Beaumont weighs child safety zones for sex offenders | #childsafety | #kids | #chldern | #parents | #schoolsafey

The Beaumont City Council is considering establishing child safety zones that would prohibit people required to register as sex offenders from living near places where children gather.

The council held a workshop on the proposal during its regularly scheduled July 7 meeting at the request of several council members, including Mayor Roy West. City Attorney Sharae Reed said the proposed ordinance would create a buffer of 1,000 to 2,000 feet around places where children commonly gather. Those places could include schools, day care centers, playgrounds, parks, youth centers, public swimming pools, video arcades and facilities that regularly hold events for children. West said the city has a duty to protect its most vulnerable residents.

“I requested that the city look into this because protecting children is one of the most important responsibilities we have as a community,” West said. “My goal is simple: I want Beaumont to be a city where families feel safe, children are protected, and the community works together to prevent harm before it happens.”

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City leaders said one reason they are considering the zones is Beaumont’s number of people on the sex offender registry. Police Chief Tim Ocnaschek said about 900 people on the registry live in Beaumont, a number he said has increased 7% in the past few years. He said Beaumont’s rate is about three times the statewide average for Texas cities.

“I think we’ve made it comfortable to be here as a sex offender,” said Ocnaschek.

Ward 1 Council member Cory Crenshaw said the city should not become a destination for people required to register as sex offenders. Crenshaw, a former district attorney and criminal defense lawyer, said he believes such laws can be effective.

“With Beaumont having 3 times as many registered sex offenders per capita it’s important for our city to take the legal steps to reduce this number,” Crenshaw said. “I’ve seen the law and it’s worked for other cities and is an effective tool for law enforcement but most importantly for protecting kids.”

Reed said the zones’ legal purpose must be to protect children, not to punish or intentionally harm people on the registry. Ordinances with a punitive intent could be unconstitutional, she said. For that reason, people on the registry or group homes already located within a zone when an ordinance passes would be allowed to remain. However, Reed said they would lose that exemption if their status changed, such as if a person lost a lease or a group home lost its business license.

Reed said the ordinance would apply only to people currently required to be on the sex offender registry, primarily lifetime registrants, not people whose registration requirements have ended. Reed said residents can search public databases, including the Texas Department of Public Safety registry, to find addresses for people on the registry in Beaumont.

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City staff worked with the Community Development Department to evaluate what buffer size would be effective while imposing the least burden on people on the registry. Legally, the city can make the zone anywhere between 500 and 2,000 feet. Staff recommended a 2,000-foot zone because Beaumont’s land area is spread out. Reed explained that the size of the zones depends more on land area than on city size, and said that if the city were more congested, they might recommend a smaller buffer.

“It’s really based on your land mass, not necessarily the number of individuals that you have in your city, but land mass,” Reed said. “So even though a city could have the same population, it could be more dense, meaning that its people are closer together, versus Beaumont, which is more spread out.”

Reed said 1,000 feet is the most common buffer size. Crenshaw said he favors a 1,500-foot buffer after speaking with the city’s legal staff and reviewing case law, saying he wants the ordinance to avoid litigation and be enforceable quickly. The Police Department’s current registry software also could affect implementation. Ocnaschek said the current software is a name-only database, with no search capability, notification alerts or tools to help investigate violations.

Ocnaschek said a light-duty officer found 10 possible violations within a week by comparing existing databases. He said the department’s registry officer is already overwhelmed by state registry requirements. He also said the department would need updated software to enforce the zones. Software for Beaumont alone would cost $23,000, compared with $34,000 for countywide coverage.

Council members agreed to pursue countywide software coverage and share the cost with other participating governments or agencies. Ocnaschek said officials know of one interested city and would contact other eligible governments or agencies. Reed said adopting the ordinance before the city has the software could create enforcement problems.

“Let’s just, for example, say someone moved into an area after the adoption of the ordinance with the city’s approval because one of our individuals misread the map,  and that’s a mistake on the city,” Reed said. “We don’t get to say we made a mistake; you’ve got to go. They get to benefit from that mistake.”

City officials said they want to move quickly. The council is expected to consider the ordinance at its next meeting, with the effective date delayed until no later than Jan. 1. West said an ordinance would not replace awareness, supervision, communication and education.

“They are not the only answer, but they may be one important tool in a broader effort to strengthen child safety in Beaumont,” West said. “Child safety begins at home, continues in our neighborhoods and must be supported by schools, churches, nonprofits, law enforcement and city government.”

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West said city officials are not acting out of fear or trying to create panic, but want to better protect children in Beaumont.

“When parents send their children to school, to a park, to a playground, or to a city recreation program, they deserve to know that we are doing everything reasonably within our authority to create safe environments,” West said. “This is not about acting out of fear. We are not trying to create panic, and we are not trying to target people unfairly. We are trying to look at whether there are reasonable steps the city can take to provide additional protection for children.”