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Abstract: 

In recent years, the management of sex offenders with no stable address has attracted growing attention from policymakers and practitioners. Law enforcement and community corrections agencies have confronted operational and resource challenges associated with tracking and monitoring transient sex offenders. Specific concerns have included alleged evasion of registration and notification requirements by sex offenders purporting to have no permanent address, technical barriers to using electronic monitoring technology, and potential elevations in sex offender risk levels that may be linked to social and residential instability. Meanwhile, factors such as state and local residency restrictions, special parole and probation conditions, and bans from certain transitional housing or institutional settings have constricted the range of available housing options for many registered sex offenders. In this context, this article presents the first in a series of upcoming SLR features addressing the emerging legal and policy issues associated with responding to the challenges presented by homeless and transient sex offenders. We invite commentary and feedback from our readers on the issues and perspectives presented here.

Keywords: Sex Offender Registration and Homelessness

Affiliations:  1: Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services; 2: Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services.