Sex Offender Registry

Ryan Kelley
Jacob Wetterling and Megan’s Law
● Crimes against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act
○ Nationwide Database for tracking
○ Required or lose funding
○ Story
● Megan’s Law
○ Required information to be made public
○ Decrease sexual violence and deterrent
○ Story
People Impacted
● Public
● Victims
● Offenders
● Housing
● Employment
● Past Offenders
Theories: Utilitarianism
● Contributing to the good of the majority
○ Humans seek pleasure and try to minimize pain
○ Moral systems central around what is best for the group
● Individual vs. Society
○ Society ALWAYS wins
● Harm done to one vs. Harm done to many
Application: Utilitarianism
● “The purpose of all laws is to maximize net happiness of society”
● Sex offender registries are not deterring sexual violence.
○ Maas (2011) Florida crime
● Dropping low risk offenders
● Nonviolent cases during dating
● Shifting focus to medium and high risk offenders
Theories: Natural Law
● Natural ideas of right and wrong
○ Sex Crimes
○ “Natural Inclinations”
● Interpretation on what is a moral rule
○ Personal morals vs. Natural law
● Humans misinterpreting the rule
Application: Natural Law
● Clearly committed a horrible crime
○ Do they understand what they did?
○ Unforseen struggles
● Mental Health
○ Right state of mind
○ Understanding natural law
● Income
○ 20,000
Judgements
● Maas
○ Low risk offenders
○ Stigma and stereotyping
● Dunne
○ Issues with treatment staff
● Emotion-Based Laws
○ Megan’s Law
Other Modes of Treatment
● Achieving control over their “problematic symptoms and behaviors”
○ Relapse Prevention
■ How it occurs
■ Teaching self-management strategies
● Becoming self-restraining towards high risk-situations
● Cognitive behavioral therapy
○ Group therapy setting
● Medical Treatment
○ Chemical Castration
Sources
Bowen, K., Frenzel, E., & Spraitz, J. D. (2016). Sex offender registration and notification laws:Thoughts from registered sex offenders in three states. Safer Communities, 15(2),

94-109.Retrieved from http://ezproxy.loras.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.loras.edu/docview/1776341516?accountid=35772

Burchfield, K.B. and Mingus, W. ( 2014 ), " Sex offender reintegration: consequences of the local neighborhood context ",American Journal of Criminal Justice , Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 109

- 24 . doi: 10.1007/s12103-012-9195-x.

Gaines, J. S. (2009). Labeling adult sex offenders and sexually violent predators: The impact of registration and community notification (Order No. 3359645). Available from Criminal

Justice Database. (305005242). Retrieved from http://ezproxy.loras.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.loras.edu/docview/305005242?accountid=35772

Haist, M. (2009). DETERRENCE IN A SEA OF "JUST DESERTS": ARE UTILITARIAN GOALS ACHIEVABLE IN A WORLD OF "LIMITING RETRIBUTIVISM"? Journal of

Criminal Law & Criminology, 99(3), 789-821. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.loras.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.loras.edu/docview/218442904?accountid=35772

Maas, T. (2011). A quantitative study: Florida law enforcements perception concerning the effectiveness of florida sex offender registration (Order No. 3481362). Available from

Criminal Justice Database. (906477883). Retrieved from http://ezproxy.loras.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.loras.edu/docview/906477883?accountid=35772

Pollock, J. M. (2015). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.