"When a South Carolina couple killed a registered sex offender and his wife after they moved into their neighborhood in 2013, the story exposed an extreme and relatively rare instance of violence against sex offenders. While media accounts would have us believe that vigilantes across the country lie in wait for predators who move into their neighborhoods, responses to sex offenders more often involve collective campaigns that direct outrage toward political and criminal justice systems. No community wants a sex offender in its midst, but instead of vigilantism, [the author] argues, citizens often leverage moral, political, and/or legal authority to keep these offenders out of local neighborhoods. Her book, the culmination of four years of research, 70 in-depth interviews, participant observations, and studies of numerous media sources, reveals the origins and characteristics of community responses to sexually violent predators (SVP) in the U.S. Specifically, [this book] examines the placement process for released SVPs in California and the communities’ responses to those placements. Taking the reader into the center of these related issues, [the author] provokes debate on the role of communities in the execution of criminal justice policies, while also addressing the responsibility of government institutions to both groups of citizens."--
Concerns California¿s process for placing sex offenders (SO) in residential facilities. It concludes that state laws, regulations, and departmental policies do not require licensing dep¿ts. to consider the criminal background of potential clients, including registered SO, that the licensed facilities plan to serve. State law does not allow SO on parole to reside with other SO in a single-family dwelling that is not a ¿residential facility.¿ However, the report found several instances of 2 or more SO on parole illegally residing in the same hotel room. Moreover, local law enforcement agencies have not performed formal assessments of the impact SO have on their resources and communities, and state laws generally do not require this. Tables.
"This volume of readings provides an excellent source of information about sex offender laws and policies."--International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology "Sex Offender Laws...is a good source for balanced, objective, and thorough critique of our current sex offender policies as well as a source for accurate information about a very heterogeneous population...The message that sexual abuse is often a multifaceted and complex issue and that policy based on quick fixes or knee jerk reactions do not often work will be informative and enlightening to many readers." --Sex Roles "[T]his fine book by Richard Wright and his distinguished collaborators provides the evidence that wise policy-makers would want to consider. It covers every major field of research concerning sex offenders and sexual offenses and provides evidence of bad practices and policiesÖ.Intellectually honest politicians should read this book." --Michael Tonry, LL.B, Professor of Law and Public Policy University of Minnesota Law School (From the Foreword) In response to many high-profile cases of sexual assault, federal and state governments have placed a number of unique criminal sanctions on sex offenders. These include residency restrictions, exclusionary zones, electronic monitoring, and chemical castration. However, the majority of sex offender policies are not based on empirical evidence, nor have they demonstrated any significant reductions in offender recidivism. In fact, some of these policies have unintended consequences, which actually increase the likelihood of sexual offenses. In this book, Wright critically analyzes existing policies, and assesses the most effective approaches in preventing sex offender recidivism. This provocative and timely book draws from the fields of criminal justice, law, forensic psychology, and social work to examine how current laws and policies are enacted and what to-date is known about their efficacy. The team of expert contributors includes Karen Terry, author of Sexual Offenses and Offenders, and others who bring a wealth of insight to the field of sex offense. In response to the failed policies of sex offender laws, this book presents alternative models and approaches to sex offense laws and policies. Wright also explores critical, cutting-edge topics, such as internet sexual solicitation, the death penalty, and community responses to sex offense. Key Features: An introduction and overview of the history of sex offender laws Analyzes the role of the media in sex offense and sex offender policies Examines the political "untouchability" of sex offender laws and their adverse effects Features interviews with victims of sexual assault, investigating their points of views on what kinds of reforms need to be made to sex offender laws Thought-provoking and insightful, Sex Offender Laws serves as a vital resource for policy makers, researchers, and students of criminal justice, law, and social work.
From sex fiend laws to Jessica's Law, every state regularly passes popular tough-on-crime legislation, often written after highly-publicized cases have made the gruesome rounds through the media. Chrysanthi Leon shows that, while the singular notion of the sexual bogeyman has been used to justify these harsh policies, not all sex offenders are the same and such 'one size fits all' policies are well-intentioned but badly implemented. Leon argues for much-needed changes to the criminal justice system, ultimately showing that when policies intended for the worst offenders take over, all of us suffer.
"When a South Carolina couple killed a registered sex offender and his wife after they moved into their neighborhood in 2013, the story exposed an extreme and relatively rare instance of violence against sex offenders. While media accounts would have us believe that vigilantes across the country lie in wait for predators who move into their neighborhoods, responses to sex offenders more often involve collective campaigns that direct outrage toward political and criminal justice systems. No community wants a sex offender in its midst, but instead of vigilantism, [the author] argues, citizens often leverage moral, political, and/or legal authority to keep these offenders out of local neighborhoods. Her book, the culmination of four years of research, 70 in-depth interviews, participant observations, and studies of numerous media sources, reveals the origins and characteristics of community responses to sexually violent predators (SVP) in the U.S. Specifically, [this book] examines the placement process for released SVPs in California and the communities’ responses to those placements. Taking the reader into the center of these related issues, [the author] provokes debate on the role of communities in the execution of criminal justice policies, while also addressing the responsibility of government institutions to both groups of citizens."--
This book deals with society's responses to sex offenders. This issue is of vital interest to law enforcement professionals and society at large. This subsection of the population generates as much or more fear than virtually any other segment in the community. The chapters in this book deal with recidivism, tracking and location, impulsivity, long-term care, and reunification.
Identifying and Treating Sex Offenders: Current Approaches, Research, and Techniques brings you up-to-date on the latest significant issues and state-of-the-art tools involved in the evaluation and treatment of adult sex offenders. Experts in the field discuss controversial topics, including diagnoses, classification, public notification, and risk assessment, to help psychologists, therapists, and social workers better understand and work with this specialized population. This book also contains accurate information about sex offender statistics and research for policymakers to use in creating policies and legal statutes that successfully deter recidivism in known sex offenders.
No Easy Answers is the first comprehensive study of US sex offender registration, community notification and residency restriction laws, their public safety impact, and the effect they have on former offenders and their families. It concludes the laws are poorly crafted and misguided, failing to protect children from sex crimes but making it nearly impossible for former offenders to rebuild their lives. In many states, everyone convicted of a sex crime must register and the requirement can last for life. The requirements are overbroad in scope and overlong in duration. As a result, there are more than 600,000 registered sex offenders, including individuals convicted of sexual sex between teenagers, prostitution, and public urination, as well as those who committed their only offenses decades ago. Unfettered public access to online sex offender registries exposes registrants to harassment, ostracism, and even violence, with little evidence that this form of community notification protects anyone from sexual violence. Residency restrictions prohibit former offenders from living within a designated distance (anywhere from 500 to 2,500 feet) from places where children gather. The restrictions have the effect of banishing former offenders from entire towns, forcing them to live far from home, families, jobs, and treatment, and hindering law-enforcement supervision. The restrictions may have no impact on the likelihood of recidivism. Sex offender laws reflect public concern that children are at grave risk of sexual abuse by strangers who are repeat offenders. The real risks children face are quite different: statistics demonstrate that most sexual abuse of children is committed by family members or persons known and often trusted by the victim, and by someone who has not previously been convicted of a sex offense. The laws also reflect the widely shared but erroneous belief that sex offenders continually repeat their offenses. Authoritative studies, however, indicate that three out of four adult offenders do not reoffend.
