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Sex Offender Registries Essay

841 Words4 Pages

Currently in the United States it is a requirement by federal law that every state have sex offender registries. However, each state has different laws regarding these registries and the requirements in one state can greatly differ in another. Laws have been put into effect requiring that sex offenders place themselves on the registry without knowing if they are truly effective, and whether or not it helps in lowering recidivism rates. There are many myths surrounding sex offender registries and a large percentage of the public is greatly misinformed. Sex offender registries were created to make the public feel safer by knowing where these offenders are, but are not as effective as we may think. Surrounding the sex offender registry and …show more content…

Sex offender laws have been passed to make citizens feel safer. The idea that sex offender registries let you know where all sex offenders are is simply unrealistic. There are many factors that contribute to the ineffectiveness of these laws and policies. One of the biggest contributing factors is the fact that many offenders do not have a home or place of residence to list. Knowing where a sex offender is gives peace of mind, however not knowing where they are because they do not have a place to stay defeats the purpose of these laws entirely. How can a community feel safe if they know there is a sex offender in the area, but they do not know where they are? Another belief society has about sex offenders that is inaccurate is that they molested someone they didn’t know, when in reality the majority of sexual offenses are committed by someone the victim knew and trusted. Sex offenders are usually a trusted relative or friend to their victims. The belief that these registries are necessary to protect the general public is also untrue. A problem with this assumption is that the registries treat all offenders the same, not taking into account their risk level, severity of their crime or how they responded to treatment. These factors are all extremely important concerning these specific offenders, yet they still are not taken into account. It is another belief

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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).

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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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It is known that some individuals listed do have repeat offenses, but some offenders are reformed and live successful lives. One minor incident could haunt someone for years and impact his or her career, relationships, and community involvement. A person who wants to live a better life and be a better person may have trouble escaping the label of a sex offender (The Law Office of George Gedulin, 2017). Another major criticism is that it affects the family members of those on Megan’s Law. It might degrade the whole family's reputation, because one member is listed.

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Chapter Eight of the book Flawed Criminal Justice Policies, authors take the closer look at the laws and faulty policy regarding the sex offenders. According to the book policy makers started the myriad laws to protect the public from the sex offenders with increased prison sentences, and restricting the residences to the violators. Today we have very similar situation when it comes to treatment of sexual offenders. The process starts with the sex offender being committed to the prison sentence, and lastly to being registered as a sex offender on many public websites, so that the people could distinguish who the sex offender is and where he/she lives. In this chapter we can learn about a lot of different statues that were made to protect people from the sex offenders.

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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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This allows you to know the registered offenders and sexual predators in the locality. This also helps with public awareness and what precautions to take in order to stop these heinous acts. Using the family watchdog site is like a walk in the park; you just need to enter the area you are looking for in the search box and it will display all the offenders. A free service linked to the law agencies will have updated information on all registered and non-registered sexual offenders including their last known address.

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