Lynn law restricting predators stalls out

LYNN – Convicted sex offenders living in Lynn may have felt a tingle of panic last summer when the City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting them from residing within 1,500 feet of a school, park, playground, church or daycare center.As it turned out, any worrying on the part of these social predators may have been for naught because the local law was never enforced despite the high degree of political grandstanding and lengthy public discussion.Police Lt. Vernon Coleman, in charge of registering convicted sex offenders in Lynn, explained last week that the Police Department hasn’t acted because the convicts on the list were not notified by the city that they are in violation and must relocate.”The Police Department has not taken any enforcement action in regards to this ordinance for a number of reasons,” Coleman said. “All penalties noted in the ordinance are non-criminal and it is vague as to which department has enforcement authority. Additionally, it’s our understanding that letters notifying possible violators have not yet been sent out by the city and that work continues in City Hall on a map listing not only all parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities, but also all churches, schools and daycare facilities.”The restrictions contained in the ordinance apply to Level 3 sex offenders – those convicted of the most heinous crimes and considered incorrigible, with a 95 percent chance of recidivism.At last count in 2009, Lynn was home to 71 Level 3s, a number expected to remain static when the 2010 list is released by Lynn police. Those convicted of lesser sex crimes are classified as Level 1 or 2 offenders, while the worst are labeled as Sexually Violent Predators.City attorney James Lamanna said Tuesday that implementing the law only begins with receipt of an updated list of Level 3 sex offenders. Since daycare centers were added to the places sex offenders must not live near, creating an enforcement map became more complicated.Lynn has more than 1,000 state-licensed daycare centers. Each must be plotted on the map. City engineers must measure the distance from the epicenter of each daycare center to the address of the nearest Level 3 sex offender to determine if that resident is in violation of the ordinance.The same process must be done for every park, playground, church and school. Lynn has 25 schools.Ordering a Level 3 sex offender to move from an address because it’s in violation of the ordinance already has caught the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).Lamanna said letters of notification, once sent, would basically inform the resident that he or she must find another address that is not in violation. However, that seemingly clear-cut process can become more complex when the resident in question owns the property.Attorney John Reinstein, legal director for the ACLU’s Boston office, has contacted the city Law Department with a request to review the letters before they are sent out, said Lamanna, adding, “The letters will be sent fairly soon, but the ACLU attorney wants the opportunity to represent the residents in court before they move out.”Civil rights issues could emerge if the city orders a person to vacate their own property. According to Lamanna, “the city could ultimately be found liable and have to pay for the home. So there’s still leg work that needs to be done, including the introduction of the daycare centers.”As for which city agency should be responsible for sending out the letters of notification, Lamanna said the City Council may have to make that determination since the Police Department maintains the ordinance is unclear in that regard.”As the ordinance is written today, it does not indicate who will send out the letters,” Lamanna said. “The council may wish to assign that responsibility to our office, the city clerk’s office, or the Police Department. There could be as many as 69 letters.”City Council President Timothy Phelan said Tuesday the fact that the letters of noti