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It's really ineffective because so many on it are not predatory and it's just a waste of tax payer money and endangers the families of those who are on it
What I have come to learn the last couple of years, we shouldn't be concerned about the red dots as 95% of registrants never reoffend. I found this true in my own situation. My child was victimized by a family member who wasn't on a registry. Over 90 of new cases are by those not listed on a registry.
On top of that, having a public registry only invites vigilantism, bullying and social outcast of the families of the offenders - most not knowing the victim is one of those whom they are attacking.
I think the threat of having to register the rest of your life may be more of a deterrent than jail.
The registry isn't a deterrent. The crime rates didn't reduce the crimes reported, as over 90% are those new cases are not reoffenders. A person can wind up on the registry for public urination, a teen taking selfies and posting on FB, a school prank of streaking or mooning will land a person on the registry. Most people don't realize how easily it can be to be defined as a sex offender.
It's mostly useless. I knew someone who works for the people who do the online registry in NJ. In NJ, it's usually not first time/one time offenders. It actually takes a lot to get on there. Anyway, a lot of the offenders don't register. Due to backlog, nothing happens to them unless they're caught committing another crime. I don't know how it works in other states, but NJ it's pretty usually to have them register themselves. I don't know about other states, but in NJ if someone is currently registered and moves near you, you get a packet in the mail with their picture and info. Do they do that in other states? Sounds like they don't, because other posters were talking about having to check the website.
One excellent way to measure the impact of registries is the sex offender recividism rate before the registries vs after. Most states didn't start their registries until 1995 or 96 so you can see what the recividism rate was back then vs now- I have no idea whether or not it's any different. With that being said, I'm not necessarily against registries, but I am against them including people who committed sex offenses prior to the registry's inception. Let's just admit registration is punishment (regardless of what the Supreme Court said)- can you deny that. Most states exempt people from the registry if they were released from prison prior to the registry's enactment date, but they usually decide who they exempt based on when they were released from prison- not when they were convicted. (I.E. If the sex offender registry started on January 1 1995 anybody released in 1994 wouldn't have to register and everybody released in 1995 would have to register) This means that if a sex offender registry started in 1995 and a guy was convicted in 1990 and released in 1996 he'd be required to register as a sex offender. I don't think this is fair, because it's not like he would have been able to know the registry would come into existence when he committed his crime in 1990.
Yes, sex offenders have a low rate of recividism to begin with (no matter what the public perception is.) However, I think we can mostly agree that sex offenses are worse than burglary even though burglary has a much higher recividism rate. And no, I'm not talking about an 18 year old having sex with a 15 year old as a sex crime. Nor am I talking about some guy who pissed in public not realizing that a few young girls were within eyesight of him.
Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma and possibly some other states I'm not aware of all register murderers. Yes that's only 5 states (I don't know if there are others I'm not aware of), but murder registries have gained some traction since 5 states have publicly available murder registries. (Montana registers a whole lot of other people too, not just murderers and sex offenders.) I wouldn't be surprised if more states register murderers in the future.
One thing I do have a problem with is the long lengths of sex offender registration. If you just mindlessly give every sex convict the rest of their life on the sex offender registry as some states do, that seemingly would take away a lot of motivation not to reoffend. I don't see why they don't cap the length of registering at 10 years. If you include people on the registry who committed their crimes 20 years ago, that kind of dilutes the value of the registry too. I don't think a sex offender who committed their crime 20 years ago (no matter how heinous it was) is very likely to reoffend at this point. The residency restrictions really don't do anything except make a sex offender less likely to comply with the registry or force the registrant into homelessness- the residency laws increase recividism if anything.
Yes, sex offenders have a low rate of recividism to begin with (no matter what the public perception is.) However, I think we can mostly agree that sex offenses are worse than burglary even though burglary has a much higher recividism rate. And no, I'm not talking about an 18 year old having sex with a 15 year old as a sex crime. Nor am I talking about some guy who pissed in public not realizing that a few young girls were within eyesight of him.
Yes, well unfortunately in many states they have to register anyway and get treated the same as a serial child molester. I have a loved one who was falsely accused due to a family feud. His accuser later admitted to myself and others that she'd lied. He was drug through court all on her testimony alone. He ended up taking a plea (don't get me started on how many innocent people get cornered into plea deals) and went through testing by the SO board and was found to be the lowest risk and he got 10 years on the registry.
Now, because my state adopted AWA, he has to register for LIFE based on his accuser's alleged age at the time of the alleged incident. What did he plea to? touching her breast are OVER clothing when she was supposedly 8 or 9...
Now, I'm a woman and I can tell ya that at 8 or 9, I didn't have boobs and i can also tell ya that his accuser didn't either at that age...
So, yeah...how effective is the registry? Not very it gives a false sense of security and harms families who are already struggling
Yes, well unfortunately in many states they have to register anyway and get treated the same as a serial child molester. I have a loved one who was falsely accused due to a family feud. His accuser later admitted to myself and others that she'd lied. He was drug through court all on her testimony alone. He ended up taking a plea (don't get me started on how many innocent people get cornered into plea deals) and went through testing by the SO board and was found to be the lowest risk and he got 10 years on the registry.
Now, because my state adopted AWA, he has to register for LIFE based on his accuser's alleged age at the time of the alleged incident. What did he plea to? touching her breast are OVER clothing when she was supposedly 8 or 9...
Now, I'm a woman and I can tell ya that at 8 or 9, I didn't have boobs and i can also tell ya that his accuser didn't either at that age...
So, yeah...how effective is the registry? Not very it gives a false sense of security and harms families who are already struggling
I'm sorry, faeryedark. Nobody cares if you retroactivate laws on sex offenders.
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