scholarly journals The child protection offender register: An analysis of the proposed New Zealand child sex offender register

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca Eaton
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Current Management ◽  
Sex Offender Registry ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
A Current ◽  
Current Proposal

<p>Sex offender registries are prominent and controversial methods of managing sex offenders once released into the community. The purposes and form of these registers vary between jurisdictions. A current proposal has been made for the development and implementation of such a register in New Zealand which would focus on child sex offenders specifically. In determining whether this intervention would be justified and serve a practical purpose, this paper looks at the risk posed by child sex offenders and the current measures in place to manage this risk. This paper finds that the proposed child sex offender register will enhance the current management measures and information sharing arrangements regarding child sex offenders. Various rights and interests are affected by the implementation of a sex offender registry; the inherent tension being between freedom of expression and privacy. This paper looks at whether the current proposal achieves an appropriate balance between these rights. Whilst an appropriate balance is achieved by the register itself, this balance will have to be more carefully considered in the development of the proposed disclosure scheme.</p>

scholarly journals The child protection offender register: An analysis of the proposed New Zealand child sex offender register

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca Eaton
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Current Management ◽  
Sex Offender Registry ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
A Current ◽  
Current Proposal

<p>Sex offender registries are prominent and controversial methods of managing sex offenders once released into the community. The purposes and form of these registers vary between jurisdictions. A current proposal has been made for the development and implementation of such a register in New Zealand which would focus on child sex offenders specifically. In determining whether this intervention would be justified and serve a practical purpose, this paper looks at the risk posed by child sex offenders and the current measures in place to manage this risk. This paper finds that the proposed child sex offender register will enhance the current management measures and information sharing arrangements regarding child sex offenders. Various rights and interests are affected by the implementation of a sex offender registry; the inherent tension being between freedom of expression and privacy. This paper looks at whether the current proposal achieves an appropriate balance between these rights. Whilst an appropriate balance is achieved by the register itself, this balance will have to be more carefully considered in the development of the proposed disclosure scheme.</p>

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.

Sex Offender Risk Assessment and the Law

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip H. Witt ◽  
Joseph DelRusso ◽  
Jessica Oppenheim ◽  
Glenn Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Sexual Interest ◽  
Clinical Prediction ◽  
Current Application ◽  
Sex Offender Risk Assessment ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Sex Offender Recidivism ◽  
A Current

After discussing the historical, legal, and criminal justice context, the article reviews risk assessment principles for sex offenders. Issues of actuarial vs. clinical prediction, base-rate considerations, and duration of prediction are reviewed. The article next addresses specific factors found to predict sex offender recidivism, factors such as indicators of deviant sexual interest and an antisocial, psychopathic lifestyle. Finally, the article provides a current application in the form of New Jersey's Registrant Risk Assessment Scale to illustrate the risk assessment principles.

The policing of sexual activity

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Sex Tourism ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Sex Offender Registry ◽  
Police Attitudes ◽  
Police Investigations ◽  
Evidence Gathering

This essay starts by discussing the initial police involvement with newly reported sexual offences, covering local policing, problems with reporting to the police, police attitudes to complainants, and the role of sexual assault referral centres. The next section reviews police investigations of sexual offences, evidence gathering, and the role of forensic science and preparation for prosecution decisions. The author then explores the new role given to the police in their public protection role. This requires the police to take on supervisory activities, including administering the sex offender registry, applying for preventive civil orders, and disseminating information on sex offenders. The essay concludes by looking at the national and international policing of sexual offenders, including the policing of ‘sex tourism’.

Revisiting Sex Offender Registration and Notification: Does Awareness Differ Across Community Type?

2020 ◽  
pp. 073401682097103
Author(s):  
John C. Navarro ◽  
Ethan M. Higgins ◽  
Kristin Swartz
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Type ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Sex Offender Registry ◽  
Survey Responses

In recent decades, sex offender registry and notification has become ubiquitous across the United States. Although researchers have attempted to evaluate the awareness of registered sex offenders, much of this work has had a nearly unilateral focus on urban communities. In response, researchers have called for further investigation into whether awareness manifests differently across community type (suburban and urban). To address this question, we draw from two data sets. The first data set contains property data for single-family households sold in 2015 from a suburban county in Illinois and an urban county in Kentucky. The second data set consists of survey responses from 113 suburban and 171 urban county residents within 1,000 feet of the nearest sex offender that was delivered via a sequential mixed-mode design. In addition, we investigate whether awareness manifests differently across community type through a number of predictors (e.g., children in the household, education) and potential theoretical explanations (fear of crime, informal social control, and social cohesion). We find that community types do have differing levels of awareness and that varying levels of social cohesion may explain this difference. Implications are also discussed.

Children and Young People on the UK Sex Offender Register

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Young People ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk

AbstractA number of countries now use sex offender registers as a policy to improve levels of public protection by ensuring that law enforcement agencies are better informed on the whereabouts of sex offenders in their communities. These policies are designed in part to improve child protection. The paradox is that some people on the register are themselves children and young people who have committed sexual offences. This article examines the development of the UK sex offender register and the registration of children and young people aged 10-17. It looks at attempts to provide alternative forms of registration and implications for the future in terms of children's rights.

Understanding landlord perspectives on applicants with sex offenses

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-34
Author(s):  
Naomi Kunstler ◽  
Jack Tsai
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
High Threshold ◽  
Sex Offenses ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sex Offender Registry ◽  
Stable Housing ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to understand landlords’ attitudes toward applicants with histories of sex offenses and landlords’ willingness to broaden eligibility criteria for tenancy. Design/methodology/approach A convenience sample of 50 landlords in Connecticut were interviewed. The content of interviews was analyzed to examine how often a landlord would be open to renting to individuals on the sex offender registry and what conditions affect their decisions. Findings In total, 44% of landlords would not rent to adults with histories of sex offenses under any circumstance, but 8% of landlords reported they would rent to such individuals and an additional 36% of landlords were open to it with a high threshold for other indicators of good tenancy such as stable housing history, good credit and timely rental payments. Practical implications These findings not only illustrate the real-world challenges in finding housing for adults with histories of sex offenses but also highlight opportunities in working with landlords. Originality/value There has been little examination of housing adults with sex offenders from the perspective of landlords, which is important to understand to address this difficult and sensitive issue.

scholarly journals "To Know or Not to Know?": The Privacy Law Implications of The 1996 Paedophile and Sex Offender Index

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 415
Author(s):  
Jae Lemin
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Right To Know ◽  
Public Interests ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
The Public ◽  
Privacy Law ◽  
Starting Point

This article reflects on the privacy and public interest issues raised by the publication of an index of paedophiles and sex offenders. The legislation and caselaw of other jurisdictions is investigated to assess the relevance of that experience to any reform of the law in New Zealand. The article uses Deborah Coddington The 1996 Paedophile and Sex Offender Index (Alister Taylor Publishers Pty Ltd, Auckland, 1996) as a starting point to explore the balancing of the public's right to know about an individual with that individual's right to privacy. The author first outlines the information in Coddington's book and the responses it has received. The article then discusses whether the information could be regarded as private at all; special emphasis is placed on the issues arising from a claim under the tort of privacy. The author then examines the persuasiveness of the public interests involved in publication and whether they could be considered strong enough to outweigh privacy concerns. Finally, the article describes some notification schemes overseas and how they attempt to protect the community while minimising infringements on privacy. This article suggests that a balancing exercise between the interests of sex offenders and the interests of the community results in a need to take greater care before general dissemination of information of this nature. 

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