A 40-year-old serial rapist, a 12 year old young boy having consensual sex with his girlfriend. What do both of these individuals have in common? They can both be subjected under the Canadian sex offenders registry. However, when a rapist suddenly slides off the map and commits more crimes under the radar, one begins to question the effectiveness of the registry, and what can be done to develop it’s quality and accuracy. Another question which seems to badger Canadian society today is that relating to whether a minor should be a registrant at all, no matter what their crime, Canada has a strong belief in rehabilitation. Rehabilitate, and develop, both of the utmost substance when observing the ways in which a sex offender registry are and …show more content…
In an article on www.canada.com, the many flaws in the registry are clearly outlined. For starters, it is not mandatory to register and the RCMP “believe that some dangerous offenders are falling through the cracks”, it’s simple, make registration mandatory for offenders 18 years of age and up. Police seem to find it difficult to even keep track of those registered, probably because offenders do not have to notify them of trips consisting of two weeks or less. The police are not even allowed to access the registry until charges have been laid, they may not access it on any suspicions. For example, if a citizen were to report a suspicious character lurking around an elementary school quite frequently, the police would not be allowed to use the registry in order to find out whether that individual is a registered sex offender or not. The suspicious character would have to molest a child, get reported, charged and then, after a child has already been adulterated, the police may access the registry. This law in particular seems to anger citizens the most, deeming the registry “useless”. The resolution to this problem is that the registry can be kept away from the eyes of the public, but should be open to police all of the time, it’s their job to know who is on it. No matter how long the vacation is, police should be notified, especially after observing the Petiquan case. Another problem with the registry lies strictly with it’s accuracy, the content of the registry is given directly from the offender(s) in question. An offender could give a false address, name, etc.. again, this was one of the main flaws with regard to the Petiquan case, which is not the only kind of it’s nature. Lastly, any offenders convicted previous to 2004, are not registered with the database, there are literally thousands of sex offenders from before 2004 that are living free and unregistered.
Canada’s criminal justice system largely focuses on rehabilitation, but Bourque’s harsh sentence is similar to the sentencing practices of the United States (Gagnon 2015). This is troubling as Canada’s rehabilitation focused criminal justice system appears to be working. Canada has a low rate of recidivism for offenders who have been convicted of murder (Gagnon 2015). Research shows that Canada’s rehabilitation focused criminal justice system has also worked with crimes that are not as severe as murder. Between 2010/2011 and 2013/2014, there was a 12% decrease in completed adult criminal court cases. Most cases in adult criminal court involve non-violent offenses (Maxwell 2013/2014). Similarly, in 2013, the police-reported crime rate was at it lowest since 1969 (Statistics Canada). The homicide rate is also declining, as in 2013, it represented less than 1% of all violent crime (Statistics Canada). Notably, probation was the most common sentence given in adult court cases and custody sentences were less than six months (Maxwell, 2013/2014). These types of sentences showcase the rehabilitation focused thinking of the Canadian criminal justice system and reinforce the impact and possible repercussions of Justin Bourque’s
The sex offender’s registry plays on parent’s emotional instincts to protect their children instead of really protect them. It gives parents a false sense of protection. The regis...
The following research will display an overview of the process in Texas on how sex offenders are registered along with the notifications that are followed after registration. Texas, as many other states, has a procedure which requires sex offenders to register with the local law enforcement agencies at the time of their discharge. In addition to registration, they must also comply with further probation regulations. Research has concluded that there are four basic phases of registration and notification. Beginning with offender notified, following the offender registration and community notified and ending with public notification
In the event that a prisoner (particularly a sex offender) does complete rehabilitation, he carries with him a stigma upon reentering society. People often fear living near a prior drug addict or convicted murderer and the sensational media hype surrounding released felons can ruin a newly released convict’s life before it beings. What with resident notifications, media scare tactics and general concern for safety, a sex offender’s ability to readapt into society is severely hindered (554). This warrants life-skills rehabilitation applied to him useless, as he will be unable to even attempt to make the right decision regarding further crime opportunities.
While Megan’s Law has given community citizens the ability be informed of sex offenders in their areas and their demographic information, one must also consider the impact Megan’s law has on these offenders when they attempt to reen...
It is typically thought that sex offenders are the type of individual that needs to be tried in our courts and then sentenced because there is really no hope for an individual that harms the most innocent of our society. But there just may be an exception to this way of thinking. Juveniles who at one point themselves may have been victims, and as they have grown into adolescence not knowing why they are thinking the way they are, turn around and abuse others. Then what happens is that these adolescents once found out, are then tried in our courts as adults because in the mind of the court they are committing an adult crime. But there are alternatives for these juveniles that are being placed in our court system. Because at this stage in their development they are more receptive to treatment options and there are treatments available with valid research to substantiate them. Our judicial system just needs to recognize these options in order to try to lessen the amount of trauma inflicted on these already potentially traumatized individuals.
When thinking about youth crime do you envision a country with a high rate of young offenders, gang activity and re-offending? Or do you envision a country with a significant increase of young offenders either being successfully reintegrated into society, or helped by a community when seeking forgiveness for a minor offence that they have committed? Since the passing of Bill C-7 or the Youth Criminal Justice Act on February 4, 2002 by the House of Commons, many significant improvements have been made in Canada’s youth criminal justice system on how to handle and care for young offenders. Some of the reasons why Bill C-7 was passed in Canada was because the bill before it, Young Offenders Act, had many problems and suffered large amounts scrutiny by Canadian Citizens. It’s because of these reasons that Bill C-7 had been revised multiple times before being passed, having previously been called Bill C-68, March of 1999 and Bill C-3, in October 1999. With this all being said, many Canadian citizens are still left to ponder a question of if there is even significant improvement in our Youth Criminal justice system when comparing the Youth Criminal Justice Act to the Young Offenders Act? In my opinion, there are many significant improvements that have been made in the Youth Criminal Justice Act which have aided our justice system. By addressing the weaknesses of the Young Offenders Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act has helped Canada improve in the field of youth criminal justice by implementing better Extrajudicial Measures, ensuring effective reintegration of a young person once released from custody and providing much more clarification on sentencing options.
The Youth Criminal Justice Act, enacted in 2003, has had considerable implications for youth offenders, especially in sentencing procedures. However, in 2012 Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his administration made significant punitive amendments that changed the application of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) to youth sentencing procedures in Canada. This essay will first discuss a brief history of Canadian legislation regarding youth offenders, and the general characteristics and effectiveness of the YCJA within its first decade of existence. Then, it will highlight the changes made by the Harper administration to the YCJA, and the implications of those changes, using evidence of the cycle of juvenile reoffending through imprisonment
Vandiver, D. M., & Teske, R. (2006). Juvenile female and male sex offenders a comparison of offender, victim, and judicial processing characteristics. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 50(2), 148-165.
There is much debate as to whether a sex offender should be released into the public, this debate stems from the idea that a sex offender cannot be treated and that they are a danger to the public as they are ‘purely evil’ (Burke, 2005), however there is much evidence that sex offenders can be treated and re-introduced into society as a productive member. Sex offender is a general term used to refer to any person who has been convicted of crimes involving sex, from rape and molestation to exhibitionism and pornography distribution. There are many theories which try to explain why people are sexual offenders, these theories along with treatments for sex offenders will be looked at to help explain why people sexually offend and to help evaluate whether sex offenders should be released.
Sex offender legislation has been encouraged and written to protect the community and the people at large against recidivism and or to help with the reintegration of those released from prison. Nevertheless, a big question has occurred as to if the tough laws created help the community especially to prevent recidivism or make the situation even worse than it already is. Sex offenders are categorized into three levels for example in the case of the state of Massachusetts; in level one the person is not considered dangerous, and chances of him repeating a sexual offense are low thus his details are not made available to the public (Robbers, 2009). In level two chances of reoccurrence are average thus public have access to this level offenders through local police departments in level three risk of reoffense is high, and a substantial public safety interest is served to protect the public from such individuals.
... offend, the results show that knowing where an offender lives does not reveal much about where sex crimes, or other crimes, will take place, that result calls into question the rationale for creating registries in the first place.” The researcher concludes by stating registries do little to increase public safety.(Agan)
The government made the registry with good intentions but it has backfired and only created more victims and more discrimination overall, and that is why it should be abolished. The citizens that are on the sex offender registry have already been punished for their crimes and have dealt with the consequences of their actions, there is no reason that they should continue to be punished for the rest of their lives.
of Sex Offenders Via the Internet. The John Marshal Journal of Computer and Information Law
The sex offender registry has been a topic of debates and formal studies since the Minnesota Sex Offender Registration Act was first passed in 1991 (Stevens, n.d.). Sex offenders across the country are being harassed and abused on a daily basis for the crimes they committed, were convicted for, and served their punishment for. Due to the sex offender registry giving out names, pictures, addresses, phone, numbers, vehicle information, as well as other personal information these sex offenders are being targeted in the homes and work places. Their families are also victims of abuse. In addition, the use of the sex offender registry has created blind spots in parents. They may