Sex Offender Studies

What conclusion can we draw about Borror's statement for the Ohio Public Defender's Office, that research shows the sex offender registry has no positive impact? We found that research has been done generally on the effectiveness of sex offender registration and notification laws. We found that studies indicate the laws have no clear effect on recidivism, or repeat offenses, which is their intended target, and are ineffective in assessing and managing risk. Although there is some indication that registration and community notification may deter first-time adult offenders, the studies find that the deterrence doesn't extend to juveniles -- and that community notification likely increases repeat sex crimes and other crimes. With that information needed for clarification, we rate the statement Mostly True.

Original Article05/14/2013By Andrew M. SeamanNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of U.S. children who were exposed to violence, crime and abuse in 2011 was essentially unchanged from 2008, according to a new government survey. Researchers who...

To most people, the sex offender registry seems to be a valiant government effort. Popular assumptions are made about registered people without really knowing anything about who they are and how they got on the list. But as a man who grew up reading about men being sent to prison for consensual sex with each other (until the 2003 Lawrence decision decriminalized it1), I find myself skeptical that things are more noble this time around. Since 2007, I've been doing research on the registry and related laws. With hundreds of thousands of people advertised as "sex offenders" on government websites across the country, I looked into the laws and procedures that landed them there. A lot of the results were frightening. Thousands of people are on the registry for the rest of their lives as a result of behavior when they were children or adolescents, as young as eleven years old.2 A woman is on the registry for breastfeeding her baby and several men are on it for public urination.3 Perhaps most incredible, US federal sentencing laws make the penalty for taking a picture of a 17-year-old boy with an erection worse than the penalty for killing him!4 These findings became the core of this website, SOL Research.

This article focuses on the social arrangements that foster claims of victimization. The announcement of new forms of victimization has become common place as of 1997. Some of these claims gained wide acceptance, whereas others met with considerable skepticism. Debating the merits of claims ignores underlying patterns in the way contemporary Americans interpret victimization. During the 1960s, Americans became sensitized to victims and victimization; by the 1970s, there was a widespread ideology of victimization. As this ideology gained acceptance in key institutions, it created a victim industry, a set of social arrangements that now supports the identification of large numbers of victims. Whether human actions and experiences are best understood as products of individuals' choices or as shaped by social arrangements is a central issue in social theory.

Original ArticleYet another report showing that ex-sex offenders have a low re-offense rate when considering additional sex crimes.06/11/2013By Lauren Daley The Juvenile Court Judges' Commission released the first comprehensive study (PDF) of yo...

An outside 2010 evaluation of the Tennessee Department of Correction's program to prevent inmates from getting raped by other inmates or staff members found the program was ineffective. That's the same pr...

Original ArticleThis study linked below is a national study, not just for Texas.06/24/2013AMARILLO - A nationwide survey found that the Clements Unit, a men's prison in Amarillo, has the highest rate of inmates reporting that they were pressured...

The rate at which those convicted of sex crimes against children go on to commit other crimes after being convicted is 20 percent, according to a report released Wednesday by the Vermon...

Yet another report showing low re-offense rates for ex-sex offenders.

The public's panic about the fear of recidivism if adjudicated sex offenders are ever to be released to the community has not subsided, despite the growing amount of information and statistically-reliable data signifying a generally low risk of re-offense. The established case law upholding sex offender civil commitment and containment statutes has rejected challenges of unconstitutionality, and continues to be dominated by punitive undertones. We have come to learn that the tools used to assess offenders for risk and civil commitment are often inaccurate and that meaningful treatment for this population is often unavailable and ineffective. Yet, society continues to clamor for legislation confining this cohort of offenders for "treatment," and, ostensibly, protection of the community, and legislatures respond quickly to these calls. This "reform legislation" often includes strict and demeaning post-release restrictions that track offenders and curb their integration into society. These "reforms" continue to show no benefit either to the public or to the individual offender. The absence of meaningful and effective treatment during confinement, combined with inhumane conditions upon release, make it far less likely that this cohort of individuals will ever become productive members of society. Only through therapeutic jurisprudence, a focus on rehabilitation, and a dedication to treating sexual offenders humanely, will it be possible to reduce recidivism and foster successful community reintegration.

The mandatory registration of juvenile sex offenders incorrectly assumes that the same dynamics of adult sex offenders apply to juveniles. In doing so, this group of juveniles is labeled and placed in a category that will ultimately hinder their development, rather than contribute to their rehabilitation. Accordingly, this mandated registration will have a negative effect on these individuals along with society as a whole based upon how they are perceived by others in the community and their lack of ability to contribute to the greater good.

The technological phenomenon of "sexting" has seen such a dramatic increase in popularity that it is now defined in the Merriam Webster Dictionary: "the sending of sexually explicit messages or images by cell phone." Moreover, if you ask a high school student to describe sexting, you may be surprised to hear it is a social norm. In a 2009 survey conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy, twenty percent of teens said they had sexted. That number has since increased to over twenty-five percent. What these students and many others do not know is that sexting could land them on a sex offender registry for life. As a result, their names and reputations could forever be ruined by the simple push of a computer key, or touch of an iPhone.

Original Article07/18/2013By Karen Franklin, Ph.D.Other new research finds further flaws with actuarial methods in forensic practice At least three out of every four men being indefinitely detained as Sexually Violent Predators in Minnesota woul...

Original ArticleDiigo Post Excerpt: Mass incarceration of American youth is actually making the country's crime problem worse, according to a new study of Chicago youth incarceration. The study, conducted by Anna Aizer of Brown University and Jo...

Original Article08/06/2013 A new University of New Hampshire study challenges the view that online predators are a distinctly dangerous variety of sex offender, requiring special programs to protect youth. The study from the UNH Crimes against C...

Six years ago, the federal government set out to indefinitely detain some of the nation's most dangerous sex offenders, keeping them locked up even after their prison sentences had ended. But despite years of effort, the government has so far won court approval for detaining just 15 men. Far more often, men the U.S.Justice Department branded as "sexually dangerous" predators remained imprisoned here for years without a mandatory court hearing before the government was forced to let them go, a USA TODAY investigation has found. The Justice Department has either lost or dropped its cases against 61 of the 136 men it sought to detain. Some were imprisoned for more than four years without a trial before they were freed.

This 111-page report details the harm public registration laws cause for youth sex offenders. The laws, which can apply for decades or even a lifetime and are layered on top of time in prison or juvenile detention, require placing offenders' personal information on online registries, often making them targets for harassment, humiliation, and even violence. The laws also severely restrict where, and with whom, youth sex offenders may live, work, attend school, or even spend time.

This e-supplement is a companion to our report titled, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act: Jurisdictions Face Challenges to Implementing the Act, and Stakeholders Report Positive and Negative Effects (GAO-13-211). The purpose of this e-supplement is to provide information from GAO's Web-based survey of state sex offender registration and notification offices about their efforts to implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), challenges associated with doing so, and perspectives on the effects of the law in their jurisdictions. Full Report: http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/652032.pdf

The Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) defines recidivism as a return to incarceration within three years of the offender's date of release from a state correctional institution. A recent study by the IDOC calculated the 2008 recidivism rate for offenders released from IDOC during 2005.

The Indiana Department of Correction's mission statement is "to empower the agency's staff of correctional professionals to increase public safety and reduce recidivism through successful re-entry programs that allow offenders the opportunity to positively contribute to Indiana communities." Since I was appointed in January 2005 by Governor Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., the Department of Correction has strived to accomplish the goals outlined in our agencies mission statement. Governor Daniels has charged me with increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department, and to that end, there is no better indicator of the success of this Department than the reduction in the return rates of offenders who are released from our custody. The rate at which an offender returns to incarceration after being committed and released from the Department of Correction is referenced throughout this report as Recidivism. Recidivism is the ultimate measurable when we want to identify the extent to which we are improving an offender's life and subsequently increasing public safety.