NCJ Number
238131
Date Published
June 2009
Length
16 pages
Annotation
In response to a request from the Washington State Sex Offender Policy Board, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy reports on its systematic review of the research literature in order to evaluate the effectiveness of sex offender registration and community notification laws in reducing crime.
Abstract
Regarding specific deterrence, this review tentatively concludes that existing research does not provide much policy guidance on the specific deterrent effect of registration/notification laws. The weight of existing research indicates that registration/notification laws have no statistically significant effect on recidivism; however, this finding should be regarded with caution, since the review found only seven credible studies, and these studies have widely varying results. In addition, three of the studies have small sample sizes. For general deterrence, the two relevant studies found provide some indication that registration laws lower sex offense rates in the public at large. Still, caution is warranted in generalizing from this result, since it is based on only two studies. The overall conclusion from the literature review is that additional research is needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn. This study conducted a systematic review of all relevant research available throughout the United States. Nine rigorous evaluations were found. 4 exhibits and appended detailed description of the research methodology