SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is changing its residency restrictions for sex offender parolees in response to a decision last month by the state Supreme Court.
The justices, and the department, said the requirement imposed by a 2006 ballot measure left too many offenders unable to find permanent homes. That greatly increased the number of transient offenders, making them more difficult to supervise. Parole agents monitor 6,000 sex offenders.
There were 1,448 transient sex offender parolees statewide as of Feb. 28, about half of whom are considered to be child molesters, according to the department. It released a breakdown of transient sex offender parolees for each county as of that date.
The ballot measure known as Jessica's Law required all sex offenders to live at least 2,000 feet from a school or park where children gather. The department will now use that standard only for offenders whose sex crimes involved children, in keeping with the high court's ruling.
County Number of transient sex offenders
Alameda 148
Alpine 0
Amador 0
Butte 14
Calaveras 2
Colusa 0
Contra Costa 34
Del Norte 6
El Dorado 6
Fresno 60
Glenn 0
Humboldt 10
Imperial 1
Inyo 0
Kern 11
Kings 14
Lake 6
Lassen 3
Los Angeles 167
Madera 4
Marin 8
Mariposa 0
Mendocino 9
Merced 11
Modoc 0
Mono 0
Monterey 23
