Exploring the effectiveness of school-proximity residency restrictions for sex offenders

ABSTRACT Since the early 1990s, federal and state legislation restricting the residency options of convicted sex offenders has been justified on the basis of protecting vulnerable populations while deterring future criminal opportunities. While many of these policies maintain public support, recent empirical inquiries have begun to question their effectiveness and appropriateness. Using data from registered sex offenders’ residences in three mid-western states, we explore the effect residency restriction laws have on preventing sex offenders from residing within proximal distance to elementary schools. Preliminary results indicate that sex offenders on average do not reside significantly closer or farther away from elementary schools in states with different proximal distance requirements, but that sex offenders reside significantly closer to elementary schools in neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status. We conclude that residency restriction policies for sex offenders should be reconsidered in light of these results.