A case-in-point is the voter-approved "Jessica's Law" that prohibits paroled sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a park, school or any place "where children regularly congregate."
It looks good on paper. The problem is that there are few places, especially in urban and suburban areas, that are not within 2,000 feet of these places. That being the case, the paroled offenders have no place to go.
We know... boo hoo. However, this has led to a 24-fold increase in homeless offenders. When they're homeless, it means they can't be tracked and supervised.
A number of judges in both Northern and Southern California have granted stays allowing offenders to ignore the ban. A statewide panel reviewing the problem recommended that the ban be lifted because of the burden it's placing on the system and the difficulty of enforcing it.
The Mercury News reported Wednesday that an estimated 75 percent of the 2,000 registered sex offenders in Los Angeles County are homeless. There seems to be three choices: Lock them up for life, Put them in mental hospitals for life, or repeal the law and monitor them all by GPS.
Question of the Day: Should the residency requirement be repealed?
