Update: Oreo, Dog Thrown Off Building, Was Euthanized
Access-A-Ride Renders Bike Lane Inaccessible
The UWS Gets Its Very Own Apple Store
Emily and Sarah Kunstler, Filmmakers
Video: Close Encounters Above Central Park?
Last month, Representative Anthony Weiner released a report showing that 85% of registered sex offenders live within 5 blocks of NYC schools (here's a PDF of the report). Included in the report was a map illustrating this point; the report says, "Cartographers at the Library of Congress have plotted the location of every school and every sex offender in New York City on a map. Every sex offender is represented by a red dot, every school is a blue building on the following page."
Weiner has a few other recommendations, including establishing a federal grant for sex offender monitoring, tracking sex offenders within 2 blocks of school with GPS, and creating a national task force to reduce sex offenses. Weiner and a bipartisan group from Congress (including Senator Schumer and McCain), announced the KIDS (Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators) Act of 2007, which would "require sex offenders to register their e-mail and instant message addresses with the National Sex Offender Registry."
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
this is kind of a joke. i mean are sex offenders really that much more likely to be black/latino and/or in lower income ranges? because anyone with a brain can see that's how this map breaks down
These bill/act/law names are so dumb. PATRIOT, KIDS, Megan's Law, Patrick's Law -- the laws sometimes themselves are so dense and impossible to understand, why do their basic labels have to be so useless as well?
This is kinda ridiculous, no? Take a look at that map - in Manhattan, Queens and the BX there's a school just about every five blocks. Where's a sex offender supposed to live these days?
I want to protect my children as much as any person, but my problem with such measures as the GPS tracking and such weigh heavily on my mind. A few years ago, the mayor of the town I grew up in tried to prohibit sex offenders from living within a certain distance of schools and playgrounds, and I don't know that I have ever been so concerned. It creates the ghettoization of sex offenders, and ensures a drop in property values. But really, none of that is the greatest concern, screw property values.
Here's the thing, if these people are so dangerous, why aren't they in jail or a hospital? If they pose such a threat to ourselves and our children that they need to be banned from a place or constantly followed, how is it that they do not possess a strong enough threat to be kept behind locked doors of some sort?
I have a question about this report: How much of the city lives within five blocks of a NYC school? In both of my NYC residents since I was born, I've lived within five blocks of at least two New York City schools and probably more if you count private schools.
isn't it really difficult to NOT be 5 blocks from a school? I mean, really... they're everywhere.
There are schools everywhere here in NYC! I suppose the solution is to ship them all out to the country?
Weiner's being ridiculous, as usual.
Benjamin, that's a good point - maybe the Library of Congress cartographers can help with another map! (Especially since some much of NYC is vertical, because land is scarce.) But I think the point that gets hammered home is "You really should know where sex offenders are."
Wow lots of pedos in NYC!
YES!!! benjamin kabak!!
i too and many, many, many others have lived within 5 blocks of a school all their lives in nyc. often times i lived even less than a block and do so now, and, no, i am not a sex offender. one would need to identify whether it actually is a deliberate choice by the so-called sex offenders to live near the school, or if they happen to live near schools just like everyone else. the study needs to compare so-called sex offenders' with so-called regular folks' living locations.
also, how many of those so called sex offenders the ones who target kids????
what a dumb, dumb, dumb, waste of money anthony weiner!
Perhaps we should make sex offenders pin badges to their clothes, so we'll know who they are at all times! Some kind of scarlet letter, perhaps.
We can also throw sex offenders into the river. If they float then they are innocent! If they sink then they are guilty. Or maybe it's the other way around. Either way I'll see you down at the pier!
I hear sex offenders ride brooms and are known to curdle milk and cause bread to go moldy.
Since others have already pointed out that there are very few places in NYC that AREN'T within 5 blocks of a school, I will just say this:
"Sex Offenders" doesn't just include pedophiles, like everyone assumes. If a woman sunbathes nude in Central Park and is found guilty of indecent exposure she'll be on this list. The term is too broad. Nobody cares if she's near a school, it's just the pedos we want to know about.
It is my understanding that these statistics do not differentiate between say, a twenty-year-old who had consentual sex with a seventeen-year-old (or whatever the age of consent is) and recidivist sexual predators.
fyi, sex offender does not mean sex was with a minor... it also does not mean repeat offender. this is such a non-issue.
blah blah blad. Sex offenders are the bs road rage media meme of the '00s.
am i really supposed to believe that black/hispanic and/or lower income people are considerably more likely to be sexual predators? how are you going to make any policy changes based on the fact that poor minorities get screwed by the criminal justice system more than whitey magee? especially with the internet pederasts are everywhere. just be careful- don't further oppress poor minorities
* If the sex offender laws are kept, why discriminate? If sex offenders must suffer for life and be on GPS, so should ANYONE with a criminal record. If this is not done, then it is discrimination. Anyone with a criminal record should be on a registry on the internet for the whole world to see, and be on GPS for life. DUI offenders should not be able to live XX feet from an alcohol store and should have their license revoked. Drug dealers should not be able to live XX feet from anywhere children congregate, so they cannot sell our kids drugs. Murderers should not be able to life XX feet from ANYONE, since they may kill again. DUI offenders kill more people than any other crime (I believe), and I'm sure the entire public would love to know if a murderer, thief, drug dealer, etc lives in their neighborhood. If all this was on the internet for all to see, I'm sure everyone would NOT leave their house at all. These people are everywhere. Why are sex offenders being "scape goated"? EVERYONE WITH A CRIMINAL RECORD SHOULD OBIDE BY THE SAME LAWS SEX OFFENDERS HAVE TO OR IT'S DISCRIMINATION!!
* When will people ever realize no matter how tough on crime, all the zero tolerance, all the registries in the world will not prevent a murderer from murdering, a thief from stealing, a dealer from dealing, a user from using, a rapist from raping....accusations on any sex crime, child abuse, or domestic violence will literally nail your butt to the wall! No DNA has to be present, No violence has to be present..... HEARSAY ALONE IS LITERALLY NAILING THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO THE WALL BECAUSE OF THE BIASNESS IN THE LAWS.
* Why don't news agencies report when a murderer, gang member, DUI offender, drug dealer/user, etc are out of jail?
* "Buffer Zones" are a false sense of security!
* "Buffer Zones" are banishing people from their town, state, and possibly the country!
* "Buffer Zones" create homelessness, which costs society lost productivity, individual dignity, and creates additional problems for enforcing any accurate registry!
* "Buffer Zones" do nothing, except banish! It could be 50 miles and if someone wanted to re-offend, they'd just get in a car and drive!
* It should be MANDATORY that anyone in prison get therapy, and out of prison, if needed. Therapy does work. If you just lock them up, when they get out, they will be worse off. Therapy teaches people how to not act out and help, regardless of what the general public thinks. Just ask a therpist.
* We need to STOP this hysteria and get sex offenders the help they need.
* You can pass all the laws you want but without therapy and this "mob" mentality will not solve anything!
* I am sick of politicians using children to get their laws passed! Who would want to vote against anything that is "for the children"?
* "Stranger Danger" is a smoke screen & hype! Most child sexual offenses occur by someone the child knows, like a family member or close friend!
* These laws are being passed by politicians using sex offenders as scape goats, for votes!
* Registries do NOT protect anyone or prevent crimes!
* Registries are punishing sex offenders as well as their families and children, and opening them up to vigilantism. DON'T THE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN OF SEX OFFENDERS COUNT? They are suppose to be "for the children", right?
* Registries are NOT being updated in a timely fashion, so the public is getting false information! How is this helping the public or protecting them when they cannot rely on them?
* Registries are putting families and children of sex offenders in a public position to be socially outcast and discriminated against with regard to employment, housing, schooling, etc!
* About 90% of the people on the registry are NOT sexual predators or pedophiles that these laws were for in the first place!
* These laws cost millions, if not billions to enforce, and they cause prison over-population, which is already a problem, especially in California! AND TAX PAYERS PAY FOR ALL THIS!
* GPS does not prevent sexual crimes! Another false sense of security which cost tons of money! Plus they are suppose to pay for this, which will eventually go homeless. MAKE THE TAX PAYERS WHO WANT THESE LAWS TO PAY FOR THEM!
* These laws cause sex offenders to go underground and into hiding, due to the strict nature of the laws! How is this protecting anyone?
* These laws are all abount money for law enforcement and votes for politicians. Prison is a business! Politicians are salaried and want elected/re-elected! Law enforcement get paid for people in jails, prisons or on the registry!
* These laws blatantly disregard the United States constitutional rights of all citizens! (i.e. ex-post facto, due process & others)
* These laws are cruel and unusual punishment! A sex offender cannot go to a fast food restaurant which has a playground! Why? We have just as must of a right as you to get a burger! Plus they cannot go anywhere kids congregate, which is endless (i.e. Amusement parks, Movie theaters, the list is endless)
* Sex offenders can go to church, but must leave immediately afterwards. If a sex offender owns a business and someone decides to put a church or school next door, they have to now sell their business and move. This is not right, move the church or school, the sex offender was there first!
* These laws continue to punish people even after a sentence has been served, and they are trying to get on with their lives! (i.e. ex-post facto)
* These laws are driven by fear-mongering, opportunistic politicians and will do nothing to actually protect children!
* There are over one million women and children whose lives are inter-twined with a sex offender in the United Stated. They should matter too!
* Follow the money trail, these laws are conveyor-belt laws to benefit law enforcement! They get paid for the number of people in jail, prison or on the registry!
* They are currently a one-size-fits all for sex offenders! Not all sex offenders are predators or pedophiles that these laws are suppose to be for anyway!
* They are modern day witch hunts and a scarlett letter!
* If Sex Offenders are re-offending, why does the registries grow each day? Because new people are being added daily for stuff like "public urination", "mooning", "concensual sex", "young children playing 'Doctor'" and various other minor offenses that we need not worry about. We need to worry about predators & pedophiles!
* Now they are trying to make it a law that a sex offender, if they have kids, cannot "take a picture" of anyone under 18. This is totally stupid! Can't even take Christmas pictures, birthday pictures, etc!
* Also, because a sex offender owns a business in town, many people are trying to get the business shut down! The sex offender had the business for awhile. If you don't like it, MOVE!!!!
* The Nazi' did this back when Hitler was in power, with the Jews, Turks, etc.
* The thing about pedophiles not being able to take pictures of kids is stupid. You'd better shred any pictures you have of your kids when they were babies, like diaper changing, baths, etc.
I hate the fact that I have to agree . I'm forced to put myself in the parents position . Would I want my child to be exposed to a bunch of Pedophiles living in my neighborhood ? Hell no ! Then I think, What if it were me and people didn't want me in there neighborhood based on something that I did,Served time for ,and commited myself to "Reeducation" for my addiction don't I deserve another chance to live amongst others ? My answer, Hell no stay the hell away rom my kids pedo-nutcases !
LEGALIZE PROSTITUTION!!
99PCT of this will go away!!
LOL. I agree with you "hr". They should legalize it, God knows alot of us could use the comfort of a good hoe after work ! No talking, ie, Complaining just pay them some funds get some head and be gone !