Megans law - Research Paper Example

MEGANS Megan’s Law is a federal law that is also implemented on the level. s have some leeway in terms of how they apply the law above and beyond its basics. On the basic level, Megan’s Law, which is also known as the Sexual Offender Act of 1994, is a law that requires people who have been convicted of crimes of a sexual nature against children, to notify local authorities when they move residences or jobs, after they are released from doing time for their crime. In most cases, the child sex offender is required to do this for ten years, but there are also cases in which it is applied permanently, so that whenever the individual moves, they have to notify local police and law enforcement that they have done so.

Failing to register or update in this manner is considered to be a felony under Megan’s Act. This law was put into action after the murder of Megan Kanka, a young child. After this child was murdered by a sexual predator who was living nearby (the parents professed to have no idea), her parents circulated a petition that gained almost 500,000 signatures (Megan’s, 2010). The law was passed, and New Jersey, Kanka’s home state, was the first state to enact Megan’s Law. Overall, Megans Law provides two information services that are made available to the public: notification of sex offender registration, and notification of the community.

As noted above, “The details of what is provided as part of sex offender registration and how community notification is handled vary from state to state, and in some states the required registration information and community notification protocols have changed many times since Megans Law was passed” (Megan’s, 2010). Many people support Megan’s Law because it appears to be a no-nonsense, zero-tolerance, tough-on-crime policy. They also feel more at ease when they know that sexual offenders have to register with local authorities, so that the community can have more information.

From the total harm perspective, Megan’s Law can be supported from the position that it decreases the total harm to society by making vital information about child sexual predators available to parents and families. Community notification and involvement is seen as positive in most media and scholarly presentations of the law, and generally, the law-abiding public can be seen to increase in their information access and comfort level, due to the law. However, there are also possible dark sides to Megan’s Law.

That some states use the law to notify about not just child predators, but any sexual offenders, could be seen as a breach in privacy. Also, the law could be criticized for encouraging vigilantism in communities, or encouraging the harassment of the individual who was convicted. Perhaps the most troubling dark side to this law, however, is that it does not appear, under empirical scrutiny, to be very effective. For example, in December 2008, a study of Megan’s Law in its home state of New Jersey concluded that the law, far from protecting communities and decreasing the total level of harm to society, “had no effect on community tenure (i.e., time to first re-arrest), showed no demonstrable effect in reducing sexual re-offenses, had no effect on the type of sexual re-offense or first time sexual offense (still largely child molestation/incest), and had no effect on reducing the number of victims of sexual offenses” (O’Brien, 1996).

However, the bright sides of the law can be seen overall to overshadow the dark sides, because this law increases community information and safety, and may also act as a deterrent. REFERENCEO’Brien, P (1996). Would Megan’s Law have saved Megan? http://www.oncefallen.com/files/OBrien_Reprint_7.8.96.pdfMegan’s Law (2010). http://www.expertlaw.com/library/criminal/megans_law.html