Making Sense of Crime, Policy and Values- Sex Offender Laws
The effectiveness of sex offender registrations and what do individuals do with that information, are questions that are being raised. We know that parents often seek information on individuals who they feel may pose a risk to their children. Whether it is a babysitter or the teenage boy next door, these parents find information by frequenting the sex offender registry. Sarah Tofte, one of the authors of the Human Rights Watch suggests, that the laws are written so broadly that even individuals who have not necessarily committed a sex crime have to register as a sex offender. If an individual urinate or expose oneself in public, that individual has to register as a sex offender and will be portrayed as such to parents and other individuals who view the registry. Some individuals who are placed on sex registrations are registered from 10 years to even lifetime registration. 87% of sex crimes committed over the year are committed by offenders who have never committed a sexual offense before.
Sex laws may be doing more harm than good because they are based on myths. Laws need to be tailored to depict if these individuals pose as a risk to individuals. Sarah Tofte also
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Registered sex offenders who did not commit an actual sexual assault, are still subjected to being ridiculed and sometime victims of violence. An individual who urinates in public is classified as the same as an individual who committed rape. Even if an individual pleads no contest, they still have to register on the sex offender list. Sex offender policies unfairly targets juveniles because their victims are young. However, because they are young, their victims will tend to be younger. However, when an individual has sex with a younger child regardless of the offender’s age at the time of the offense, they are still viewed as