County may ban sex offenders from parks
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Franklin Hayes/Gulf Breeze News Gulf Breeze resident Stephanie Parrish swings her daughter at Swenson Park near Bay Street. Parrish sounded relieved to hear that county government may soon ban sex offenders from county parks.

The county's parks may get a little bit safer as Santa Rosa County Commissioners are considering an ordinance banning sex offenders and predators from parks. The ordinance would impose a second-degree misdemeanor on any registered sexual offender or sexual predator who is caught entering or occupying a county maintained park.

"My hope being that this will land [sex offenders] back into a whirlwind of court activity and put them back in jail so we don't have to worry about them for a while," said County Commissioner Gordon Goodin, who originally made the motion to create the ordinance in October.

The ordinance was developed following an incident in September 2006 when a registered sex offender attempted to lure a 4-year-old boy from a park to his home in Navarre.

When asked her opinion of the proposed ordinance, Gulf Breeze resident and mother Stephanie Parrish said, "I would prefer that so I wouldn't have to worry about the kids."

"I don't think [sex offenders] should be here," said Don Puckett, father of three, as he played with his children in Swenson Park near Bay Street. Puckett was surprised by the proposed ordinance, saying he thought there was already a similar law on the books.

"I always thought there was an understanding that they shouldn't be here," he said.

In the state of Florida, sexual offenders are required to register with law enforcement and must update their personal information, such as their address, every time they move. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) keeps a database of all registered sex offenders that is available to the public online at http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/of fender/. Citizens can search the database by name and physical address. According to a press released issued by the FDLE in 2006, out of the estimated 39,000 offenders listed on the web site, currently about 25,000 are living outside of prison.

"Maybe they should have some kind of community watch," Parrish said. "People that live around the park could watch for suspicious cars."

Using the convenience of the Internet, community leaders could go one step further and look for specific vehicles thanks to a new program launched in 2006. In July of last year, FDLE officials kicked off a new initiative that allows residents to view vehicles and vessels registered to specific offenders. When viewing an offender's updated information on the FDLE website, residents now have access to a user-friendly tab that shows up-to-date information provided by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The information includes the make, tag number, color, type and year of vehicles and vessels. FDLE officials estimate that more than 18,000 registered sex offenders also have registered vehicles or vessels.

As county commissioners discussed the specifics of the new ordinance, Commissioner John Broxson added that he would like to see the law include murderers, rapists and convicted terrorists.

"We want to protect our children from every situation that might be a threat to them," he said.

The board agreed to schedule a public hearing for the ordinance on Jan.25 at 9:30 a.m. at the County Administrative Center in the Commissioner's Board Room located at 6495 Caroline Street, Milton.