To announce her proposal to begin random address checks of registered sex offenders, Suffolk Legis. Kate Browning paid a visit to the neighborhood with the highest concentration of offenders on Long Island. Homestead Drive, the Gordon Heights street where Browning and other officials gathered on November 27 for a news conference, is home to 29 registered Level 2 and 3 sex offenders. The Gordon Heights area has 65 by the civic association's latest count. The proposed law would have sheriff's deputies randomly check up on registered sex offenders in Suffolk to ensure the accuracy of the address that, by law, they must report to authorities.
Just one day after touting the bill, Legis. Browning was forced to stall its consideration, after a police union declared that the task legally belongs to its members. Some sex offenders are required to register with the county police department. Historically, the detectives are the officials who verify that the offenders live at addresses they indicated. Shifting that function legislatively would violate labor relations law.
(New York)