Should the Sex Offender Registry be abolished - Research Paper Example

? Should the Sex Offender Registry be abolished? al Affiliation Public notification of the release of sex offendershas been a national policy in the United States since 1996, through a system known as public sex offender registration. This was aimed at protecting people, especially women and children from dangerous sex offenders, who get released from prisons. In recent years, fierce debates have risen regarding this issue as opponents argue that the public sex offender registry does not work and should be abolished, while proponents argue that it should be retained, since it has been effective in preventing sexual violence to some extent, and reducing cases of sexual reoffending. This paper argues for the abolishment of these laws and gives concrete reasons for this in comparison to having the laws retained. Keywords: Sexual Offense, Offender, Public Sex offender Registry, Megan’s Law, Jacob Wetterling Crimes against Children Act and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act in 1994, Confidentiality, Constitutional Rights Introduction Sexual violence in the United States is a serious public health problem. In an attempt to reduce the number of sexual crimes, various legislations have been passed. This began with the enactment of the Jacob Wetterling Crimes against Children Act and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act in 1994 (Hodgson & Kelley, 2002). According to Hodgson and Kelley, “the act required all states to establish stringent registration programs for sex offenders by September 1997, including the identification and registration of lifelong sexual predators” (2002, p. 223). The act was later amended in 1996 through a legislation known as Megan’s law that was enacted in October 1996. Under Megan’s law, all states in the United States were required to establish notification codes allowing access to sex offender information by the public, in order to protect the communities from being victims of such offences. Despite the enactment of the two acts, there has been a lot of debate on their effectiveness in preventing sexual violence and reducing sexual re-offending. There are those who argue that the public sex offender registry does not work and should be abolished, while others argue that it should be retained since it has been effective in preventing sexual violence to some extent, and reducing cases of sexual reoffending. This paper argues for the abolishment of the public sex offender registry by giving concrete reasons against having the practice retained. Reasons why the Public Sex Offender Registry should be abolished Harm to families. Proponents of the public sex offender registry argue that making sex offender information public reduces the rates of sexual offenses by repeat offenders and enable parents to protect their children (IDEA, 2009). However, public notification of sex offenders does not only affect the offenders, but their families as well. This is because despite the fact that states have the discretion to decide on the criteria for disclosing sex offender information, majority of the states implements them to the extreme. Sex offenders get imprisonment sentences and remain incarcerated for a significant amount of time, but their families get to suffer more humiliation, especially when details get disclosed to the entire public, such as being made available on the internet. Hodgson and Kelley point out that “highly publicized case have demonstrated a severe and negative impact on the victim’s family and the offender’s family” (2002, p. 229). Cases of mistaken identities after release of offender information to the public have also been witnessed, and the persons incorrectly identified as sex offenders have undergone harassment and assault. Ex-offenders and their families suffer constant instability when their private information such as name, age, place of employment, address, and crime committed is made available to the public. This includes lack of proper employment and challenges accessing suitable housing. Ex-offenders face huge problems seeking employment as all job applications in the United States require one to state whether he or she has been previously convicted of a sex offense. Having their names listed on the public offender registry further compounds the problem, since no employer agrees to employ a person whose name appears on the registry for fear of losing customers (Citizens for Legislative Change, America, 2013). Finding housing is a huge challenge for ex-offenders, whose names appear on the public sex offender registry, as well as for their families. Most of them have voiced their inability to maintain jobs and find suitable homes for their families (Guagnin et al, 2012). Despite being innocent, children of ex-offenders suffer a lot of humiliation and pain as a result of their parents’ names appearing on the public sex offender registry. This is contrary to the protection of children, which is the main reason the registration laws were created, because the same laws have propagated bullying, exclusion, and ridicule upon these children. Increase in tax payers’ burden. Supporters of the preservation of the public sex offender registry and relevant acts argue that the registration is important in protecting them and their children. They however forget the tax burden imposed on tax payers, who have to pay the salaries and fund all operations of the staff working in these units (Citizens for Legislative Change, America, 2013). The implementation of additional laws and regulations is also funded by taxpayers. There are definitely other solutions that can be implemented to protect members of the society and children from sexual abuse without having to impose a huge tax burden on tax payers. Those convicted of sexual crimes do not need to be released into the society and later cost so much to control. Sexual offenders can be properly sentenced and gradually treated behind bars, and members of the society can be educated on how to protect themselves and their children at a much less cost to tax payers. The IDEA supports this by pointing out that psychological examinations can help correctly rule whether a sex offender still poses a risk to the society or not, and if found to still be a risk, the offender can be kept in custody (2009). Ineffectiveness of public offender registration. Advocates for the registration of sex offenders argue that despite the fact that it is unknown how many people and children have been saved by the laws, they still remain justified by the fact that a single person or child may be saved. However, evidence shows that the laws have not been effective in preventing sexual offenses and protecting people. This is mainly caused by lack of proper treatment for the offenders by letting them lose into the communities, rather than treating them in the process. In their research on the effectiveness of offender registration, Letourneau et al (2010) found that the rates of recidivism reduced in very few states, such as Ohio, Idaho and Hawaii, most states experienced no significant changes, while in some, the rates increased after the enactment of Megan’s law. An example is the state of California, where rape cases were on the rise following the implementation of offender registration (Letourneau et al, 2010). Violation of offender’s confidentiality and constitutional rights. Proponents of offender registration argue that communities get to be aware of any presence of sex offenders, and are thus able to report any suspicious behaviours from them, and also “help the police to track down re-offenders more quickly, thus they are also brought to justice more swiftly and surely” (IDEA, 2009, p. 202). It is a fact that registration of sex offenders assists in this, but they violate the confidentiality and constitutional rights of the offenders in the process. According to Hodgson and Kelley, “it is no longer a community that knows about a specific offender, his address and the particulars about his crime, but the entire world-anyone with access to the internet can have access to this information” (2002, p. 227). Excessive punishment. All supporters of sex offender registration would argue that they deserve the treatment and humiliation they undergo, and sometimes together with their families. However, these people are still human and deserve to be treated in a humane way. “When these laws harm sex offenders, and others, such as families and other community members , beyond the intent of the law, how can one not consider the impact as cruel, unusual, and excessive punishment?” (Hodgson & Kelley, 2002, p. 227), especially after they have served considerable jail terms. Conclusion In conclusion, there are better ways of handling sex offenders, rather than subjecting them and their families to excessive punishment, humiliation and harm, and violating their rights. The main aim of the justice system is reforming offenders and giving them a chance to live normal lives. The use of the public sex offender registry fails to do this. Reference List Citizens for Legislative Change, America. (2013). Abolish the Public Sex Offender Registry. Retrieved September 17, 2013, from http://www.change.org/petitions/abolish-the-public-sex-offender-registry Guagnin, D. et al. (Eds.). (2012). Managing Privacy through Accountability. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Hodgson, J.F. & Kelley, Debra S. (Eds.). (2002). Sexual Violence: Policies, Practices, and Challenges in the United States and Canada. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. IDEA. (Eds.). (2009). The Debatabase Book: A Must-have Guide for Successful Debate. New York: International Debate Education Association. Letourneau, Elizabeth J. (2010, September). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Sex Offender Registration and Notification Policies for Reducing Sexual Violence against Women. Retrieved September 17, 2013, from http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo10866/231989.pdf Read More