“Sex offenders are the scourge of modern America, the ‘irredeemable monsters’ who prey on the innocent” (Logan, 1999, p.1167). The colossal number of sex crimes is rapidly expanding across the United States and with it a wake of innocent victims. This expansion and increased victimization called for reform and demanded protection for the innocent. This protection came in the form of a new criminal justice policy, the sex offender registration.
“In the United States, offender registration was first used in the 1930s” as a means of banishing the unwanted offenders (Matson, Lieb & Feinberg, 1999, p. 1). In 1947 a registration statute was enacted in the state of California in efforts to reduce recidivism among …show more content…
At some point each of these convicted offenders will be released back into society, an estimated 10-20,000 per year, creating a valid challenge for the administrators and managers within the FBI and Department of Justice. “In response to this challenge, lawmakers have enacted many laws and policies aimed at controlling sex offenders in communities; and for those under some form of community supervision (i.e., probation or parole), a variety of strategies have evolved to effectively manage these offenders” (“Sex Offender Management”, n.d.). Also, “research demonstrates that observed recidivism rates for sexual, violent, and non-violent crimes are lower when sex offenders receive appropriate interventions, such as proper supervision and treatment (Aos, et al., 2006), it is incumbent upon public safety agencies to provide services to offenders that can ensure the most effective management of these offenders in an effort to reduce future victimization” (Unknown, 2008, p. …show more content…
1). Since sex offender registries include personal identifying information such as fingerprints, DNA and handwriting samples, conviction information such as offense committed and jurisdictional information, these processes include, but are not limited to, the reinforcement and assistance in the investigations of sex crimes. The data obtained through sex offender registries offers assistance to investigators of law enforcement agencies, as well as other criminal justice agencies, in narrowing a suspect pool of offenders. “In addition, registries are designed to make sex offenders more visible to community members who, when they access or receive information about registered sex offenders living in their communities, may take increased protective steps” (“Sex Offender”, n.d., p. 1). The sex offender registration policy is used by the criminal justice system as a deterrent for future violations of sex crimes for repeat offenders by exposing them to the public for the criminal they are. The registry is also used to deter those who have yet to participate in criminal sexual behaviors and/or for those individuals that have concealed their criminal behaviors (“Sex Offender”,