Frequently Asked Questions

In June of 2006, Suffolk County passed a Residency Restriction Law for Sex Offenders. The law states that sex offenders cannot reside within a ¼ mile of schools, parks, day care centers and nursery schools.

In an effort to enforce the Residency Restriction Law for Sex Offenders, the Town of Babylon developed an enforcement mechanism through the office of the Quality of Life Taskforce (QOLT). The new enforcement initiative utilizes the Town’s Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping technology to track sex offenders to determine whether they are in violation of the County residency restriction law which states that sex offenders cannot reside within a ¼ mile of schools, parks, day care centers and nursery schools.

Members of the Quality of Life Taskforce compiled a comprehensive list of all schools, parks, day care centers (inclusive of home based businesses) and nursery schools and plotted this information on the GIS Sex Offender Map. In addition, all level 2 and level 3 sex offenders (those being the most serious offenders) living in the Town of Babylon were identified using the NYS Sex Offender Registry. The addresses were inputted into the system and those individuals who were living in violation of the County residency restriction law were immediately identified.

A Quality of Life Task Force (QOLT) member monitors the registry for Levels 2 and 3 (the two higher levels; level one is the least serious) sex offenders on a daily basis, checking for individuals who have been added or deleted from the list. If there are new offenders, a QOLT member makes an entry into a log book and then checks Town records for any possible violations. The information about the sex offender is also immediately forwarded to the Town’s GIS operator to determine if there is a violation of the County’s residency restriction law. The Director of QOLT assigns the case to an inspector. In addition, the Town sends a monthly report and GIS Map, indicating the location of each offender, to every school district located within the Town of Babylon notifying them of the findings and assisting them with their district’s alert to the parents of school age children. Further, the Town will notify each school district of the arrival of a new offender, daily.

If a sex offender is found to be living in a restricted area, notification letters are sent to the offender, the homeowner, and the Suffolk County Police Department. If the offender is also living in illegal housing, summonses are issued to both the offender and the property owner. Summonses will also be issued to the owner of the property for any other violations found during the investigation. Although the Town has no enforcement jurisdiction within the three villages, the Town follows the same notification process in each of these communities. An inspector from QOLT is assigned to each offender who is currently violating the residency restriction law. The inspector is charged with visiting the location and confirming the residency status as well as issuing summonses for any violations that have been found.

Under the County Law, sex offenders who were released from prison prior to enactment of the law are exempt from its provisions and are therefore, considered "grandfathered".

If a sex offender is living in a non-restricted area, the Town conducts an investigation to determine if the residence is owned by the offender or, if it is a rental, whether a valid rental permit has been issued. The Town will also check for any outstanding violations on the property.

From time to time, the Town receives information, by e-mail, from the Suffolk County Police on Level 1 offenders. The information is limited to the offender’s name and a description of offense. No address is provided. Even without an address, QOLT makes an effort to find out any additional information about the offender.

Periodically, the Town's Quality of Life Task Force (QOLT) conducts a comprehensive investigation of all sex offenders registered in the Town. QOLT inspectors are sent out to verify that every sex offender, including grandfathered offenders, are still residing where they have registered and if violations have been corrected.

Based on the investigations by Quality of Life Task Force (QOLT), evidence exists that the system established to provide information to residents about protecting their families from sex offenders is deficient. The investigation also raises the question as to whether residency restriction laws are producing negative unintended consequences. Currently 57% of the sex offenders registered in the Town are living in restricted areas. While some of these individuals are grandfathered under the current law, this high percentage may reflect the very limited area available within the town where sex offenders may legally reside. This number combined with the fact that numerous sex offenders are not living in their registered locations could be an indication that offenders are purposefully avoiding the registration requirements under Megan’s Law.

Specific recommendations from the Quality of Life Task Force include:

• A statewide analysis should be commissioned to examine the effectiveness of residency restriction laws in protecting children and in preventing or reducing the incidence of sex crimes. The study should also consider whether such laws have produced any unintended consequences such as forcing sex offenders underground.
• The process of community notification should be strengthened. Community notification should be standardized across the state and a requirement for direct notification to residents by local law enforcement should be made mandatory.
• The process of verification should be strengthened. Verification teams should be established and/or strengthened within local law enforcement agencies throughout the state to confirm on a regular basis, that sex offenders are living at the location indicated on the registry.

Megan’s Law exists to alert residents about the location of a sex offender within their neighborhood so that they can take whatever lawful precautions they deem appropriate to protect themselves and their families. Individual states decide what information will be made available and how the community should be notified, i.e. the development of a notification system/plan. On a federal level, it also requires persons convicted of sex crimes against children to notify local law enforcement of any change of address or employment after release from custody.