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International sex offender registration laws: research and evaluation issues based on a review of current scientific literature
journal contribution
posted on 2013-01-01, 00:00 authored by Jim Vess, Andrew Day, Martine Powell, Joe GraffamIn many jurisdictions, anyone convicted of a sexual offense is required to register with police, often for life. Nine different countries have now implemented sex offender registries in an attempt to protect the public from the perceived threat posed by sexual offenders. Yet such laws have been criticized as being overly inclusive, tying up limited law enforcement resources to track many offenders who pose little risk of sexual reoffending. This paper considers the available research evidence relevant to the effectiveness of such laws for the deterrence of sexual offending and the investigation of sex crimes. It is concluded that significant gaps persist in our knowledge of whether existing laws effectively reduce sexual offending or reoffending and that large-scale, well-designed studies of the impact of sex offender registration on rates of offending, the collateral consequences to offenders and their families, and the costs of such laws are needed.
History
Journal
Police practice and research: an international journalVolume
14Issue
3Pagination
205 - 218Publisher
Taylor & FrancisLocation
Abingdon, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1477-271XeISSN
1477-271XLanguage
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2012, Taylor & FrancisUsage metrics
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