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Visualized — New Bill Would Force Sex Offenders Out Of St. Paul
- Date: March 31, 2016
Originally published by The Chronicle of Higher Education at https://www.twincities.com/2016/03/31/bill-would-bar-sex-offenders-from-living-near-parks-or-almost-anywhere-in-the-twin-cities/ [Archived]
Reason for republication: Degraded Assets
Excerpted:
A bill that would further restrict where the state’s most serious sex offenders could live — and give cities and counties the ability to restrict them even more — is progressing in the Legislature.
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Currently, “Level 3” sex offenders — the most likely to re-offend — cannot live “near” schools, according to state law. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jim Newberger, R-Becker, and put before the House’s public safety committee on Tuesday, would expand that restrictions to parks, as well as “other locations frequented by children.”
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But in places like St. Paul — with a dense concentration of parks — that’s largely what the language would do.
In St. Paul, roughly 97 percent of all properties are within a half-mile of a park. In Minneapolis, the total is 95 percent, city officials said.