The most-read post of 2014 on this blog is about University of Nebraska-Omaha research showing that the state’s sex-offender laws and policies deprive people of their homes, jobs and family support systems.
Even though former sex offenders have an extremely low rate of reoffense, one of the best ways to increase the likelihood of reoffense is to have laws like those in Nebraska, which gratuitously disrupt former offenders’ lives and compromise public safety.
Communities often rush headlong into passing residency restrictions for former offenders, thus making those community leaders a part of the problem.
In North Carolina, the state Department of Public safety has chosen instead to be part of the solution, taking action to ensure that former offenders coming out of prison have a place to live where they may begin stablizing their lives. Read about it here.