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Megan's Law Policy Analysis

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Policy Analysis: Megan’s Law Sexual violence, particularly against children, is a significant issue all around the world. In the early 1990’s in the United States, there were multiple well-publicized cases of sexual violence against children. From kidnappings, to rapes, and everything in between, violence was being committed against children and something needed to be done about it. In 1996, Megan’s Law was passed in response to the sexual assault and death of Megan Kanka, a seven-year-old from New Jersey (Corrigan, 2006). This law is still in effect. By looking at the historical context, goals, and results of Megan’s Law, one can see that Megan’s Law has had mixed outcomes.
Social problem A study done by Weinrott and Saylor (1991) showed …show more content…

Megan’s law was exactly that. By keeping the public informed about who their neighbors were, parents and children alike had better chances of staying safe in their neighborhoods. On July 27th, 1995, Megan’s Law was introduced in the House. No action was taken until May 6th, 1996, when the bill was added as an amendment to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement act of 1994. The house passed Megan’s Law on May 7th, 1996 and two days later the Senate passed it. On May 13th, 1996, it was presented to President Bill Clinton, who signed it on May 17th, which was the day that it became a public law. Megan’s Law remains in effect to this day (United States Congress, 1996). …show more content…

There also have been negative effects on sex offenders, particularly trying to reintegrate into society. The purpose of Megan’s law was to keep neighborhoods informed to try to decrease instances of repeat sexual offenses. Megan’s Law does keep neighborhoods informed, so in that area the law was a success. Partially because it is very hard to track, there is no data to show that Megan’s Law has decreased instances of repeat sexual offenses. More studies should be done to see if Megan’s Law is effective and if the decreased rates of sexual offenses are also decreased rates of repeated sexual

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