to identify predators.
"When you put these kids in front of these predators, it's like giving a bottle of vodka to an alcoholic," Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt says.
Mayor Platt is on a mission to protect his township. He tried to establish a 2,500 foot pedophile-free zone around places where children congregate, but the state Supreme Court shot it down.
The court ruled that individual towns cannot ban sex offenders from living near schools, playgrounds, or other places where children gather because, under Megan's Law, parole officers already limit where released sex offenders can live.
"They violated the rights of our most vulnerable: our children," NJ State Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo says. "We have to protect them at all costs."
The NJ Assembly Judiciary Committee just approved a bill spearheaded by DeAngelo that, if passed into law, would allow individual towns to place residency restrictions on sex offenders. It would prohibit offenders over 21 years old from living up to 500 feet from playgrounds, schools, or childcare centers.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey says the law would put the public at greater risk.
"It's more likely that these offenders will go underground, and that the police will therefore lose tabs on these individuals," Ed Barocas, of the ACLU of New Jersey, says. "It ties the hands of parole officers so they can not send these individuals to the most appropriate and stable locations."
"I'm not saying it's foolproof – I'm saying this is a precaution," Mayor Platt says. "And the safety of our children and the safety of our residents is of the utmost importance to me."
For now, the safety of those residents lies in the hands of legislators.
The bill now moves to the full assembly. An identical bill is being considered in the state senate.
Sponsors of the legislation are hoping the residency restriction law is passed by the end of the summer.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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