7 November 5-11, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | K enny spent his first couple of nights out of prison sleeping in a Wal- greens parking lot on North Fed- eral Highway. It’s one of the few places he can legally spend the night after serving his time. The Hollywood native in his 50s still considers himself better off than some. His crime hasn’t pre- vented him from holding down a job, which he needs to afford the camper he now lives out of while confined to a narrow strip of Bro- ward County each night between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., along with dozens of other men. Oth- ers in Kenny’s position told New Times they’re essentially being forced to live in noc- turnal parking lot homeless encampments. Their circumstances are the result of a patchwork of residency restrictions that leave registered sex offenders with few legal places to live, even after they’ve completed their prison sentences. Serial drunk drivers, sex offenders, fentanyl dealers, million-dollar fraudsters, murderers — no category of formerly incarcerated people faces restrictions like those Florida imposes on registered sex offenders, who carry a designa- tion on their driver’s licenses and face strict limits on where they can live. The state and lo- cal governments bar many of them from living near schools, playgrounds, parks and pools. The laws are intended to protect the public, particularly children, from people convicted of sexual offenses. Across South Florida, overlap- ping state and local restrictions effectively push registered offenders into tiny slivers of the map. Many of these men — and in Florida, the registry is 98% men — sleep in cars, camp- ers and makeshift homeless encampments. The question of how to re-integrate these men into society has no simple answers, only varying levels of uncomfortable choices. But in their effort to protect people, governments may find their punitive restrictions have gone too far. Experts who study recidivism and public safety say these laws are now so strict they’re likely to work against public safety. By effectively creating a homeless population on the edge of desperation, these measures im- pose burdens that research shows may keep these men trapped on the streets — unable to work, unable to rebuild stable lives. In Broward County, the consequences are visible in two Fort Lauderdale homeless en- campments, where registered sex offenders spend their nights in vehicles parked in the scanty areas where they’re legally permitted to reside. New Times visited both encampments in October as part of a months-long examina- tion of Florida’s sex offender residency laws and their impact on South Florida. Several men living at the encampments described the difficulty of finding permanent housing while complying with restrictions that can follow them for life. Their convictions vary, as do the circumstances that landed them on the state’s registry. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the state main- tains records on more than 72,000 registered sexual offenders and 17,000 sexual predators. The registry encompasses a wide range of of- fenses, including sexual battery, offenses in- volving sexual contact with minors and possession of child sexual abuse material. Advocates and researchers question whether broad residency restrictions meaning- fully reduce sexual re-offending. Supporters of these laws maintain that they provide impor- tant protections for children and families. The debate has gained new urgency after lawmakers enacted additional restrictions over the summer and a federal lawsuit filed by the Florida Action Committee (FAC), a group that aims to inform the public about the sex offender registry, challenged several residency requirements as unconsti- >> p8 Photo by Kristin Bjornsen A parking lot at the intersection of Federal Highway and NE 26 St. in Fort Lauderdale, where registered sex offenders check in nightly. “LIKE LEPERS” A new state law gives sex offenders nowhere to go in South Florida. BY B. SCOTT MCLENDON