Cactus Village Community

Sex Offender Update

Jul 07, 2003

SB 1202 was passed and signed by the Governor in May. While the bulk of this bill addresses the issue of bail, also contained in this bill is the establishment of a seventeen member Sex Offender Probation Study Committee who are required to complete the following duties and submit a report of its finding and recommendations on or before December 31, 2002.

* Evaluate the effectiveness of sex offender probation in Arizona.

* Identify the reasons for sex offender over representation in particular Arizona zip codes.

* Determine the impact of sex offender overrepresentation in the zip codes that are over represented.
* Formulate recommendations for the elimination or reduction of sex offender overrepresentation.

* Determine the frequency and impact of sex offender probations living near schools.

* Formulate recommendations for the reduction of risks related to sex offender probations living near schools.

This is exciting news! We are one of the ?“over represented?” zip codes. While the overrepresentation of sex offenders in our community is of great concern, there are a plethora of unlicensed, unregulated ?“facilities?” appearing within neighborhoods servicing a host of varied clientele. A high concentration (overrepresentation) of ?“facilities?” in one community has proven to challenge the stability of the community.

Creating a method of identifying all ?“facilities?” and working with spacing requirements will be a good thing. Look for future updates on this issue...☺