scholarly journals The War on Sex Offenders: Community Notification in Perspective

2001 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn Hinds ◽  
Kathleen Daly
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Notification ◽  
Megan's Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Campaign ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Naming And Shaming

This article explores the contemporary phenomenon of “naming and shaming” sex offenders. Community notification laws, popularly known as Megan's Law, which authorise the public disclosure of the identity of convicted sex offenders to the community in which they live, were enacted throughout the United States in the 1990s. A public campaign to introduce “Sarah's Law” has recently been launched in Britain, following the death of eight-year old Sarah Payne. Why are sex offenders, and certain categories of sex offenders, singled out as targets of community notification laws? What explains historical variability in the form that sex offender laws take? We address these questions by reviewing the sexual psychopath laws enacted in the United States in the 1930s and 40s and the sexual predator and community notification laws of the 1990s, comparing recent developments in the United States with those in Britain, Canada, and Australia. We consider arguments by Garland, O'Malley, Pratt, and others on how community notification, and the control of sex offenders more generally, can be explained; and we speculate on the likelihood that Australia will adopt community notification laws.

‘Y’all need to hide your kids, hide your wife’: Mobile applications, risk and sex offender databases

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 2469-2484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharif Mowlabocus
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mobile Mapping ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This article reflects upon recent developments in sex offender tracking and monitoring. Taking as its focus a suite of mobile applications available for use in the United States, the author explores the impact and consequences of remediating the data held by State offender databases. The article charts the recent history of techno-corrections as it applies to this category of criminal, before then undertaking an analysis of current remediation of this legally obtained data. In doing so, the author identifies how the recontextualizing of data serves to (re)negotiate the relationship between the user, the database and registered sex offenders. The author concludes by arguing that the (mobile) mapping of offender databases serves to obscure the original intentions of these recording mechanisms and might hinder their effectiveness in reducing sex offending.

Police officer perspectives on the implementation of a sex offender community notification scheme

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Whitting ◽  
Andrew Day ◽  
Martine Powell
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Notification ◽  
Megan's Law ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Australian State ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

Community notification statutes, popularly known as ‘Megan’s Law’, were passed in rapid succession throughout the United States following the enactment of landmark legislation in the state of Washington in 1990. Calls for the adoption of similar legislation in Australia gained momentum following the introduction of ‘limited disclosure’ schemes in the United Kingdom and, in 2012, one Australian state introduced a limited form of community notification. This study presents an analysis of in-depth interviews with specialist police officers ( N=21) who are responsible for coordinating the ongoing management, registration and monitoring of sex offenders who live in the community in this jurisdiction to understand their perspectives on the scheme’s implementation. Systematic thematic analysis revealed that the officers were particularly interested in understanding the impact that notification has on offenders, victims and the broader community, and the police agency. The practice-based wisdom distilled from these interviews is used to inform a discussion about the more widespread implementation of this type of public policy both in Australia and in other countries that may be giving this consideration.

Community Experience With Public Sex Offender Registries in the United States: A National Survey

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Harris ◽  
Rebecca Cudmore
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Community Notification ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Public Sex ◽  
Protective Actions

Since the first sex offender community notification laws in the early 1990s, the expansion of online sex offender registries (SORs) in the United States has offered Americans unprecedented access to information about previously convicted sex offenders living in their communities. Despite this, survey data suggest that relatively few citizens use SORs and that even fewer use that information for specific protective purposes. The current study examines the patterns and correlates of SOR usage among a stratified nationwide sample of 1,000 U.S. adults, offering the most extensive national assessment to date of SOR use among the U.S. public. Although 45% of the sample reported that they had accessed an SOR (higher than rates reported in previous studies), the majority had done so only once or twice, most typically out of general curiosity rather than for a specific purpose. Separating these “casual users” from those who had consulted the SOR more frequently, the study revealed significant effects related to gender, age, race, political ideology, and importance of religion. Analyses also found the most frequent users to be significantly more likely to report diminished feelings of safety as a result of viewing SOR information and to engage in protective actions, including the sharing of information with family and neighbors. Policy implications for the design and implementation of public SORs are discussed.

Shame and blame: Secondary stigma among families of convicted sex offenders

2021 ◽  
pp. 174889582110173
Author(s):  
Douglas Evans ◽  
Adam Trahan ◽  
Kaleigh Laird
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Family Members ◽  
The United States ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Sex Offender Registry

The detriment of incarceration experienced by the formerly incarcerated has been increasingly explored in the literature on reentry. A tangential but equally concerning issue that has recently received more research attention is the effect on family members of the incarcerated. The stigma of a criminal conviction is most apparent among families of convicted sex offenders, who experience consequences parallel to those of their convicted relative. Drawing from interviews with 30 individuals with a family member incarcerated for a sex offence in the United States, this study explores manifestations of stigma due to familial association. The findings suggest that families face negative treatment from social networks and criminal justice officials, engage in self-blame and that the media’s control over the narrative exacerbates family members’ experiences. Given the pervasiveness of criminal justice system contact, the rapid growth of the sex offender registry in the United States, and the millions of family members peripherally affected by one or both, justice system reforms are needed to ensure that family members are shielded from the harms of incarceration and registration.

Migration and Modern Religious Pluralism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Borja
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Religious Difference ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
American Churches

In the second half of the twentieth century, the United States enacted major changes in immigration policy that, in turn, produced dramatic changes in the ethno-racial and religious makeup of the American population. Especially after 1965, unprecedented numbers of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, animists, and ancestor-worshippers migrated to the United States, as did Asian, African, and Latino Christians who introduced new cultural diversity to American churches. During the same period, ideology of pluralism gained currency, and Americans revised their understanding of what it means to pursue harmonious relations across lines of religious difference. Ideas and practices of pluralism not only adjusted to these new conditions but also powerfully reshaped both secular and religious institutions in the United States in the process. However, despite the public embrace of pluralism, recent developments have made clear that aspirations of religious freedom and interfaith harmony have been more difficult to put into practice than many people have expected.

Sentencing high-risk sex offenders

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Harrison
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Civil Commitment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Preventive Detention ◽  
Sex Offending ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Sex Offender Legislation

This essay considers sex offender legislation in a number of countries, including England and Wales, Germany, and the United States, and details sex offender sentencing provisions in various systems. It evaluates the policies behind these laws. The essay deals with some key contemporary questions in relation to high-risk sex offending. Are policies being driven by populist punitiveness and an agenda based on public protection and preventive detention? Or are more welfare-driven goals taken into account? Particular sentences such as mandatory life and other forms of indeterminate sentencing, such as civil commitment, are evaluated and their use and efficacy considered. Whether such policies are lawful and also ethically acceptable is also evaluated.

Do Views on Sex Offending Vary by Nationality? A Comparative Analysis of Community Sentiment Toward Sex Offense Legislation in the United States and United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
pp. 0306624X2096416
Author(s):  
Devin Cowan ◽  
Kristen M. Zgoba ◽  
Rob T. Guerette ◽  
Jill S. Levenson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
International Comparisons ◽  
The United States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Sex Offense

Much attention has been paid to the examination of community sentiment regarding convicted sex offenders and the policy that governs these offenders’ behavior. This literature, however, has largely been absent of international comparisons of sex offender community sentiment. The current study seeks to fill this gap by drawing from the results of surveys ( n = 333) conducted in both the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). Results indicate that sex offender policy is generally supported in both the US and the UK. Contrary to our expectations, we found that participants from the UK were less tolerant of sex offenders residing in their neighborhoods than participants from the US. Additionally, there is support for the notion that sex offender policy holds a symbolic value for both study locations. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Sex Offender Residence Restrictions and Homelessness: A Critical Look at South Carolina

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 1119-1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deanna Cann ◽  
Deena A. Isom Scott
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Residence Restrictions ◽  
Registered Sex Offenders

Sex offender residence restrictions (SORRs) have been widely implemented across the United States since the 1990s. A common concern regarding the implementation of SORRs is the decrease in viable housing options for registered sex offenders, which could potentially lead to homelessness. The vast application of SORRs across the United States, in addition to the known association between homelessness and crime, necessitates a deeper understanding of how SORRs impact rates of homelessness among this population. Utilizing data from South Carolina’s Sex Offender Registry, this study describes patterns of homelessness among this population. Specifically, using an interrupted time series analysis, we examine whether the state’s implementation of its SORR has an effect on the proportion of registered sex offenders reported as homeless. Our findings reveal a strong association between the implementation of residence restriction policies and rates of homelessness for registered sex offenders in South Carolina. Policy implications are discussed.

Punishing Sex: Sex Offenders and the Missing Punitive Turn in Sexuality Studies

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (03) ◽  
pp. 573-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Hoppe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
State Legislatures ◽  
The United States ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Sex Offender Registration ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Recent Trends

At precisely the same time that gay and lesbian activists were securing marriage rights for same-sex couples nationwide, courts and “tough on crime” state legislatures were devising new ways to regulate sex. Despite recent estimates that over 750,000 Americans are registered sex offenders, few sexuality scholars have examined the growth of punitive policies regulating sex offenders. In this article, I draw on a unique set of data on the population of sex offenders in the United States to analyze: (1) whether recent trends in sex offender registration mirror those of corrections more generally, and (2) whether these policies disproportionally impact racial minorities. Findings reveal that sex offender registries grew dramatically between 2005 and 2013; that this growth is out of step with concurrent trends in corrections; and that black communities are disproportionately impacted. I conclude by considering whether these data reveal a new mode of “governing through crime” specifically targeting sex. It might as well be admitted that sex is a disgrace. Michael Warner (1999) There is a big secret about sex: most people don't like it. Leo Bersani (1987)

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