TITLE
Recommendation to respectfully request City Attorney to draft an ordinance further restricting residency requirements of Penal Code Section 290 sex offenders from residing within 2,000 feet or, in case of Penal Code Section 290 sex offenders classified as high risk, 2,500 feet from any licensed child-care facility; and, if determine to be appropriate, limit the number of Penal Code Section 290 sex offenders residing at multi-family residential dwellings. Such ordinance is authorized pursuant to California Penal Code Section 3003.5 (c).
DISCUSSION
California's Megan's Law provides the public with certain information on the whereabouts of sex offenders so members of our local communities may protect themselves and their children.
The State of California's Department of Justice Sex Offender Tracking Program maintains the registered sex offender database. The database is the basis for the information displayed on the Internet website. By law, persons convicted of specified sex crimes are required to register as sex offenders with a local law enforcement agency. They may be classified as high risk depending on their crime. Prior to release from prison, jail, parole, a mental hospital, or on probation, sex offenders are notified in writing of their duty to register and a copy is forwarded to the Department of Justice.
Recently, residents in the Alamitos Beach neighborhood contacted my office and the Mayor's office with concerns about a significant number of Megan's Law registrants at one location, which happens to be approximately 450 feet from two licensed childcare facilities. I am concerned that the California Department of Corrections and Los Angeles County Probation officers may be "clustering" sex offenders in particular locations throughout Long Beach in partnership with certain landlords as a means of managing their caseloads. Such practice subjects a neighborhood to an inordinate number of individuals with potentially violent histories, thus undermining any sense of community while creating an air of fear and intimidation.
Existing law prohibits sex offenders from residing closer than 2,000 feet from K-12 schools or parks and 2,500 feet if they are classified as "high risk". However, this does not preclude local municipalities from further prohibiting them from residing near licensed daycare facilities or living together in a multi-family unit complex.
Once they have served their time, sex offenders should have the right to rehabilitate and reenter society. However, this does not give government agencies the right to "cluster" caseloads nor these individuals the right to reside together simply because it is convenient. Their proximity to childcare facilities and residence at multi-family unit complexes poses a danger to the health and wellbeing of our communities.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
Suja Lowenthal
Councilmember, Second District