Should Registered Sex Offenders Be Banned From Cerritos Parks?

After recommendation from the Community Safety Committee and the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Cerritos City Council will tonight consider banning registered sex offenders from all city parks. 

The issue was first discussed in depth at the Jan. 18 Community Safety Committee meeting, where the committee voted in favor (8-1) to recommending an ordinance fashioned after the city of Irvine, which narrows the scope to banning only sex offenders convicted of crimes against minors from being on park grounds.

But during a recent Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, a proposal was made to create a blanket ordinance that prohibits all registered sex offenders from entering city parks.

Cerritos is home to more than 20 parks, including , , , and  along with other smaller neighborhood parks scattered throughout residential areas in the city.

"Whatever the decision, I hope the council goes forward with this," local resident Jay Kim told Patch. "I bring my kids to the park all the time, just like all the other parents I see. And it would be good to know our children are safe from known sexual predators at all times."

The 's Special Assignment team conducts periodic sex offender compliance checks. The station also has one detective who deals with the city's registered sex offenders, which currently stands at 26, Mike Yach, the city's community mobile officer said at the Jan. 18 meeting.

WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK IN THE COMMENTS SECTION

The Cerritos City Council should:

• ban all registered sex offenders from entering city parks
• create a park ordinance that applies only to registered sex offenders convicted of crimes involving minors
• do nothing at all if it hasn't been a problem thus far