In a developed world of advance technology, society has to waste tax payers’ money to police people who chose to behave like Neanderthals rather than human beings. All fifty states of America have implemented a sex offender registry and the question is, how effective is this method in lowering sex crimes?
When one thinks of sexual assaults he or she is almost always thinking of a male person; the sad truth is, sexual assault is committed by both male and female; about four percent of sexual assaults reported are committed by women. In 1947, the state of California enacted a sexual offender registry, the first state to do so. In 1994 the Jacob Wetterling Act mandated that all states should have a sexual offender registry; in 1996, Morgan’s Laws requires public notification of certain sex crimes; and in 2007, The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act requires that all sex offender should register and the list should be available to the public. Of course, not every sex offender will comply with the mandate but most of them do.
No one wants to know that he or she is living near a sex offender; but once the offender has served his or her time, he or she must live somewhere. However, notifying the community that there is an offender in their midst may cause more fear than is necessary; on the other hand the community may become more vigilant. Ii is no uncommon for sex offenders who are registered in one community to go to another community where no one is aware of them and commit a sex crime. ‘“A study on community notification and fear found that about one-third of residents who attended meetings to learn more about a registered sex offender in their area were more fearful after the meeting, while another third reported less fear (Zevitz & Farkas, 2000)”’( Kernsmith, Craun, Foster, 291). People can be very unforgiving and offenders might find no peace when their neighborhood discovers their crimes According to J. J. Prescott, the notification can have a psychological effect on sex offenders in the community and may result in dire consequences, they return the community’s hostility and attack again (50). Nobody wants to hire a sex offender; therefore, offenders might even be forced to commit other crimes to survive. Despite these factors, registration serves a good purpose; it might deter future offenders and makes the police work a little easier; in that the police know where the sexual offenders are, even though they may not be the culprits.
Some sex offender can be very charming, and they do not appear different from anyone else. The helpful neighbor could be a sex offender and because I am unaware whom he or she is, I invite a sex offender in my home. If I knew that my neighbor is a sex offender I would never allow him or her in my home and I would keep the doors lock always. When parents know that there is a child predator in their neighborhood they will monitor their children closer; rather than just saying yes when asked if they can go down the street and play with their friends. Anyone can become prey of a sex offender; and registration is a community’s only asset. Albeit that registration does not always keep offenders from reoffending, Hanson and Morton-Bourgon, researches, found that sex offenders had a total recidivism rate of approximately 36 percent over a period of five to six years. The 15-year recidivism rate is 13 percent for incest perpetrators, 24 percent for rapists, and 35 percent for child molesters of boy victims.”
The sex offender registry has both positive and negative effects. A person could be tried and convicted for a sexual assault for which he or she is truly not guilty, yet he or she must register as a sex offender. The majority of the population welcomes the registration of sex offenders but this could have adverse effects as the registered sex offenders really have nothing to lose; they are already labeled, another offense will give them prison time and they will still be labeled in or out of prison.
Bibliography
Arkowitz, Hal, Lilienfeld Scott O. Once a Sex Offender, Always a Sex Offender? Maybe not” Scientific America. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=misunderstood-crimes
Craun, Sarah W., Foster, Jonathan, Kernismith, Poco O. (2009). “Public Attitudes Toward and Sex Offender Registration Sexual Offenders” Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 18:291, 2009
Prescott, J. J. (2012). (2008). “Do Sex Offender Registries Make Us Less Safe: Laws purporting to protect the public may be increasing sex offender recidivism rates” Crime and Law Enforcement. p.50
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