Sex Offender Registries: Fear without Function?

Abstract

I use three separate data sets and designs to determine whether sex offender registries are effective. First, I use state-level panel data to determine whether sex offender registries and public access to them decrease the rate of rape and other sexual abuse. Second, I use a data set that contains information on the subsequent arrests of sex offenders released from prison in 1994 in 15 states to determine whether registries reduce the recidivism rate of offenders required to register compared with the recidivism of those who are not. Finally, I combine data on locations of crimes in Washington, D.C., with data on locations of registered sex offenders to determine whether knowing the locations of sex offenders in a region helps predict the locations of sexual abuse. The results from all three data sets do not support the hypothesis that sex offender registries are effective tools for increasing public safety.

The Adam Walsh Act

“…Using Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data from 1985 to 2003, Agan (2011) did not find a significant decrease in arrest rates of rape or sexual abuse after the implementation of a registry or public access to the registry via the Internet. The researcher also utilized Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data that tracked individual sex offenders after their release in 1994, and determined that having to register as a sex offender did not lead to significant reductions in sex offense recidivism (Agan, 2011). Using UCR data for the years 1970 to 2002, Ackerman, Sacks, and Greenberg (2012) investigated the effect of Megan's Laws and SVP legislation on rates of rape, and reported that these laws have not resulted in dramatic declines in forcible rapes.…”

Legislation Targeting Sex Offenders: Are Recent Policies Effective in Reducing Rape?

“…Duwe & Donnay, 2008;Finn, 1997) to study the effects of sex offender registry laws on the incidence of forcible rape, but include no control variables in their models, and do not consider Megan's Laws. Agan (2008) uses controls, but does not consider SVP legislation. Both studies conclude that the innovation under study did not significantly reduce the incidence of rape.…”

Introduction Sexuality in leadership: A long-neglected topic with vast implications for individuals and society

“…Abstinence-only education has been deemed a failure (Santelli, Ott, Lyon, Rogers, Summers, & Schleifer, 2006) but was motivated by the belief that any other form of sexual education (such as safer-sex methods of disease or pregnancy prevention) would then increase young adults' tendencies to have sex. Registries for sex offenders, which lead to permanent stigma and have not been shown to produce a reduction in further offending (Agan, 2011), seem contrary to the notion that after a criminal serves his or her time, he or she should enjoy a clean slate to try to be a productive citizen.…”