When sex offenders are brought up in a conversation, it could be a debateable topic to argue. The truth is, sex offenders are human beings and have rights like every person in our society. It’s, however, crucial to protect every law abiding citizen from living in a dangerous community, especially if children are involved. There are a few requirements that sex offenders have to follow in order for the criminal justice system could keep a community safe as possible. The most important regulation that shall be followed is the idea that every offender have to register as a sex offender or predator within a day prior to being released to the general public (“Rules for sex offenders in the community,” 2015). A family may, for example, use the …show more content…
In addition to requiring sex offenders to apply in the registry, it’s important to make sure that every convicted sex offender and predator stays away from alcohol, for alcohol could be used to prey on victims or be used to molest and abuse those who can’t defend themselves (“Rules for sex offenders in the community,” 2015). If the person affiliated themselves with alcohol, he or she is violating their term and should result in additional charges. The last most important way a community could stay safe from sex offenders and predators is requiring them to disclose their criminal status to friends and their spouse (“Rules for sex offenders in the community, “ 2015). If, for example, they are released from prison, nine times out of ten, they’ll meet someone special who they will connect to. I believe every sex offender and predator should be obligated to mention their status prior to getting married so could be aware of what they are putting themselves into. Not only are the rights for community members important, but also for the sex offenders as well. In other words, even though they are a convict for a serious sex crime, the truth is, they are also deserve to live a normal life despite …show more content…
As far as having the rights to privacy, every citizen is obligated to follow that law despite how severe the crime was. That being said, no citizen has the right to excessively misuse the sex offender registry beyond its intention with intent to degrade an offender and abuse their privacy (“Human Rights and Sex Offender Laws,” 2007). In addition to having a family, sex offenders and predators also have the rights to obtain a family as well. In this case, his or her sex offender registry should not affect the ability to get a husband or wife. Even though their abilities to find a good job is harder than the average person and could interfere with building a family, their status could not determine whether or not a couple gets married nor keep them from contacting their children. As hard as it may seem, it has been attempted in the past, but the law has kept it from occurring furthermore. If, for example, a sex offender or predator commits a sex crime and forced to register at the Department of Law Enforcement, the law is unable to separate kids from their parents even though the law could psychically take their kids away from them, for their kids should still have contact with their parents as long as there’s supervision involved (Barrett, 2014). Lastly,
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 1994, twice-convicted sex offender Jesse Timmendequas raped and murdered Megan Kanka, a seven-year old girl who lived across the street. In reaction to this emotionally-charged crime, Megan's home state of New Jersey ratified a community notification bill - dubbed "Megan's Law" - just three months later. This fall, a national version of the law went into effect, mandating that all fifty states notify citizens in writing of the presence of convicted sex offenders within their communities. Certainly, society has a responsibility to protect children from sex offenders, and many feel that Megan's Law is the best course of action. However, others feel that it is an unwarranted intrusion into the rights to privacy of individuals who have already paid their debts to society.
Sex offender notification laws have been among the most widely discussed and debated criminal justice policy issues in recent years. Numerous studies have been conducted on various views of sex offender notification laws. A vast majority of these studies have mixed research, some showing that sex offender notification laws are more beneficial than harmful and should continue, and others showing the exact opposite. Reasons such as public safety, the fear factor, and the hope for future recidivism to go down are some examples of why many believe that sex offender notification laws are beneficial to society. Others believe that such laws are a continuation of punishment for those who were convicted of a sex offense.
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...
The Recidivism Rate of Juvenile Sex Offenders between Uses of Legal Sentencing as Adults or Utilizing Psychological Treatment
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.
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 can be beneficial to society, whilst respecting the criminal code.
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.
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 ...
In today’s society, juveniles that commit a sexual assault have become the subject of society. It’s become a problem in the United States due to the rise of sexual offenses committed by juveniles. The general public attitude towards sex offenders appears to be highly negative (Valliant, Furac, & Antonowicz, 1994). The public reactions in the past years have shaped policy on legal approaches to managing sexual offenses. The policies have included severe sentencing laws, sex offender registry, and civil commitment as a sexually violent predator (Quinn, Forsyth, & Mullen-Quinn, 2004). This is despite recidivism data suggesting that a relatively small group of juvenile offenders commit repeat sexual assaults after a response to their sexual offending (Righthand &Welch, 2004).
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
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
Watson was a psychologist who developed the classical model of behaviour that was started by Pavlov. In this theory they think that all normal or abnormal behaviour is learnt so therefor if a bad behaviour can be learnt that is mean it can also unlearnt it.