The Michigan State Police say that the number of people required to register on the sex offender registry claiming to be homeless has jumped 62 percent since February.
This, police say, is the result of a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling in February which said homeless sex offenders were not required to register. The Appeals Court noted that the law discussed residence, and by definition, homeless offenders do not have one.The Grand Rapids Press report goes on to note that 270 sex offenders have claimed homelessness since the ruling. The register had over 45,000 people on it as of November 2009. Over 3,500 of them are juveniles.
Legislation to address homelessness and sex offender registry has passed the state Senate (see related post: MI Senator Goes After Homeless Sex Offenders)
