...of victims. One of the measurements taken to reduce recidivism is the sex registry. There are now websites available that contains the sex offenders’ name, address, and photograph. These registries main purpose is to prevent future sex crimes and to reduce recidivism. The purpose of the registry is good because the public has the right to know about sex offenders who live nearby them. However, the registry is not meeting its goals and may be encouraging recidivism. The sex offender registry should be changed to make it fair and effective. Sex offender registries are not effective because...
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...registers with the sex offender registry that correlates to exactly where they live. Sex offender registries are vital to every society within the U.S. for many reasons. These registries help communities know where their offenders are located so others can be aware of their location, area, city, and state that they live in. When offenders are convicted and released from prison, there are strict rules and guidelines that they have to follow for the rest of their lives. Offenders kind of have to live in a box within the world, which is no way to live at all. Criminals like this are known to society as scums because most of these older men and sometimes women violate and prey on their victims sexually. To be honest, I find this disgusting and most of them should be put away for life. When these offenders commit the crime, they scar the victim’s mind and hinder their developmental growth which may cause them to make poor decisions throughout life....
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...Sex Offender Registries and Community Notification Laws: An Ethical Dilemma by Amy Thorson NW 62-OM OM 4803 - Organizational Ethics John Brown University June 2009 Situation Definition Introduction of the Facts Sex offenders in American society are often seen as repulsive, violent individuals that deserve to be feared and punished to the fullest extent of the law. Their crimes are deemed the worst kind of violation of another human being. In fact, “the vehemence of the hatred for sex offenders is unmatched by attitudes to any other offenders” (Logan, 1999). Many state and federal laws have been passed in an effort to protect the public from these predatory sex offenders. The laws are aimed specifically at registering sex offenders, documenting sex crimes, and disseminating this information to the general public. The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act of 1994 requires that all states create registries for individuals convicted of sex crimes against children or any other sexually violent offense (Scholle, 2000). In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed Megan’s Law, which allows each state the discretion to establish criteria for registry disclosure, “but compels them to make private and personal information on registered sex offenders available to the public” (Klaas, 2008). Because many states depend on the federal government for funding of law enforcement programs, non-compliance with these requirements...
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...victims from perpetrators. With increasing access to information through the Internet, it is much easier for a criminal to target a specific person, but potential victims can use these same resources to protect themselves by becoming educated and informed. General knowledge of the names and addresses of convicted offenders may aid in preventing individuals from committing crimes initially, educate the public, and establish peace of mind for all people. This concept only works as long as the information is readily available to citizens in a convenient and accurate manor; the most effective known way to achieve this being a required sex offender registry. Some people disagree with the idea of forcing convicted sex offenders to register to an easily accessible list claiming that it will impair the ability of the convicted to reintegrate into society. The main arguments for this theory involve difficulties...
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...society, and they need to carry with them heavy punishments A sexual offender is a person who has been found guilty on a charge relating to a sexual offence. A sexual predator is a person who engages in sexually exploitative behavior, including such actions as stalking, grooming, voyeurism, or sexual harassment. Many of them have been known to premeditate and use deceptive techniques to get what they want. A sexual offense consists of many different kinds of acts that fall within the State of Indiana Code 11-8-8. Under the Indiana Code if convicted of any of the following offenses rape, child molesting, child exploitation, incest, sexual battery, sexually violent predators, sexual predators, an individual is seen as a sex offender, and in the state of Indiana these acts are listed as felonies. Chapter 4 of the Indiana Code (IC 35-42-4-3) defines child molestation as performing or submitting to sexual intercourse or deviant sexual behavior with a person 14 years of age or younger. Under Indiana Law Child Molesting is considered a Class A felony. There also is no statute of limitations in Indiana for a Class a felony. This crime can be punishable for up to 20 years. “That means that any act of child molestation that involves a significantly older person, weapons or threats, serious injury, or drugging a child (without their knowledge) can always be prosecuted in Indiana” (Alexander, 2013, par.4). Sex offenders are known to repeat their offense after getting out of prison. ...
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...cannot come back from. The juvenile sex offender’s registry and notification laws are controversial and proponents of these laws feel they act as deterrents to future offending even though there is no evidence to support this claim. In many cases recidivism has decreased with the proper assessment and treatment. Our country has an overzealous sex crime legislation dating back to the 1880s. In the United States there are three types of legislation dealing with sex crimes. The first was pre-World War II when offenders were subjected to indefinite institutionalization and sterilization. These policies were jointly influenced by the fields of sexology and eugenics (Ordover, 2003). Sexologists promoted the view that minor forms of sexual misbehavior would predict future sexual violence and homicide (Jenkins, 1998), whereas eugenicists promoted the view that criminal behavior was genetically determined (Ordover, 2003). Both of these fields developed the view that sexual offending was considered intractable, resistant to change and escalating, therefore, new legislation was established to enact extreme interventions by institutionalization offenders. In order to keep society safe from future exposure and danger from an offender’s offspring thus forced sterilization (Letourneau, 2013). This method has large economic costs to our government in funding for the physical care and procedure costs, which outweigh the benefits for this treatment. The offender and his family had to endure his...
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...law enforcement to make data, like location of sex offenders accessible to public. Authorities will alert and notify residents of an incoming sexual offender when they move nearby. After the death of Megan, New Jersey residents were horrified and shocked as to how this could have happened. Assemblyman, Paul Kramer, took action and proposed Megan's Law to the New Jersey General Assembly which would be approved for a sex offender registry. Looking at this from society's point a view, this is a really beneficial step towards safety. However, current sexual offenders endure many hardships because of Megan’s Law. Megan Kanka...
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...of appeals for the Second Circuit on John Doe claim under 42 U.S.C 1983 that Connecticut’s sexual offender registration law violates the Due process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and disputing public disclosure of information contained in the registry. Facts: Connecticut’s Megan’s law requires all persons convicted of sexual offenses to register with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) after being released from prison for the next 10 years or life. On an Internet Web site that is available to the public, the DPS requires a sex offender to registry his/her name, addresses and photographs. John Doe, a convicted sex offender who is subject to the law, filed suit 42 U.S.C 1983, claiming that the law violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause and he only wants to prove that he is not current dangerous and that Connecticut law’s registration does not apply. Issue: Does the Connecticut’s Megan’s Law violate John Doe registrant’s right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment and how do you apply it to sex offender who was convicted before the Connecticut’s Megan’s Law was establish. Because John Doe was convicted before the law was passed, so such disclosure both deprived him (registered sex offenders) of a liberty interest and violated the Due Process Clause not granting a hearing to determine a registered sex offenders to be currently dangerous. Ruling and Reasoning: The Second Circuit Court judgment was reversed because...
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...Sex Offender Policy Team C CJA/464 February 4, 2013 Paul Brouillette Sex Offender Policy While the rate of sexual offenders has risen to around 234,000 in the past decade, the debate in our society has noticed the rise. In many states, victims are violated, and due to mental health issues and continue to be repeat offenders. Children have become the most unreported victims of all. While it is important to have sex offender registers in every state, it is another issue that most do not register, or give changes of address in many towns. While the concerns are on the rise the public and law enforcement look for new ways in preventing such violent crimes and the policy that are in place provide some security but not enough. In the 1930’s the United States began the first sex offender registry requiring sex offenders to register with local state and federal agencies. Offenders were required to give their address and any other information used to identify them to the agencies. The early policies required only focused on high profile or repeat offenders. The attention given to the offenders are used to drive offenders or the “undesirable” persons out of the communities. Today’s policies give law enforcement so much easier method of identifying sex offenders, as they are required to register as a sex offender once convicted of a sex crime. Sex offender registration is open to view from the public and many review it on a regular basis when concerned...
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...Alternative Solutions to Juvenile Sex Offender Registration and Incarceration Introduction Whenever sex offenders are referenced in the news, they are portrayed as horrible monsters. People who hurt others despite knowing better. There is, however, another face to the perpetrators of sexual offenses. This face belongs to the juveniles who make up roughly one-third of the reported sexual offenses against minors (“VII. Sex Offender Laws,” n.d.). These offenders are usually between the ages of eighteen and twelve. Twenty-three percent of the offending juveniles were under the age of the eighteen and roughly 3.7 percent of the juveniles were under the age of twelve. The age at which these crimes seem to peak is fourteen (“VII. Sex Offender Laws,” n.d.). Many of these children don’t know any better. The juvenile sex offenders are often victims themselves. Many were victims of maltreatment, or exposed to pornography, drug addiction, alcoholism, or poor role models. A sad fact is that almost 80 percent of these offenders have, themselves, been sexually abused and they don’t know any better than to do unto others what was done to them. Throughout this paper, the different degrees of sexual assault and sexual offenses will be covered along with the different punishments that accompany them. I...
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...the information availability of the names sex offenders. Anyone can access the names of convicted sexual predators at any given time. They are able to look at these names via sex offender registries. These are online data bases which contain the names and risk levels of registered sex offenders. Some people have concerns with this, such as: does the punishment fit the crime? Should just anyone be able to access these names, or should they even continue with the sex offender registries? I personally believe that the convicted offender should to live with the consequences. This consequence, as well as others, are not even close to what the victims face. The victims, and their family members, deal with many challenges. The victims are not even able to carry on with simple, everyday activities without taking extreme caution and looking over their shoulders constantly. The families have to deal with the trauma and watch their loved one go through the long, hard time. There are many disputes as to whether or not the punishment is fitting of the crime. I believe that many people think it is not fitting because of the harassment that sex offenders face. When their names are put on the registries, they are there for the entire world to see. Many of them have to deal with the ridicule from those around them. However, the author who wrote the article “Protect Yourself, Family From Sexual Offenders,” states, “People feel sorry for the sex offenders we identified in 2002 should have heard...
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...Annotated Bibliography: What the Literature Says About Juvenile Sex Offenders The following articles, factsheets, and studies have been compiled to assist attorneys and individuals working on behalf of youth charged with sexual offending. The information contained in these resources aim to help others realize the fundamental differences between adult sex offenders and juvenile sex offenders, which include positive responses of juveniles to treatment, low recidivism rates of juveniles and negative impact of registries on youth development. It is our hope that this information will be used to improve legal outcomes for juvenile sex offenders, and uphold the purpose of the juvenile justice system as a rehabilitative, not punitive, system. PUBLICATIONS BY TOPIC Recidivism Rates/Amenability to Treatment Judith V. Becker, What We Know About the Characteristics and Treatment of Adolescents Who have Committed Sexual Offenses, 3 CHILD MALTREATMENT 317, (1998). The author states that comprehensive data does not exist to support the notion that if adolescents commit one sexual offense, they will go on to develop a pattern of sexual-offending behaviors or develop a psychosocial disorder. Michael F. Caldwell et al., An Examination of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act as Applied to Juveniles: Evaluating the Ability to Predict Sexual Recidivism, 14 PSYCHOLOGY, PUBLIC POLICY AND LAW 89, (2008). This study compared 91 juvenile males who had been treated in a secure correctional...
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...Introduction There are certain crimes today, which invoke a strong personal reaction. What is your first mental image and what emotion do you first notice when you hear the term, “sex offender?” Do you picture a scary looking male stranger? Is your first emotion, anger or maybe fear? Now, what is your initial reaction when someone says that the post-sentencing laws for these offenders may be doing more harm then good in regard to current legislation passed after high profile cases. Are sexual crimes all equally heinous, justifying opinions that the offender did the crime so they should accept the consequences? I believe that these laws were created with the best of intentions. Yet, these laws are now creating alternate paths to dangerous alternatives and roadblocks to the goals they seek to achieve. Legistation On October 22, 1989, an 11-year-old boy named Jacob Wetterling was abducted from a small town in Minnesota (Hawkins, 2009). Jacob and his two friends rode their bikes into town to a convenience store to rent movies (Hawkins, 2009). On the way back home, a gunman stepped out of the woods, and told Jacob’s two friends to run into the woods and not look back (Yoder, 2011). Jacob, who stayed behind, has never been seen since (Yoder, 2011). A massive manhunt ensued with law enforcement from all over, however their exhausting efforts never led them to finding Jacob or his abductor. This case captured headlines all over the United States and in 1994 it prompted legislation...
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...which has provided for registration of sex offenders. According to Jacob, registration of sex offenders has gone way too far. To him, the punishment that some registered sex offenders get is undeserving. He goes further and argues that registration usually prompts harassment, ruins relationships, and is a setback to employment and education. I find his arguments against Megan’s Law strong enough to warrant some changes to the Law. The article begins by mentioning two extreme cases of how registration or failure thereof has cost the lives of two individuals. In the first case, Maureen Kanka, in a statement, says that if they had been aware of the offender’s criminal record, her daughter would not have died. This turn of events prompted the state legislature to enact the Megan’s Law which formed an openly available registry of sex offenders. At this point, Jacob shows the consequences that this registration brought. In the other case, he mentions a man killed by a pedophile after he found his details in the catalog of sex offenders. The murdered man had his name registered in the catalog of sex offenders when at 19, he had sex with his girlfriend of 16. According to Jacob, mixing these two offenders in the same registry makes little or no sense. On one end is a dangerous killer with a record of assaulting little girls, while on the other is a non violent law breaker. This is further made worse by the fact that registration of such offenders is a prerequisite for getting funding...
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...Children Sexually Abusing Children Paula Chipman COM/172 August 25, 2014 Charlotte Babb Children Sexually Abusing Children Parents not only have to worry about adult sexual predators, but also have to worry about adolescent social offenders-which is on the rise. The background has a lot to do with how a child turns out. The fact that both male and female juvenile sexual predators exist is horrifying by itself. The sexual behavior that leads to sexual abuse can start as young as six years old (Smith, B. 2007, September 19). The thought crosses the mind of all parents. How do they protect their child? Unless they plan on following their child everywhere they go, they can only teach them and watch for the signs of both child predators and their victims. Everyone has to wonder what could cause one child to abuse another child sexually, and if they even understand the consequences of their actions. What will happen to the juvenile offender, will they get off with therapy, or will they go to prison to pay for their crime? The younger offenders are getting therapy while the older predators are going to juvenile detention centers or even to prison. When a child relapses a second time, the child could be sent to a child detention center, jail, or a mental hospital for the safety of the public. Most people are not exactly sure what child on child sexual abuse consists of. The fact is that child on child sexual abuse is when a younger child is sexually abused by one or more...
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