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'Child Safety Zones' approved

A new county ordinance aims to keep sexual predators 300 feet from child gathering spots.

By BILL VARIAN
Published March 22, 2007

TAMPA - It will soon be illegal in Hillsborough County for convicted sexual predators to linger near schools, playgrounds and other places where children gather.

Hillsborough commissioners unanimously passed a new law Wednesday creating so-called Child Safety Zones, 300-foot buffers around child gathering spots where sexual predators are prohibited.

"We need to do everything we can to protect our children," said Commissioner Ken Hagan, who proposed and pushed for the protection zones. "We have created a unique, effective way to give our children the protection they deserve."

Commissioners passed the ordinance after a public hearing at which no one showed up to speak. The Tampa City Council is scheduled to discuss a similar measure today in an effort to have a relatively uniform set of guidelines for predators in Hillsborough County.

The county ordinance, which should go into effect within the next few weeks, also bars designated predators from going near such nonfixed spots as school bus stops and traveling fairs.

Those caught could face a fine of up to $500 and up to two months in jail.

The law does not apply to all of the roughly 1,300 people in Hillsborough County listed as registered sex offenders. It applies only to people who are considered among the most dangerous subset known as predators, and, specifically, those who committed sex crimes against children.

There are currently 124 listed predators in Hillsborough County, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site.

Commissioner Brian Blair said the effort should work well with an initiative he helped start a year ago to post sex offender photos in parks near where they live. He said the photos don't appear in all parks and asked county administration to ensure the policy is applied uniformly across the county.

"When you create awareness that there are bad guys around, that's a good thing," Blair said.

Hagan said the need for his initiative was underscored by an e-mail a fellow youth league coach shared with him recently. In it, a woman relates an incident she witnessed that alarmed her.

While at a West Tampa baseball field around 1 p.m. a few weeks ago, she noticed two boys walking off with an unfamiliar man. She got one of the "deep-voiced" coaches to call after them.

The boys returned and related that the man had just offered them $10 each to help him look for a lost iPod. The man ran off before she could get someone to go after him.

"That's the reason I pushed so hard for this," Hagan said.

Bill Varian can be reached at 813 226-3387 or varian@sptimes.com.

[Last modified March 22, 2007, 06:42:50]