Oklahoma lawmakers are talking about tougher rules designed to keep predators away from children.There are certain places convicted sex offenders are not supposed to be in Oklahoma.
Under SB2064, Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, wants to make those areas that are currently off limits larger.
FOX23’s Abbie Alford explains if local law enforcement believes this is an effective law to keep registered sex offenders away from children.
In Oklahoma registered sex offenders whose victims were 13 years of age or younger are forbidden for being anywhere near a safe zone including schools, parks and permitted or licensed daycare centers.
“Zones of Safety” are designed to protect children from those who would prey on them.
"To keep them off the street and away from our children," says father James Henson.
Tulsa police report there are 15%-20% of registered sex offenders in Tulsa who victimized children 13 years of age or younger.
Those people cannot be trusted anywhere close to a child.
"He may get off the bus and hang out on the fence line and stare at the kids that may be his sexual gratification is looking at children that may be all he needs to fulfill his fantasy," says TPD Exploitation Sergeant John Adams.
So Senator Gumm wants to increase the safe zone distance from 300 feet (about the length of a football field) to 500 feet for registered sex offenders who loiter in these areas.
"It's not right when you don't feel safe letting your kids go out in front of the house and play," says Henson.
Although the father might feel safer knowing sex offenders would be kept 500 feet from kids in safe zones instead of 300 feet, Sgt. Adams says there are no hard facts that safe zones actually keep sex offenders from preying on children.
"It's just another tool it makes everyone feel safer and it makes everyone feel better," says Adams.
Tulsa police say in the last year they have not arrested a registered sex offender for violating the 300 feet safe zone loitering law.
This law would also require registered sex offenders who need to enter the safe zone to notify the facility once a month the time and day they will be entering the safe zone.
Here is a copy of an e-mail Senator Gumm sent FOX23:
“…. A couple of critical concerns I think needs to be raised are these:
First, increasing the zone of safety does give parents an increased measure of security for their children. As I told the Senate when asked, I would rather keep a sex offender 500 feet away from my child than 300 feet away from my child.
The second critical component is the new restrictions on the ability of sex offenders to enter the zone of safety. under the current statute, an offender could enter the zone of safety to pick up, drop off or enroll their child in a school or child care center. They could, under the existing law, remain in the zone indefinitely claiming to be taking advantage of one of the exceptions without the knowledge of teachers or administrators in the facility.
SB 2064 would limit offenders to a "reasonable amount of time" to accomplish their task, and the offender would have to inform the inform school or child care center administrators of his or her status as a registered sex offender and update monthly, or as often as required by the school or center, information about the specific times the person will be within the zone of safety.
I believe knowledge is power, and this is a power and knowledge schools and parents deserve.
Thanks again for covering the issue.
Sincerely,
Jay Paul Gumm
Senator, District 6
