Mayor concerned about sex offenders housed at shelter

CRANSTON, R.I.—Cranston Mayor Allan Fung is increasing patrols in the Brayton Park and the Glen Hills neighborhoods after officials announced to increase the number of sex offenders housed at a homeless shelter located across the street.

“Right now, for safety reasons we need to have strong police presence and visibility in the neighborhood,“ Fung said.

Two weeks ago, officials from the Urban League of Rhode Island, the Cranston and Providence police departments and the state corrections department determined that convicted sex offenders without a home, once released, should be equally distributed back into communities.

Harrington Hall, a homeless shelter on the John O. Pastore Complex, is operated by the Urban League. It sits across the street from the Brayton Park and the Glen Hills neighborhoods.

Fung said he wasn’t aware of the meeting until concerned residents started flooding his office with calls worried about sex offenders at the homeless shelter and the likelihood of a repeat offense.

“It’s not a (not in my backyard) issue. It’s a safety issue and a communication issue,“ Fung said.

The Urban League told NBC 10 that sex offenders have been housed at Harrington Hall for years. Fung said that’s news to him.

“If that has been the case and people aren’t doing their jobs, I want some heads to roll,“ Fung said. “We should have been properly notified that this was going on.“

The mayor said he’s checking to see if a law put in place last year that severely restricted where sex offenders can live is having an impact on the greater influx of offenders coming to Cranston.

“If that’s part of it, we need to find out and address that through law changes,“ Fung said.