CFC OKLAHOMA

Child-safety zones work

BY JILL LEVENSON
JLevenson@lynn.edu

www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1332788.html

In an Associated Press article printed in the Nov. 4 Miami Herald we learned that Florida's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability concluded that residential-restriction laws for sex offenders are ineffective in preventing repeat abuse.

They suggested instead that child-safety zones, which prohibit registered sex offenders from loitering in places where children congregate, would be more successful in achieving the goal of keeping known sex offenders away from children. The legislative policy analyst who testified based the conclusions on published research demonstrating that residence restrictions do not prevent abuse and that an offender's proximity to schools and daycares is not linked to recidivism.

Lobbyist Ron Book, who has pushed for passage of state and local residence restrictions, disputed the studies, saying ``those studies are written by people who counsel predators and offenders. The studies, in and of themselves, to me, become suspect.''

Book repeatedly waves his hand in dismissal of any empirical research suggesting that residential restrictions don't work. He misrepresents the research and their authors.

Studies by experts

Two of the studies were authored by researchers employed by state Departments of Corrections -- one in Minnesota and one in Colorado. The third study, which analyzed data from Florida, was co-authored by three university professors: a geographer from the University of New Mexico, a criminologist from the University of Nevada and a professor of Human Services from Lynn University (who does work part-time in a sex-offender treatment program).

The Minnesota study was published in Criminal Justice and Behavior, a respected scientific journal ranked among the top five criminology journals. The Florida study has been accepted for publication in that journal. Articles published in scientific journals go through a rigorous process of review by which other experts in the same field verify that the methodology is sound and the findings valid. Trust me, articles don't get published in top ranked research outlets if results are ``suspect.''

Book goes on to say that the studies ``conflict with data from Miami-Dade County showing absconding and crimes against children have gone down while compliance with sex-offender registration requirements has gone up.'' According to the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, child sexual-abuse rates nationwide have dropped 49 percent over the past 15 years.

That is good news, but it can't be attributed to residence restrictions. Sex-offender absconding has decreased in Florida, and that too is good news, but is a comparison of apples and oranges. Book has never cited a published study demonstrating the effectiveness of residence restrictions because none exists.

Ron Book is an admirable and tireless advocate for children. But it is time to stop holding onto illusions about what we hope to be true. Continuing to steer resources toward policies that don't work promotes a false sense of security and is fiscally irresponsible. Book should work with other experts and use facts and research to advocate for sexual-abuse prevention policies that will achieve their goals. Don't children deserve that?

Jill Levenson is an associate professor and sex crimes researcher at Lynn University. She was also the chairperson of Broward County's Sexual Offender Residence Task Force