Sex Offender Policy and Prevention

Mesler, Julia; Anderson, G. Christopher; Calkins, Cynthia

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-29406-3_7

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 105 publications

(123 reference statements)

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“…Sex offender registration laws include three legislative acts designed to protect children: The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, Megan's Law, and the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (Armstrong et al, 2015;Mesler, Anderson, & Calkins, 2016). Megan's law, for example, was a response to the rape and murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka by her neighbor, an ex-offender who had been previously incarcerated for attempted rape (Mesler et al, 2016). Sex offender registries are systems used to monitor people who have been convicted of sexual assault or rape (U.S. Department of Justice, 2015).…”

Section: Examples Of Crime Control Theater Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crime control theater: Past, present, and future.

DeVault

Miller

Griffin

2016

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law

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Crime control theater (CCT) describes legal actions (e.g., policies) that appear to address crime but are sometimes ineffective and can potentially have unintended negative consequences. Four key criteria of CCT include reactionary response to moral panic, unquestioned acceptance and promotion, appeal to mythic narratives, and empirical failure. Social psychological phenomenon such as counterfactual thinking, emotions, and social cognition potentially influence individuals' support for CCT policies. A variety of legal actions-including AMBER Alerts, sex offender registration laws, 3-strikes laws, safe haven laws, and raids on the FLDS religious compounds-can be classified as crime control theater. Moreover, overselling these legal actions could be associated with a variety of potential dangers. For instance, the danger of overselling sex offender registration laws is that people focus on stereotypical sexual abuse (e.g., abuse committed by strangers) and underestimate the greater risk of sexual abuse among acquaintances. This article outlines the history of CCT, identifies specific legal actions that can be classified as CCT, identifies psychological phenomenon that might affect support for CCT policies, illustrates the dangers of overselling these legal actions, offers recommendations to avoid or improve theatrical legal actions, and offers future directions for researchers. This article concludes with an introduction to the special journal section examining the science of CCT.

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Section: Examples Of Crime Control Theater Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crime control theater: Past, present, and future.

DeVault

Miller

Griffin

2016

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law

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“…Residence restrictions are spatial boundaries aimed at protecting children by dictating where convicted sex offenders can live, typically in upward of several thousand feet from where children congregate, and also at times limiting where they can work or be physically present (Calkins, Jeglic, Beattey, Zeidman, & Perillo, 2014; Meloy, Miller, & Curtis, 2008; Mesler, Anderson, & Calkins, in press). Perhaps because these laws are aimed at protecting children and promoted as a way to increase public safety, they have received broad public support (Anderson, Sample, & Cain, 2013; Comartin, Kernsmith, & Kernsmith, 2009; Levenson et al, 2007; Levenson & Hern, 2007; Mancini, Shields, Mears, & Beaver, 2010; Mears, Mancini, Gertz, & Bratton, 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Crime control theater: Public (mis)perceptions of the effectiveness of sex offender residence restrictions.

Budd

Mancini

2016

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law

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Some crime control policies are ineffective, yet still draw substantial public support. Such laws, labeled "crime control theater" (CCT), derive their unquestioned public support from moral panics involving mythic narratives, yet little research has actually linked these criteria to support for a theater law. This study draws on the concept of CCT to better understand public perceptions of sex offender residence restrictions. Specifically, it evaluates what community member beliefs and or characteristics increase the likelihood that residence restrictions will be perceived as an effective law to decrease sex crime recidivism. Drawing on data from a national random sample of Americans, logistic regression is used to analyze the factors associated with this CCT law. Results indicate that if community members are Catholic, are a parent of a minor child, and believe in stranger danger, they are more likely to believe that residence restrictions are effective in reducing sex crime recidivism. Results are discussed in relation to residence restrictions as a CCT law, including the deleterious effects of residence restrictions and possible pathways to prevent the persistence of this law.

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