Title
An Ordinance to Create Section 6.027 of the West Allis Revised Municipal Code Relating to Residency Restrictions For Sex Offenders and Directing Action For Injunctive Relief for Violation Thereof.
Body
WHEREAS, the Wisconsin Statutes provide for the punishment, treatment and supervision of persons convicted or otherwise responsible for sex crimes against children, including their release into the community; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 980 of the Wisconsin Statutes provides for the civil commitment of sexually violent persons, a more dangerous type of sex offender, and specifically, at Section 980.08, Stats., following such commitment, under certain conditions, provides for the supervised release of such persons into the community; and
WHEREAS, the City of West Allis places a high priority on maintaining public safety through highly skilled and trained law enforcement, as well as dependency upon laws that deter and punish criminal behavior; and
WHEREAS, sex offenders have very high recidivism rates, and according to a 1998 report by the U.S. Department of Justice, sex offenders are the least likely to be cured and the most likely to re-offend and prey on the most innocent members of our society, and more than two-thirds of the victims of rape and sexual assault are under the age of 18 and sex offenders have a dramatically higher recidivism rate for their crimes than any other type of violent felon; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council has reviewed the findings of a number of the Legislatures of these United States, including, but not limited to, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Iowa, Florida, Maine, Louisiana and the Common Council of Franklin, Wisconsin, as they pertain to laws adopted which relate to, and in part, impose restrictions upon sex offenders with respect to residency; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council having also reviewed the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, in Doe v. Miller, 405 F.3d 700, 716 (8th Cir. 2005), provi...
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