Jessica’s Law places a 2000 foot residency restriction on registered sex offenders, barring them from living near areas where children gather, such as schools, daycare, parks, and places of worship (Bonnar-Kidd, 2010). Registered juvenile sex offenders may be subject to placement in foster care if they are not allowed to reside with underage siblings or near other children in their neighborhood. They may also face removal from school to comply with the laws (Lehrer, 2016).
Unintended Consequences
The notification laws designed to make parents feel safer may spark fear and hysteria instead. In 2007, community members in a rural New York area posted hate signs, organized a media protest, and lobbied landlords to evict two sex offenders in …show more content…
It serves to specify standards for registration and notification and thereby increase public safety. As of 2012, The Department of Justice has not requested a study or allocated funding for a study to be conducted on the effectiveness of SORNA (GAO, 2013). General research has focused on the rate of recidivism for sex offenders which tend to be lower than that for crimes across the board. In 2011, a study by the Journal of Law and Economics determined registration led to a 13% decrease in sexual offenses. Studies have not demonstrated proof that notifying the community deters sexual offenses. Ninety-five percent of sexual offenses are perpetrated by individuals who have no prior record of a sexual offense (Lehrer, 2016). There is also no evidence that notifications have ever led to a community member catching a sex offender. Unfortunately, one of the unintended effects is a decrease in home values. For neighborhoods within 1/10th of a mile of a registered sex offender, home values suffered a 4% …show more content…
The research presented in this paper indicates some decrease in sexual assaults due to the registries. Overall, notifications appear to provide a false sense of safety and do little to affect crime. Notification may exacerbate the problem by inducing fear and leading to acts of vigilantism. Law enforcement has recognized improved data sharing, interagency communication, and uniformity in registries amongst jurisdictions. SORNA resulted in increased amount of work for legal entities through increased mandates for registrants and the frequency of registering. The high cost of implementing SORNA has been a detriment in compliance for some jurisdictions. But politicians supporting increased sex offender legislation face little resistance from the public and then benefit by being tough on crime. The biggest losers are victims of sexual offense who are overlooked in funding for programs to target sexual abuse prevention, treatment, and research. Convicted sexual offenders suffer also by often lacking the ability to reintegrate into society after serving their sentence. Registration, public notification, and residence restrictions can lead to homelessness and isolation. Instability may lead to an increased risk to
Unintended Consequences
The notification laws designed to make parents feel safer may spark fear and hysteria instead. In 2007, community members in a rural New York area posted hate signs, organized a media protest, and lobbied landlords to evict two sex offenders in …show more content…
It serves to specify standards for registration and notification and thereby increase public safety. As of 2012, The Department of Justice has not requested a study or allocated funding for a study to be conducted on the effectiveness of SORNA (GAO, 2013). General research has focused on the rate of recidivism for sex offenders which tend to be lower than that for crimes across the board. In 2011, a study by the Journal of Law and Economics determined registration led to a 13% decrease in sexual offenses. Studies have not demonstrated proof that notifying the community deters sexual offenses. Ninety-five percent of sexual offenses are perpetrated by individuals who have no prior record of a sexual offense (Lehrer, 2016). There is also no evidence that notifications have ever led to a community member catching a sex offender. Unfortunately, one of the unintended effects is a decrease in home values. For neighborhoods within 1/10th of a mile of a registered sex offender, home values suffered a 4% …show more content…
The research presented in this paper indicates some decrease in sexual assaults due to the registries. Overall, notifications appear to provide a false sense of safety and do little to affect crime. Notification may exacerbate the problem by inducing fear and leading to acts of vigilantism. Law enforcement has recognized improved data sharing, interagency communication, and uniformity in registries amongst jurisdictions. SORNA resulted in increased amount of work for legal entities through increased mandates for registrants and the frequency of registering. The high cost of implementing SORNA has been a detriment in compliance for some jurisdictions. But politicians supporting increased sex offender legislation face little resistance from the public and then benefit by being tough on crime. The biggest losers are victims of sexual offense who are overlooked in funding for programs to target sexual abuse prevention, treatment, and research. Convicted sexual offenders suffer also by often lacking the ability to reintegrate into society after serving their sentence. Registration, public notification, and residence restrictions can lead to homelessness and isolation. Instability may lead to an increased risk to