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Effective treatment for sexual offenders
Effective treatment for sexual offenders
Sexual offender strategies
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Introduction
The United States of America has always supported freedom and privacy for its citizens. More importantly, the United States values the safety of its citizens at a much higher level. Every year more laws are implemented in an attempt to deter general or specific criminal behaviors or prevent recidivism among those who have already committed crimes. One of the most heinous crimes that still occurs very often in the United States is sex offenses against children. Currently, there are over 700,000 registered sex offenders and 265,000 sex offenders who are under correctional supervision. It is estimated that approximately 3% of the offenders who are currently incarcerated will likely commit another sex-related crime upon release (Park & Lee, 2013, p. 26). There are several laws that have been in place regarding sex offenses for decades, including Megan’s Law which was enacted in 1996.
The federal Megan’s Law established 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 required any information collected by registration programs within the states to be released for any reason given that it is allowed under the state law. Finally, the third condition required local and state law enforcement agencies to release all applicable information from state registration programs needed for the protection of the public (Corrigan, 2006, p. 271).
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...
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...aker, J. (2007). Public perceptions about sex offenders and community protection policies. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 7(1), 1-25.
Levenson, J.S. & Cotter, L.P. (2005). The effect of Megan’s Law on sex offender reintegration. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21(1), 49-66.
Levenson, J.S., D’Amora D.A., & Hern, A.L. (2007). Megan’s Law and its impact on community re-entry for sex offenders. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 25(1), 587-602.
Park, B. and Lee, J. (2013). The effectiveness of Megan’s Law: Does it reduce the recidivism of a released sex offender? British Journal of Arts & Social Sciences, 12(1), 25-34.
Veysey, B. M. Zgoba, K. & Dalessandro, M. (2008). A preliminary step towards evaluating the impact of Megan’s Law: A trend analysis of sexual offenses in New Jersey from 1985 to 2005. Justice Research and Policy, 10(2), 1-18.
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.
Yates, P. M. (2005). Pathways to treatment of sexual offenders: Rethinking intervention. Forum on Corrections Research, 17, 1-9.
My Megan’s law in Tennessee is TCA code 40-39-217 (Community notification system). This statute is what legally allows the Tennessee bureau of investigation, a sheriff, or chief of police to notify the community when a sex offender is integrated into that particular jurisdiction. This is a state law that meets the political characteristics, as it’s a justifiable source of criminal law (Bohm & Haley, 2011). Specificity is present in the statute as it explains in great detail the requirements to implement the notifications of a sex offender (Bohm & Haley, 2011). For example, this law states very specifically that the legislative body of a county, municipality or metropolitan government can apply this notification system with a 2/3 vote.
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...
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 ...
3. Report of the Interagency Council on Sex Offender Treatment to the Senate Interim Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, 1993
Criminal Law. Sex Offender Notification Statute. Alabama Strengthens Restrictions on Sex Offenders. Harvard Law Review Vol. 119, No. 3 (Jan., 2006), pp. 939-946
Stone, T., Winslade, W. J., & Klugman, C. M. (2000). Sex offenders, sentencing laws and pharmaceutical treatment: A prescription for failure. Behavioral Sciences & The Law, 18(1), 83-110. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0798(200001/02)18:1<83::AID-BSL379>3.0.CO;2-W
...sible ways to provide treatment and assistance in an attempt to understand these troubled women. The paper also discussed the interrelation of the differential treatment approach that female offenders receive in relation that received by their male counterparts and how it fails to meet the needs of not only the offenders, but the communities and victims as well. Finally this paper discussed the relationship of the media and the double standard that is afforded to these women who commit sexual offenses. As a society we must develop a better working understanding of the women who perpetrate these sexual offenses. By broadening the understanding of the inner workings of these offenders minds communities, clinicians, and criminologists the necessary tools to better treat, manage , and identify potential problems in this small but complicated sexual offender population.
When walking around your neighborhood, town, local mall, or other places you frequent, are you constantly thinking about if or when you may encounter a registered sex offender? For most people, that is not the first thing that is on their mind. In reality you probably encounter many in your life without even knowing it. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act was initially implemented to give people the ability to know who is living around them, what they were charged with, and potentially give the community a sense of security. While most people in the community think this act is doing them a great service, what they typically do not know is the many loopholes involved in this act, and how it negatively impacts many people, such
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
Two of the sex offenders from the Worley study reported that during Halloween they are told by law enforcement to not answer the door or have outside lights on. Also, local television networks broadcast their picture to warn others of their sex offender status. This then leads to much embarrassment and shame, having their picture televised every year (Worley, R. M., & Worley, V. B., 2013). Today, anyone with Internet access can view and search the sex offender registries and this leads to the direct violation of privacy of these sex offenders. Not only are they tormented but their family members are as well. Their children are bullied at school and their spouses may be forced to quit their jobs (“US: Sex Offender Laws May Do More Harm Than Good,” 2007) As discussed earlier, the sex offender faces harassment and abuse constantly when they are placed on the sex offender