Meeting on Boulder's sexual predators leaves some 'more afraid'

Aug. 30--A public hearing Tuesday night on the monitoring, and lack thereof, of "sexually violent predators" in Boulder left many in the City Council chambers feeling more concerned than they were previously.

No decisions were made at the meeting, but the council expressed a clear desire to take any of a number of possible actions to reassure citizens fearful of the fact that there are four sexually violent predators -- all of whom assaulted either children or strangers -- currently living in Boulder, and largely without supervision.

City Manager Jane Brautigam and City Attorney Tom Carr said after the meeting that they expect to present the council with a proposed workplan by early October.

Council members appeared shocked during the hearing to learn that three of the four state-designated sexual predators in Boulder do not wear GPS monitors, and that three of them are housed at the homeless shelter on north Broadway without restrictions during the daytime.

There are currently 122 registered sex offenders in the city, according to police. Sex offenders are given the "predator" designation if they are convicted of sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact or sexual assault of a child from a position of trust, and if the victim was a stranger or someone the offender knew and planned to harm.

Based on risk assessment, sexually violent predators are considered more likely to reoffend.

The council was told that none of the four sexually violent predators in the city were referred to the halfway house at 23rd Street and Canyon Boulevard. Several members seemed disturbed to hear that -- as did residents who offered public comments.

"I'm more afraid than I was three months ago," Patricia DeAngelis Ratner told the council. "Shame on you. You didn't know there was a halfway house in the community?"

Others on both the council and from the public also said their worry was elevated, not assuaged, by the meeting.

Of the fact that three of the predators are living at the shelter -- an all-time high, according to shelter Director Greg Harms -- DeAngelis Ratner added, "You know there are a majority of residents in north Boulder that are scared stiff that do not want this."

Police Chief Greg Testa was joined in presenting Tuesday by a Boulder prosecutor, a state criminal justice official, a parole official and the director of the north Boulder shelter.

The council members accused the agencies they represent of failing to do the coordination work that might have resulted in more GPS monitoring, or perhaps a lower concentration at the shelter than currently exists.

"They could have been talking for years. They could have been talking for the last three months," said a visibly angry Councilman Bob Yates. "I'd like to encourage those organizations to do what they apparently should have been doing."

His "three months" line was a reference to the fact that neighbors have been voicing concerns since the spring about the shelter admitting sexually violent predators.

Yates said he found it "very frustrating" when his colleagues expressed an interest in taking a pause to better understand the issue before deciding on the steps that might lead to greater feeling of safety among residents, and particularly those living near the shelter.

Some members called for convening a working group on the issue, feeling that there was no clear right answer to find on Tuesday.

"We don't know enough to do the best thing tonight," Councilwoman Mary Young said.

She added a warning about taking any immediate action in the absence of a conversation with the halfway house staff, among other parties.

"Just because we feel less fear doesn't mean we are more safe," Young said.

In fact, the officials who addressed the council stressed that one obvious action -- an exclusionary zoning policy that would prohibit predators from living anywhere near parks or schools -- would be ill-advised.

Studies have shown that such policies don't reduce the risk of reoffense for sex offenders, and can often impede their rehabilitation if they are barred from locating somewhere they might find family or other support figures.

"It's not going to keep people safe, and it's not going to prevent them from reoffending," said Michelle Geng, from the Colorado Department of Public Safety.

"That's some pretty strong evidence."

Ahead of the meeting, District Attorney Stan Garnett said as much in a brief email to the council. Katharina Booth, Garnett's first assistant, was present on Tuesday and joined others in saying that exclusionary zoning would be unlikely to make people safer.

"Unless you're trying to get them out of the city entirely," she said, "what are we going to do in the long run? How is that going to help us actually manage them and keep them safer in the community?"

Though no votes were taken at the meeting, there did not appear to be a council majority in support of exclusionary housing.

"I hesitate to make a lot of decisions tonight," Councilwoman Jan Burton said.

"I heard very, very specific evidence that if you create exclusion zones, it increases recidivism," she added in response to a comment by Yates that he had not heard "any credible evidence that" housing restrictions can be counterproductive.

"I met with Stan and Katharina, and they have done the studies on it, and that is not something that has helped anywhere, and it also impedes progress," Burton said. "I think there's plenty of data for that."

The atmosphere on Tuesday was somber and at times tense, mainly because so many in the room were disturbed by how much they did not know about sexually violent predators in Boulder.

Some council members wondered what ability the city might have to ban these offenders from visiting public gathering spaces as an alternative to restricting their housing choices.

"A (predator) can hang out in a playground," Testa said. "They have a constitutional right to do it. That's not saying it might not be concerning."

The council is expected to revisit the issue following city staff's drafting of a workplan over the next few weeks.

"To be continued," Mayor Suzanne Jones said before adjourning the meeting.

Alex Burness: 303-473-1389, burnessa@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/alex_burness

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