Behind the Picket Fence

Pushing sex offenders to the edges of society may sound like a good way to keep communities, and especially kids, safe. But what if residency restriction laws - which are gaining ground in Massachusetts - have the opposite effect?

By Catherine Elton

May 6, 2007

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All across the state, they’re getting out their maps. Citizens and elected officials are holding meetings and proposing laws, carving up communities into zones in which convicted sex offenders may and may not live when they reenter society. They are penciling in lines around schools, day-care centers, playgrounds, and other places where children congregate in the hope of preventing repeat ... (Full article: 2640 words)