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Management of sexual offenders in the community essay
The importance of sex offender registration
The importance of sex offender registration
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Life on the Registry
Although they may be out of jail, they cannot be considered free. They are unable to make their own decisions: where they can work, where they can live, and how they can live their lives are all under control of the government. These people look the same as everyone else, but underneath the mask, lay a title they cannot shake. These people are sex offenders. A sex offender is defined as anyone who has committed a sexual crime. These crimes range from serious crimes, like rape, to minor offenses, such as urinating in public, or under age consensual sex. All sex offenders are placed on the registry and are required to follow a careful protocol. Registered sex offenders are paired with a Community Corrections Officer (CCO) who oversees and supervises the offender's actions. Many restrictions are placed on the offender, and although the laws can vary from state to state, there are some basic restrictions that apply to every offender. Some of these restrictions include: a sex offender cannot move without the permission and approval of their CCO, they can only live and work in certain areas, they cannot own any firearms, their personal computers are monitored and controlled by their CCO (many websites are blocked, including pornographic content), they are not allowed to take or consume any mind altering substances such as drugs or even alcohol, and they are required to get regular counseling (“Rules”). Currently there are 747,408 registered sex offenders in the United States. Some states such as Delaware and Oregon have a higher concentration of sex offenders (500 per 100,000) where as Pennsylvania has the lowest concentration of sex offenders (94 per 100,000) (“Sex Offender Statistics”). Due to the inefficiencies ...
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...scrimination against sex offenders. If people took the time to actually listen to their story and figure out what happened they would see that a vast majority of the registered sex offenders are far from dangerous. The government also needs to implement a ranking system that allows sex crimes to be rated from most severe to least harmful, this way people can differentiate between those who are bad and those who just made a bad decision.
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.
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
Some major reasons to keep sex offender notification laws in place are the fear factor of citizens, parents having the right to know in order to protect their children, and hopes for a reduction in the recidivism. The fear of offenders coming back into society without being supervised and not knowing what could happen is terrifying to many, especially parents who just want to protect their children. Others have high hopes that someday the recidivism, even though it is not high, will still reduce as time continues with the laws in effect. On the other end of the spectrum, other people believe that these laws are entirely too much and are unnecessary. Reasons to eliminate these laws include, continued punishment, difficulty returning to society, the fact that recidivism is extremely low compared to other offenses, and there is little evidence that shows the laws make society safer.
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.
It is estimated that approximately 3% of the offenders who are currently incarcerated will likely commit another sexual-related crime upon release (Park & Lee, 2013, p. 26). There are several laws that have been in place regarding sexual offenses for decades, including Megan’s Law, which was enacted in 1996. The federal Megan’s Law establishes three specific conditions. The first condition required information from state sex offender registries to be distributed publicly so that all community citizens have access to it. The second condition requires any information collected by registration programs within the state to be released for any reason given that it is allowed under the state law.
The acceptance that the court system often treats female offenders differently than male offenders is an accurate statement; however, it comes with many caveats. Generally, the public views women as nurturers, motherly and incapable of harming a child. Research indicates that female sex offenders capable of committing such acts have serious psychiatric and psychological problems. In comparison, research indicates male sex offenders are more callous, more antisocial, and promiscuous, involved in the criminal justice system, and have more victims (Miccio-Fenseca, 2012, slide 7). The consensus is that men commit their acts for sexual pleasure while women commit their acts due to psychiatric and psychological problems. Law enforcement, juries, and judges tend to empathize more when there are additional mitigating factors such as emotional or psychological problems. Due to these mitigating factors, it appears treatment of female sex offenders is more lenient than male if their crimes are similar in nature. Research by Miccio-Fenseca (2012) indicates that in comparison to their male counterparts, “female sex offenders rarely use force or violence far less than often…rarely use threats of violence to silence victims…rarely use threats o...
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.
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.
Sex offenders have trouble reintegrating into society and are often harassed by those who become aware of their status. The sex offender management tool restricts where the offender can live and sets boundaries of how close they can be to children. Research has shown most of these restrictions are viewed as more of a stress to the offender and it is not clear how the public is ensured.
Sex-offenders have to attend treatment, can be put on electronic monitor, submit to a polygraph test, give probation officer home address, register as a sex-offender, and has to let the Department of Public Safety know if they move or change their address. There is no drinking or drugs, they may have to give up their computers, tell sex partners about their history, and some even chemically castrated. Sex-offenders may have more than two probation officers or parole officers. An unit team will monitor and help to rehabilitate the offender. The sex-offender will have a curfew and have to pay fines and restitution.
Sexual offenders are typically looked upon as being one of the most common of offenders to relapse. That being said, the best way is to have a proper treatment plan in place for them to abide by so that they do have the urge or desire to participate in previous activities that would otherwise land them back in jail. When treated in cognitive-behavioral environments, rehabilitation for the offender is said to be the most effective. Through a proper behavioral environment, training offenders with separate approaches and managing treatments regularly, sexual offenders do stand a chance of becoming a productive member of society without recidivism to old habits.
Sex offenders. These people have sparked much debate in the years past and also quite a lot now in the present time. No matter where one could go, one will always hear stories and news reports of incidents of adults being involved with children in a sexual manner or of some poor woman being raped. An example of this could be a preacher touching the altar boys, a man forcing himself onto a woman he held at gun point in an alley, it may just be an average run of the mill creep offering kids candy at a playground hoping to get something in return, or unfortunately it could just be a drunk person seen urinating outside, but that is the day and age we live in. The list is endless unfortunately and these offenders some in a variety of shapes, sizes, and appearances. There are a number of various factors such as what a sex offender is, what drives them, what civil commitment is, how civil commitment can be a solution, and why it might not work. First the question must be asked, what is a sex offender?
In the United States there are 747,000 registered sex offenders. (Snyder) While most sex offenders are male, sometimes sex offenses are committed by female offenders. Sex Offenders who are released from incarceration are required to register in the sex offender registry. The sex offender registry is a system in various states designed to let government authorities keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. (Wikipedia) Even if the offender has done their time they are still required by law to register, making it hard for the offenders to leave their past and return to everyday life. My paper will make you ask yourself should all sex offenders be required to register or are they deserving of a new path.
Some people might say that if a sex offender does their time in jail that is enough punishment. Others may disagree and say that more action needs to be taken because of stories like the little girl Megan Kanka, who was raped and killed by a sex offender. A sex offender who her parents were unaware of because there was no rule or law that stated anyone else needed to know. Soon after this incident happened, some states passed laws that required local communities to be notified when a convicted sexual offender moved to a specific area. These laws are different in every state. In some, the state requires that convicted sex offenders put up signs in the windows of their homes, so that the neighbors can be aware that a crime has been committed by that person. Some offenders are even required to send postcards to their neighbors, informing them of their crime. These specific states would like the neighbors to be aware of who is living near them. Almost as a “beware” so that they can take action by telling their children to stay away from the sex offenders. The internet also provides extremely convenient websites that allow users to locate addresses and photographs of the offender. The websites also include reasons why the offender was convicted. One of the reasons some say that the laws are too strict on sex offenders is because of people like the woman that actually lived with a sex offender. She was upset because she said he had already served his time and it was unfair to tell everyone in their neighborhood that he had committed that crime. Some of these offenders may constitute an unfair punishment, especially if they are the low-risk, one time offenders who have possibly learned their lesson the first time. It may be unfair becaus...
Sex offenders have been a serious problem for our legal system at all levels, not to mention those who have been their victims. There are 43,000 inmates in prison for sexual offenses while each year in this country over 510,000 children are sexually assaulted(Oakes 99). The latter statistic, in its context, does not convey the severity of the situation. Each year 510,000 children have their childhood's destroyed, possibly on more than one occasion, and are faced with dealing with the assault for the rest of their lives. Sadly, many of those assaults are perpetrated by people who have already been through the correctional system only to victimize again. Sex offenders, as a class of criminals, are nine times more likely to repeat their crimes(Oakes 99). This presents a
To understand how to prevent child sexual abuse, one must begin by understanding what child sex abuse is. When a perpetrator intentionally harms a child physically, psychologically, sexually, or by acts of neglect, this crime is known as child abuse. Child sex abuse consists of any sexual activity that includes a minor. A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity. More importantly, when a perpetrator engages with a child this way, they are committing a crime that can have lasting effects on the victim for years. Moreover, child sexual abuse does not need to include physical contact between a perpetrator and child, some forms include but not limited to; fondling, intercourse, sex trafficking, exposing oneself to a minor, masturbation