Sex offender registry

A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences.

Sex offender registration is usually accompanied by residential address notification requirements. In many jurisdictions, registered sex offenders are subject to additional restrictions, including on housing. Those on parole or probation may be subject to restrictions that do not apply to other parolees or probationers. These may include (or have been proposed to include) restrictions on being in the presence of underage persons (those below the age of majority), living in proximity to a school or day care center, owning toys or items targeted towards children, or using the Internet.

Sex offender registries exist in many English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The United States is the only country that allows public access to the sex offender registry; all other countries in the English-speaking world have sex offender registries only accessible by law enforcement.

In offense-based systems, registration is required when a person is convicted (or, in some jurisdictions, adjudicated delinquent, found not guilty by reason of insanity,[1] or found not criminally responsible[2]) under one of the listed offenses requiring registration. In the U.S. federal system, persons registered are put into a tier program based on their offense of conviction. Risk based systems have been proposed but not implemented.[when?]

In the United States, the vast majority of the states are applying offense-based registries, leaving the actual risk level of the offender and severity of the offense uncertain. The few U.S. states applying risk-based systems are pressured by the U.S. federal government to adopt offense-based systems in accordance with Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Studies have shown that actuarial risk assessment instruments[3] consistently outperform the offense-based system mandated by federal law.[4] Consequently, the effectiveness of offense-based registries has been questioned by professionals, and evidence exists suggesting that such registries are counterproductive.

Some aspects of the current sex offender registries in the United States have been widely criticized by civil rights organizations Human Rights Watch[5][6] and the ACLU,[7] professional organizations Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers[8][9] and Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers,[10] reformist groups Reform Sex Offender Laws, Inc.,[11] Women Against Registry[12] and USA FAIR,[13] and by child safety advocate Patty Wetterling, the Chair of National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.[14][15][16][17][18][19] Virtually no studies exist finding U.S. registries effective, prompting some researchers to call them pointless, many even calling them counterproductive, arguing that they increase the rate of re-offense.[20]

In 2022, despite opposition from the Department of Justice, many states' attorneys-general, and NCMEC, the American Law Institute approved a revision to the Model Penal Code which included elimination of the registry for most offenses.[21]

  1. ^ "Megan's Law," from New Jersey State Police
  2. ^ Maryland Sex Offender Registry FAQs
  3. ^ "Risk Assessment Tools". Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  4. ^ "New study finds federal sex offender law not effective". lynn.edu. Lynn University. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  5. ^ "No Easy Answers: Sex Offender Laws in the US". Human Rights Watch. 11 September 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  6. ^ Raised on the Registry: The Irreparable Harm of Placing Children on Sex Offender Registries in the US (2012) Human Rights Watch ISBN 978-1-62313-0084
  7. ^ Jacobs, Deborah. "Why Sex Offender Laws Do More Harm Than Good". American Civil Liberties Union. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  8. ^ "The Registration and Community Notification of Adult Sexual Offenders". Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Sexual Offender Residence Restrictions". Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  10. ^ "Sex Offenses". National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  11. ^ Lovett, Ian (1 October 2013). "Restricted Group Speaks Up, Saying Sex Crime Measures Go Too Far". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  12. ^ Ulmer, Nick (21 February 2014). "Taking a Stand: Women Against Registry responds to our 14 News investigation". 14News. WFIE. NBC. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  13. ^ Rowan, Shana (14 July 2013). "My Word: Forget broad brush for sex offenders". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  14. ^ "Patty Wetterling questions sex offender laws". Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  15. ^ Patty Wetterling. "Patty Wetterling: The harm in sex-offender laws". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007.
  16. ^ Gunderson, Dan (18 June 2007). "Sex offender laws have unintended consequences". MPR news. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  17. ^ Mellema, Matt (11 August 2014). "Sex Offender Laws Have Gone Too Far". Slate. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  18. ^ Sethi, Chanakya (15 August 2014). "Reforming the Registry". Slate. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  19. ^ Wright, Richard (16 March 2009). Sex Offender Laws: Failed Policies, New Directions. New York: Springer Publishing Company. pp. 101–116. ISBN 978--0-8261-1109-8. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  20. ^ "California's Sane New Approach to Sex Offenders". The Slate. 2 April 2015.
  21. ^ "Following Delays, American Law Institute Gives Final Approval to Model Penal Code Revisions Regarding Sex Offense Registries". mitchellhamline.edu. Retrieved 6 March 2024.

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