A 2005 New York law that made it illegal for sex offenders to live within 1,000 feet of a school has led the state to keep many of them in prison beyond their release dates. A significant number of prisoners, particularly sex offenders with housing restrictions, end up in homeless shelters. Out of 270 shelters in New York City, only 14 are eligible to receive sex offenders due to proximity to schools. As a result of overcrowding at the shelters and prohibitions on living near schools, the state has decided to 1010 offenders in prison.
