A Myth and Its Effects
Webster’s dictionary describes a myth as: An imaginary person or thing; an invented story. It has been said that if you repeat something often enough, people will believe it is factual regardless of the reliability of the statement. Let me tell you about a myth that is affecting a large segment of our society.
Somehow the myth got started that 90% of convicted sex offenders commit new sex crimes and are subsequently returned to prison. While popular opinion has it that these type never change, nothing could be further from the truth. The myth that 90% of sex offenders will re-offend is exactly that, a myth. According to a fact sheet published by the National Center on Institutions and Alternative Sentencing, 87% of once-caught sex offenders do not go on to be re-arrested for a subsequent new sex offense. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t see a report on the evening news about someone being arrested for a sex crime. Generally our impression is, “another sex offender being re-arrested.” However, if you listen closely, you will usually find this is not a convicted sex offender, but a new offender. While the nay sayers in the news media and some legislators continue to propagate the myth of high recidivism for convicted sex offenders, their reporting is not based on corroborative data. NCIA’s information shows that their recidivism figures have been substantiated by multiple studies. The problem is our legislators have, on the basis of the aforementioned myth, passed laws that make it extremely difficult for once convicted sex offenders to find housing and employment. To add to the dilemma, local administrators of the zoning codes and the general public have been so influenced by these myths, that ministries that have the capability of assisting these people are not able to function.
Are you aware of the problems these men face in attempting to find employment and housing once they are released? Immediately upon release from prison a sex offender must register at the driver’s license office. This is so they can be listed in a national database. Every time they move they must re-register within 24 hours. They must also report to the local Sheriff’s office and their probation office. The Sheriff’s office puts a notice in the local newspaper as to where they will be living, and often announces this information on a local TV station. This information is also put on an Internet database that can be accessed by anyone who has an interest. Sheriff Deputies usually canvass the area where this individual will be living and warn the neighbors that this “dangerous” sex-offender is moving into their neighborhood. If their crime involved a minor child, they are not permitted to live within 1,000 feet of any place where children congregate. This includes schools, parks, churches, daycare centers, etc. Can you imagine how difficult it is for them to find a residence that doesn’t have any of these places within 1,000 feet? The latest law passed by our misinformed Florida legislators says that they cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop. This has tightened the noose on numerous former sex offenders that were living productive lives in our communities. Come let us reason together. Does anyone think for one minute that placing a 1,000-foot invisible barrier from where there might be unattended children is going to deter anyone bent on harming our children? A sexual predator is not likely to commit crimes that close to where he lives! Recently in Okeechobee we became involved in three incidences where former sex offenders that had secured housing were ordered to move within 24 hours or be arrested because it was found that they were in violation of this new law. In one incident Sheriff Deputies were ready to put handcuffs on the man before we were able to intervene. These men would have gone to jail if we had not been able to help them.
Look for a moment at the notification done by law enforcement. Now I ask you, if you were a landlord would you want to risk the wrath of your neighbors if you rented to one who is so branded? I have grandchildren, and if there is a dangerous sexual predator in the area, I certainly want to know it. But only a very small minority of those convicted of sex crimes are dangerous predators. While these laws are not really doing anything to protect our children, they make it extremely difficult for these individuals to find housing.
I have only listed a few of the conditions these our citizens are facing. There are others that also make it extremely difficult for them to make a successful transition back into our communities. I submit that these strong arm methods are not helping to keep these men from re-offending but driving many into despair making them more likely to re-offend. Rather than making it easier to monitor their activities, we are forcing many of these men to abandon their attempts to conform to these oppressive conditions and go underground. When that happens, we have defeated the purpose for which these laws were passed. We have lost the ability to monitor their activities.
A few years ago we would hear accounts of how communist governments had become police states that monitored every movement of their citizens. We were appalled. Is what we are doing to this segment of our society any less oppressive?
Continually harassing those who are truly repentant for their past sins, is not going to protect our children from sex offenders. If you really want to know how to protect your children visit our web site www.matthew25ministries.org and read our article on Sex Offenders on the link “Dick’s Writings.”
Fifty years ago a handful of people started a sexual revolution. They declared we should break off the bonds of sexual restraint and we started down a slippery slope. Their cry was for “sexual freedom.” Sex never was free, and today we are paying the price for opening the door that has led to so much depravity. We need to get back to the moral values that this nation had 50 years ago, where sex wasn’t being promoted in every media and marriage and family were honored. We need a new sexual revolution. We need to make a radical 180-degree change and get back to sexual purity.
In the year 2000 we had established an aftercare program to assist ex-offenders who had been charged with committing sexual crimes. We were very successful in operating that program until a zoning problem forced us to close in 2003. Given only 10 days to close our facility, neither our clients nor our staff was able to find housing in any county that was acceptable by the Probation Department for the 14 men we had to relocate. It was very difficult to find either a program or a housing situation that probation officers would approve. This is a national problem. We have a chance to be in the forefront of addressing this problem. With your help we will overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of our assisting those who want to become productive citizens.
We’re not just talking about statistics, but people’s lives. In our sex saturated society it is not uncommon for one to become involved in activities that would lead them to cross over the line and commit a sex crime. Often these offenders are so devastated once their crimes are discovered that they cry out to God for help. I serve a God that hears these types of cries and He is a God of grace and mercy for all men. Yes, even for convicted sex offenders. I have been involved in prison ministry since 1990 and have ministered to hundreds of these men and know of their sincerity in wanting to live lives that are pleasing to God. When this person completes his sentence and tries to find a support group that will help him overcome the hurdles he must face, usually he finds all doors have been closed.
If you have any questions about the content of this article, or the opportunities of assisting ex-offenders as they transition from prison back into our communities, contact:
Rev. R.D. Witherow
(561) 670-5564