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Sex Offender Registration SORA Report

2030 Words9 Pages

Sex offender registries have served the public since the first registry of California in 1947. The registry severed the purpose of monitoring the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders. Almost 50 years later, in 1994, the Jacob Wetterling Act was written into law mandating all states to maintain a sex offender registry. Amended by Congress in 1996, Megan’s Law required all law enforcement agencies to make available the convicted sex offenders information. The Adam Walsh Act, known as The Sex Offender Registration Act (SORNA) came into effect in 2006. “SORNA provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States. SORNA aims to close potential gaps and loopholes that existed under …show more content…

We have struggled to keep our communities safe, keeping our children safe, and keeping our liberty while we pursue our goals and dreams as Americans. We often have a misconception that people who commit sex crimes are strangers. While this may be true is some cases this rings far from the truth as a whole. The University of Michigan states, “Most rapes are committed by someone that the victim knows: a neighbor, friend, acquaintance, co-worker, classmate, spouse, partner, or ex-partner” ("Myths and Facts | Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center", 2016). The SORNA policy is a tool for the jurisdiction to follow when implementing a sex offender registry. The laws have utilized the first amendment right in freedom to inform. When the jurisdictions do not implement SORNA there is a lack of these jurisdiction providing society with public …show more content…

Horne and Vandervort-Clark state, “Despite numerous efforts at all levels of government, policymakers continue to struggle to identify and implement effective policies and programs that address the myriad issues related to sexual offenders and their crimes.” (Horne & Vandervort-Clark, 2010). Another differing issue that SORNA did not work well with is juvenile sex offenders. It was found and resolved by the Council of State Governments. What was stated in 2008 by the Council, “BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that The Council of State Governments strongly opposes SORNA’s application to juvenile sex offenders and urges Congress to revise the law to more accurately address the needs of juvenile offenders” (CSG Executive Committee, 2008). We may find that juveniles are of special cases when charged with a sex crime and their information should be protected and not public

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1050 Words | 5 Pages

This is because the law is overly vast when it describes what the sex offender can and cannot due over the internet. This is unfair because in today’s world almost every website use reviews and opinion based comments. Many of these websites don’t require a user to have any sort of account or username. This means that any person, including minors, are able to use this website regardless of whether or not it is allowed, and the very possibility of a minor being on a website restricts it from the use of a sex offender. An example of this is Cooks.com, this website allows users to leave comments without requiring any type of account, email, or identification.

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1758 Words | 8 Pages

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).

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2359 Words | 10 Pages

On July 29, 1994, New Jersey resident Megan Kanka was lured into the home of Jesse Timmendequas, a convicted sex offender, with promises of seeing a puppy (Corrigan, 2006). Once she entered his house, she was raped twice, strangled with a belt, and suffocated with a bag (Corrigan, 2006). Timmendequas was arrested soon after and confessed to this crime (Corrigan, 2006). This event outraged Kanka's parents and the surrounding community (Corrigan, 2006). They used this tragic death to create Megan's Law as an addition to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes against Children Violent Offender Registration Act, which required sex offenders to register within their counties (Welchans, 2005).

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2118 Words | 9 Pages

No research to date has indicated that applying harsher penalties or mandating national registries has reduced the recidivism rates among sex offenders, reduced sex trafficking against minors, nor child pornography. Despite the ongoing efforts of The Adam Walsh Act alongside other child safety acts as well, children in the United States are still perishing from sexual and physical abuse each day. According to data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), “49 States reported a total of 1,585 fatalities. Based on these data, a nationally estimated 1,670 children died from abuse or neglect in FFY 2015, which is 5.7 percent more than in 2011. This translates to a rate of 2.25 children per 100,000 children in the general population and an average of nearly five children dying every day from abuse or neglect”.(www.childwarefare.gov) Human Rights Watch shares that “the real risks that children face are quite different: government statistics indicate that most sexual abuse of children are committed by family members or trusted authority figures, and by someone who has not previously been convicted of a sex offense.

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1552 Words | 7 Pages

A final criticism is that it subjects sex offenders to indefinite punishments (Levenson,

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406 Words | 2 Pages

"In each state, laws require sex offenders to register with police or some other government agency when they leave prison" (Johnson, 1999, p.1). The key word is convicted. I live in the state of Tennessee. The TN law says a sex offender 's information is not private. I have the right to ask questions about suspected offenders.

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378 Words | 2 Pages

In the “The List”, Sarah Stillman (2017) explains how the juveniles are getting accused of sexual crimes as young as nine and are put onto these public registries humiliating them for life. Youth shouldn’t be held liable for things like these as they are not fully aware and their brain is still developing. Stillman's thesis was asserting that juveniles are accused of sexual crimes labeling them as sex offender being equal to a life sentence. The author's argument in the article is strong and convincing as she presents huge amounts of cases where youth have experienced these labels and were put on the registries. These stories were saddening as it mentioned how the sex offender list affected their life for worse as now they can not leave a normal

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1538 Words | 7 Pages

Louise Gerdes’ book presents a collection of speeches, personal reflections, and essays that discuss sexual violence. “Tracking convicted pedophiles is necessary to help law enforcement protect children from these predators with a tracking device which will alert authorities if a convicted sex offender is near a school or any other prohibited area” (Gerdes 157). Gerdes explains how much safer it would be if necessary precautions were taken, which would be a big step in the right direction regarding the prevention of sexual assault and rape. One might say a tracking device is a little excessive to be mandated to wear at all times; but these criminals should have thought about that before they committed the unspeakable acts that they've been prosecuted for. Always being able to know the exact whereabouts of sex offenders would be extremely helpful to authorities because while that sex offender is getting closer and closer to that elementary school, police will already be in pursuit and stop the potential sex offender in his/her tracks.

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748 Words | 3 Pages

Additionally, California has a law that allows citizens access to a CD-ROM with detailed information on sex offenders living in the state. The Pam Lyncher Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1996, called for a national registry of sex offenders, which allows state officials to submit queries and determine whether a job applicant at a day-care center is a registered sex offender in any of the participating states. Overall, communities have the right to be informed about the presence of sex offenders and take measures to protect themselves, such as avoiding contact with the offender or limiting their access to certain areas. However, it's worth noting that some states have more stringent laws than others when it comes to community notification and that the effectiveness of such laws in reducing the risk of recidivism among sex offenders remains a topic of

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719 Words | 3 Pages

Sources: Department Of Corrections, Washington. Sex Offender Management Assesment And Planning

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1547 Words | 7 Pages

Oklahoma State Legislature must act swiftly and with force to impact the fight. Laws already in place are being amended in an effort to reduce potential threats for adolescents in Oklahoma. For example, Oklahoma State Senator Josh Brecheen added to an already existing law to include how a person can be penalized, rather than increasing the penalty itself. “Another major change is currently sex traffickers can only be penalized if they recruit through fraud, deception or coercion. Under the new law, anyone found recruiting for sex trafficking, regardless of how they do it, will be penalized (Oklahoma State Senate).”

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1379 Words | 6 Pages

Should Sex Offenders Name be Public? It is debatable if sex offenders names should be public, some people believe is a invasion of there private life, “There is a real danger of vigilantism and publicizing their names (and the info required goes far beyond just their names) is an invasion of privacy of the wives, children and families of these offenders, which is an invasion of privacy no other class of criminal faces”(debate.org) . Others believe this is not even debatable, that Sex offenders name should be public, period, “Once somebody commits a sexual crime, they have given up their right to anonymity.

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537 Words | 3 Pages

In Texas, the sex offender registry process involves the offender registering with the local law enforcement agency where he/she resides. The agency collects the offender’s name, address, convicted offense, and obtains a color photograph of the offender. Offenders are to report with law enforcement periodically to provide any updates or changes in status such as moving prior to 7 days prior to relocating. Adult offenders have to register for life or ten years if released from prison, etc. Offenders 17 and older who have committed sexually violent offenses would be placed on lifetime registration.

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765 Words | 4 Pages

The first attempt by the U.S government to require criminals to register emerged in the 1930’s, in response to organized crime and mobsters involved in numerous criminal activities such as the illicit liquor trade, gambling, and drug trafficking. Utilization of these registration provisions was largely sporadic until the early 1990’s when such laws began reemerging albeit this time in response to a new national villain - sex offenders. California was the exception; in 1947 California became the first state requiring sex offenders to register (Megan’s Law). During the 1990’s, laws requiring that sex offenders register with authorities were quickly adopted in all 50 states, Massachusetts being the last to adopt such a law in 1996.

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292 Words | 2 Pages

America has a strict law, which protects our citizens from predators; sex offender registries are exemplifications. In the article “Protect Yourself, Family From Sex Offenders,” Rick Schneider argues that sex offender’s name should not be taken off even after they had served their time. Many can argue that registries are a good way for the government authorities to keep track, and to protect the community from any violence caused by sex offenders. For example, many people may believe the registry protects people from predators because it allows others to know where the predators are and how likely they are to strike again. On the other hand, some people consider that it is “horribly unfair” to release the names and addresses of offenders

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