EDITORIAL: Sex offender overreach

A new Suffolk County law requiring homeless sex offenders to wear GPS tracking devices if the county provides them with temporary housing sounds like tough law enforcement. But the law itself may be illegal.

Counties can't impose restrictions - like requiring the wearing of a GPS device - that conflict with the state constitution's mandate that government provide aid for the needy, including shelter for the homeless. So Suffolk has prudently asked state officials whether this law is legal. It also provides no money for monitoring and no enforcement mechanism if an offender refuses to wear a bracelet. And even if those hurdles are surmounted, a court challenge is pretty much inevitable.

The broader problem is that Suffolk has been unable to settle on a plan for housing homeless sex offenders. Controversy led officials to stop housing them in trailers and to give each $90 a day to find accommodations. Twenty to 35 homeless offenders rely on the Department of Social Services each day for help.

Registered sex offenders have 10 days to report a new address. But the homeless often don't stay in one place that long. GPS ankle bracelets are seen as another way to keep track of where they live - and where they are at all times - and that kind of monitoring is already required for some sex offenders on parole. But requiring electronic monitoring of the homeless who aren't on parole won't make anybody safer if it can't be legally implemented. hN