A New Trend and Policy Implications of Sex Offender Registration and Notification in the United States

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.

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Collateral Consequences of Juvenile Sex Offender Registration and Notification

Sexual Abuse ◽

10.1177/1079063215574004 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 28 (8) ◽

pp. 770-790 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Andrew J. Harris ◽

Scott M. Walfield ◽

Ryan T. Shields ◽

Elizabeth J. Letourneau

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Sex Offender ◽

Research Policy ◽

The United States ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Treatment Modalities ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Sex Offender Registration ◽

Collateral Consequences ◽

Treatment Providers

Among many in the research, policy, and practice communities, the application of sex offender registration and notification (SORN) to juveniles who sexually offend (JSO) has raised ongoing concerns regarding the potential collateral impacts on youths’ social, mental health, and academic adjustment. To date, however, no published research has systematically examined these types of collateral consequences of juvenile SORN. Based on a survey of a national sample of treatment providers in the United States, this study investigates the perceived impact of registration and notification on JSO across five key domains: mental health, harassment and unfair treatment, school problems, living instability, and risk of reoffending. Results indicate that treatment providers overwhelmingly perceive negative consequences associated with registration with an incremental effect of notification indicating even greater concern across all five domains. Providers’ demographics, treatment modalities, and client profile did not influence their perceptions of the collateral consequences suggesting that provider concern about the potential harm of SORN applied to juveniles is robust. Policy implications are discussed.

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State Implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

Justice Research and Policy ◽

10.1177/1525107117745645 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 24-47

Author(s):

Andrew J. Harris ◽

Scott Walfield ◽

Christopher Lobanov-Rostovsky ◽

Michelle A. Cubellis

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Title I ◽

Child Protection ◽

Sex Offender ◽

State Level ◽

The United States ◽

Multidimensional Analysis ◽

Department Of Justice ◽

Sex Offender Registration ◽

The U.S

The 2006 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, established federal standards related to the content and operation of sex offender registration and notification systems across the United States. As of early 2017, over a decade following passage, 18 of 50 states had been designated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as having substantially implemented SORNA—figures that might be initially interpreted as indicators of a failed policy. Yet a closer analysis suggests that SORNA implementation is complex and multifaceted and that viewing the policy’s “success” through such a binary prism may be inherently limited. In this context, the current study offers a multidimensional analysis of state-level SORNA implementation based on data abstracted from DOJ records. Findings indicate that many aspects of SORNA have been universally or widely implemented, that most states have adopted policies that are consistent with a majority of SORNA standards, and that barriers to SORNA implementation are concentrated among a limited subset of issues, notably those related to retroactive application, registration of juveniles, and means of classifying registrants. Implications for state and federal policy governing sex offender registration are discussed.

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Surveillance and Entanglement: How mandatory sex offender registration impacts criminalised survivors of human trafficking

Anti-Trafficking Review ◽

10.14197/atr.2012201410 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 125-130

Author(s):

Kate Mogulescu ◽

Leigh Goodmark

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Human Trafficking ◽

Sex Offender ◽

The United States ◽

Criminal Record ◽

Sex Industry ◽

Sex Offender Registration ◽

Short Article ◽

Prosecution Strategies ◽

New Community

This short article describes how some victims of human trafficking in the sex industry in the United States are prosecuted alongside traffickers and put on sex offender registries. The result is both a criminal record and an indefinite digital mark that limits their ability to find a job, settle in a new community, and see their children. The article concludes with a call for a careful, critical look at the system of sex offender registries and, more broadly, policing and prosecution strategies, including in cases of human trafficking, in the United States.

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

Criminal Justice Policy Review ◽

10.1177/0887403415627195 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 258-279 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

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.

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

Law & Social Inquiry ◽

10.1111/lsi.12189 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 41 (03) ◽

pp. 573-594 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

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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