Deciding Where Sex Offenders Can Live

Residency restrictions create zones where sex offenders can and cannot live. Some laws are so restrictive that sex offenders become homeless, go underground or report false addresses — and thus become impossible to track.

Researchers have used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map communities to see whether sex offenders will be able to find housing, and where.  Officials have also used GIS to track registered sex offenders and determine if they are living in compliant sections of the community. Conducting a GIS analysis before a law is passed can show whether enforcing it will be feasible.

Read a short report (pdf, 2 pages) on how researchers mapped data from three states to locate registered offenders and identify restricted sites and their exclusion zones.