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 with the neighborhood that they may be moving into ("Sex Offender Registration: Policy Overview and Comprehensive Practices”, 1999). Persons convicted of sexual crimes against children or violent sexual crimes against children must register on an annual or quarterly basis due to the “Jacob Watterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act of 1994” (Paul, 2008). The goals of the sex offender registry are to “deter offenders from committing future crimes, provide law enforcement an additional investigative tool, and to increase the public’s protection as well as awareness ("Sex Offender Registration: Policy Overview and Comprehensive Practices", 1999).” Sex offender registration laws are now common across the United States. Each state has issued policies in compliance with the Watterling act that require registration and are coordinated among all agencies ("Sex Offender Registration: Policy Overview and Comprehensive Practices," 1999.) In reviewing sex offender laws many are finding in polices in schools and workplaces. Many colleges have policies that prevent sex offenders from registering for classes on their campuses. Many state sex offender registries include restrictions for where they can live. If a sex offender is under supervision by the state, they may not be able to live within certain distances from schools. Those offenders not under supervision may not have any restrictions as to where they are allowed to live. The supervising authority may also restrict registered offenders under supervision, preventing them from living in areas that could pose potential threats of repeating offenses. Some courts can require sex offenders to post a sign on the residence or in the yard that alerts the community of the potential threat, however this is rare in is not required in most cases. If an offender lives at an address that is one they are registered at it is a felony crime. If offenders encroach onto property that they are forbidden, such as a school is also a felony. If an offender lives or moves to an area than the state is required to note surrounding schools if the victim was under the age of 17. The above examples are all laws or policies in the state of Texas. Each of the 50 states has different laws however; each is similar in nature (“ Common Sex Offender Questions," p. 1. 2013). A person that is charged as a "sex offender" will have to deal with that title for the rest of their life. A sex offender even if served their time or they were put on probation and followed all of the rules of probation will have to live with what they did for the rest of their life. A sex offender is registered and has to follow many rules and cannot violate any of the rules. "Some offenders are sentenced to prison or jail, while others are sentenced directly to community supervision. For those sentenced to prison or jail, some are released on parole or probation supervision while others are released with no supervision." (CSOM, 2009). Sex offenders depending on what they are charged with and how many counts of sex with an underage individual will get either jail time or probation. Sex offenders if they are on probation or go to prison should have a period of community supervision to make sure that they are not going to offend another victim. They have to go to counseling and get help for the reason that they offended a minor. It is important to realize sex offenders go to prison or placed on parole, have specific conditions to their way of life. They are allowed to have any contact with the victim or little to no interaction with minors. They have to attend sex-offender specific treatment and allowed limited or no use of the Internet. This is so that there is less of a chance to try to talk to a minor online. Sex offenders are limited to where they can live and work and cannot live near a school or work with children in any capacity. They are not even allowed to work as a janitor when the schools are closed. Sex offenders have to let the authorities know where they live and when they move. A sex offender list is given to the local schools, daycares and can be found online so that the community can know where sex offenders live. Sex offenders have to report to their probation officers, and they are not able to use drugs or consume alcohol. Child safety zones limit the places where sex offenders can live, walk near or spend time near. "Most states have laws that prohibit sex offenders — whether on community supervision or not and whether their crimes involve children or not — from living within 1,000 to 2,000 feet (500 feet in some states) of places where children gather, such as schools and childcare facilities, parks, playgrounds, churches, gyms, swimming pools, libraries, and school bus stops." (p. 1. CSOM, 2009). Child safety zones are put into place to protect innocent children and to lessen the chance that a sex offender will reoffend. A sex offender has many restrictions and do not have as much freedom to be around minors if at all because of being charged with the offense.
There are a number of policies and laws relating to sexual offenders both during incarceration and after, if they can be released back into the community. Sexual offender registries require the information regarding a sex offender’s whereabouts, what neighborhoods they live in and so on. The policies governing their release and the terms of any kind of parole vary from county to county and state to state. Some states require the offender to place a sign in front of their residence declaring that a sex offender lives there or that they go door- to- door telling each person in their community the same. Specifically relating to sex offenders and the under aged, there are a number of policies regarding rules of interaction, if any are even allowed with children outside the offender’s own family. Many policies will state that another person, an adult must serve as a third party in a supervisory role, there to monitor the interactions between any child and the sex offender. Policies like these help to protect the child from any potentially criminal actions from someone who has been convicted of a sex crime. Now, when it comes to what is a sex crime and what can be convicted of a sex crime, is something that has been a stigma on the individual forever and tends to vary from place to place.
For example, if a person is inebriated in public and tries to, in a drunken haze, urinate, and a police officer happen to see them and arrest them. Then they are in danger of being placed on the sex offender registry should they be convicted. That means that a person who had too much to drink and could not wait to find a bathroom, for example, simply labeled a sex offender and could be on the same registry as someone who brutally raped a small child. This represents some of the issues a sex offender registry provides. While the initial intent of this particular policy is to help raise awareness for parents and keep children safe from potentially interacting with a sex offender. In some rare cases it can tragically mislabel a person and brand them for life such as a scarlet letter, and identifying them as a sexual offender. Overall, policies regarding sex offenders and children, the rules are often crystal clear and are heavily on the side of protecting children and anyone else from becoming another victim.
Sex Offenders are on a registered list due to their conviction or convictions. Those that were released from prison or jail on probation or parole have several limitations, restrictions, and policies they must follow during their time on probation or parole. Checking in with their probation or parole officers is set from the moment they are released. They are advised how many times a week or per month, they are to check in. Offenders are usually monitored with a bracelet for the first few months this of course depends on their locations and states they live in, and just to keep tabs on them at all times while they are on probation or parole.
Offenders are also restricted to how much access to the Internet they may use. Normally it only allowed while someone is able to observe them on a close basis. They are not allowed to live in a home where they have immediate access to the Internet. These offenders have restrictions to where they live. I also restricts the proximity of distance to where children are located or play especially if there is a school or playground in the area. If during their time on probation or parole they are found to come around children or anywhere there are children their probation or parole officers can question them to why they were there. If found to be around children and the monitoring device finds out how many times they have been in that area without good excuse, it is possible they can be violated and returned to prison for the remainder of the sentence.
Within the restrictions and limitations that sex offenders have they must complete classes or group meetings to understand their feelings and answer to themselves and others why they choose to molest children. These groups or classes are to have them acknowledge and find out what their triggers are to why they do what they do. Many feel as though they are only loving a child not hurting them, they assume that the child is feeling that they are being loved not hurt. What they need to do is be brought in front of a child they have molested and be told by that child how they were feeling at the time and how it has affected them in their life. That should be a requirement only if a child is old enough to explain.
While they are effective, treatment out there it still is something that most don’t understand. The research for treatment to sex offenders is something that will need improving, but the assault on children still continues and is one of the most hated types of crime to children. While the prevention of sex offender has come a long way when it comes to how the policy have changed. While sex offenses are still around us, the need and research to better protect the children and others from this crime will always need to be updated when it comes to preventing and controlling this type of crime.

References

Sex Offender Registration: Policy Overview and Comprehensive Practices. (1999). Retrieved from http://www.csom.org/pubs/sexreg.pdf
Common Sex Offender Questions. (2013). Retrieved from http:// www.cityofwebster.com/index.aspx?NID=783
Paul, S. A. (2008). Law & Psychiatry. Retrieved from http:// ps.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx? Article=99236&lang=en_us&output=json&session- id=551547db54a9ceb9accfaa625c8b69ae
Fact Sheet: What You Need to Know About Sex Offenders. (n.d.). Corrections.com - The Largest Online Community for Corrections: Jails and Prisons. Homepage.. Retrieved February 4, 2013, from http://www.corrections.com/news/article/21987