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NEW STUDY SHOWS SEX OFFENDERS LIVING TOO CLOSE TO OUR KIDS
New York City – Sex offenders across the five boroughs are living too close to our city’s schoolchildren, according to a new comprehensive study released today by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn & Queens), a member of the subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, and Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-Brooklyn). More than 85% of registered sex offenders in New York City live less than five blocks from schools, and 670 sex offenders live within just two blocks. Some offenders are even closer, permanently residing less than 500 feet away from unwitting parents, educators and children.
The current sex offender registry – maintained by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services – contains the names, addresses and offenses of 2,114 registered sex offenders citywide. Over a two month period, Rep. Weiner’s office analyzed this data, plotting sex offender addresses against school locations in all five boroughs, mapping sex offender density by borough and examining the top zip codes that offenders call home. The result is the most comprehensive assessment of where sex offenders are living in relation to New York City schools.
The study found that Brooklyn is home to the most sex offenders of any borough in New York City, counting 671 offenders among its residents. Of that number, 179 offenders live just two blocks away from schools and more than 90% of sex offenders living in Brooklyn are within a five block walk from a school.
Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx are all home to between 400 to 500 sex offenders each, and at least 145 in each borough are living within a short two block walk from schools.
The school with the most sex offenders at its doorstep is Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School (PS 81) in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Six offenders live just two blocks away including Jeffrey Norwood, a “sexually violent” offender. Norwood, who was convicted in 1998 of raping a 10 year old female, lives just 229 feet away from PS 81. Another offender, Willie Hodges, lives across the street in an apartment building that overlooks the school’s playground.
Norwood and Hodges aren’t the only offenders residing next to or directly across the street from schoolyards. According to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Lee Coyne – convicted of sexually abusing a young boy – lives just 138 feet from Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Queens. There’s also Vincent Palagonia – convicted of abusing two young girls ages 8 and 16 – who lives just 249 feet up the block from St. Dorothy’s in Staten Island.
Unlike other criminals, sex offenders pose a unique challenge to law enforcement and communities due to high recidivism rates. According to a December 1997 study published in the journal Law and Human Behavior, 52% of convicted child molesters and 39% of convicted rapists are charged with another sex offense within 25 years of being released from prison.
To help mitigate the risk from sex offenders living near schools, Reps. Weiner and Towns propose a 6 point plan that includes GPS monitoring, stricter enforcement of existing laws and more public disclosure of offender data.
1. Establish Federal Grant Program for Sex Offender Monitoring: Reps. Weiner and Towns will introduce legislation creating a federal grant program to fund sex offender surveillance. Under the bill, $100 million would be available each year for local law enforcement agencies across the country to fund personnel and technology to track offenders. In order to encourage coordination among states and local governments, a portion of the funds will be reserved for innovative programs that share resources and coordinate tracking efforts across jurisdictional borders.
2. Track Sex Offenders within 2 Blocks of Schools via GPS: Sex Offenders who choose to live within two blocks of New York City schools would be required to wear a satellite tracking device, such as an ankle bracelet, so their movements may be monitored, recorded and archived. Under the technology, school properties would be designated off limits and an immediate alert could be sent to the New York Police Department (NYPD) if a sex offender lingers on schools grounds. Data will also be stored and, as an example, used as evidence at a trial or for investigators to determine parole violations.
3. Create National Task Force for Reducing Sex Offenses: Reps. Weiner and Towns will introduce federal legislation directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to form a joint task force for the purpose of reducing sex offenses nationwide. Within one year, the task force will be required to report to Congress on best practices for housing sex offenders, for community intervention to both prevent sex offenses and successfully integrate offenders into communities and for psychiatric treatment in prison to reduce the risk of repeat offenses.
4. Expand Search Capabilities of Sex Offender Database: Currently, a parent has more search options available when purchasing an airline ticket online than he or she has when searching the sex offender database. New York State only allows citizens to search by three very basic fields: zip code, name and county. Reps. Weiner and Towns propose adding more search options to allow, for instance, parents to search for sex offenders surrounding a specific address, such as their child’s school or daycare center. And the database should also incorporate mapping technology that’s widely available in cyberspace.
5. Crack Down on Sex Offenders who Violate Registration Laws: The largest problem with sex offender registries is that people move and violate the law by not registering a new address when they move. Following the lead of a successful Wisconsin program known as the Sex Offender Apprehension and Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Initiative, Reps. Weiner and Towns propose deploying teams of retired criminal investigators to locate and apprehend violators.
6. Require Registration of MySpace Accounts and Other Online Identities: Only requiring disclosure of a sex offender’s physical address ignores the growing role of the Internet as a tool for child predators. Rep. Weiner is an original co-sponsor of federal legislation that will require sex offenders to register their MySpace accounts, Instant Messenger screen names and email addresses with law enforcement agencies. News Corp, which owns MySpace, requested the legislation, which will be introduced next week. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) are the lead co-sponsors in the Senate.
“Keeping our kids safe is an on-going effort that demands greater vigilance especially near schools,” said Rep. Weiner. “We need to do more to track offenders, to enforce existing laws and to arm parents with tools to protect their children from sex offenders.”
"Our children are our most precious commodity. We must make every effort in keeping them safe. Not only should we get this legislation passed but we should also make sure that the child predators are kept a safe distance from our children's schools," said Congressman Towns.
To see the full report, please click here
Congressman Anthony D. Weiner
