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ABSTRACT
In recent decades, the number of individuals on sex offender registries has increased, many of whom are subject to codified residency restrictions that forbid residing within certain geographic locations and therefore limit viable housing options. As a result, many convicted sex offenders struggle with unstable housing and homelessness. While there is a growing body of research concerning residency restrictions and unstable housing among sex offenders, no study, to our knowledge, has explored whether the association between residency restrictions and homelessness is stronger for Black and Hispanic registrants. Using data from the Chicago Sex Offender Registry, this study examined of the relationship between residency restrictions and sex offender homelessness. Registrants subject to residency restrictions had a substantially higher risk of homelessness than their counterparts. Furthermore, residency restriction status and race interacted in their association with homelessness, such that the deleterious impact of residency restrictions was magnified for Black registrants. The results of the analyses demonstrate that Black sex offender registrants disproportionately disadvantaged by residency restrictions and highlight the importance of developing evidence-based monitoring strategies that prevent and end homelessness among convicted sex offenders.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. We use the term Hispanic to refer to registrants of Latin American origin, which is the term used in the Chicago Sex Offender Registry, and consistent with a recent Pew Research Center survey that found that the majority of those of Latin American descent preferred the term Hispanic (61%), followed by Latino/Latina (29%), and Latinx (3%) (Noe-Bustamante, Mora, & Lopez, Citation2020).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Emily Suiter
Emily Suiter is a doctoral student in criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina. She received her master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice in 2020 from the University of South Carolina. Her research interests include mental health, specialty courts, and public opinion.
Tia S. Andersen
Tia S. Andersen is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina. She received her PhD in 2013 from Michigan State University. Her research interests include mentoring, juvenile delinquency, and juvenile justice system processing.