NCJ Number
232180
Date Published
2008
Length
27 pages
Annotation
After explaining and critiquing the features of the Federal Adam Walsh Act - particularly the provision that requires States to include children as young as age 14 on sex offender registries - this paper offers recommendations for reforming Federal and State legislation and policies pertaining to sex offender registries.
Abstract
The Federal Adam Walsh Act requires States to include children as young as age 14 on sex offender registries, often for the rest of their lives, for the purpose of protecting children from sexual violence. This paper argues that this law is ill-conceived in failing to achieve its intended purpose of keeping children safe from sexual predators. Instead, the law commits States to spending valuable law enforcement resources, targets children and families that pose no threat to the public, and undermines the purpose of the juvenile justice system. A review of relevant research indicates that sex offender registries have questionable, and sometimes negative, public safety outcomes for several reasons, including law enforcement's inability to maintain accurate and complete information required by the registries in a timely manner. In addition, most registries indiscriminately sweep up people who pose no threat to public safety. The over-inclusiveness of a registry in practice diminishes its value as a public safety tool, because it does not narrow its focus to those who pose a real threat to the public. This paper presents a series of recommendations that encourage policymakers to protect communities from sexual violence by developing proactive prevention strategies. This should include providing education and information for community members and resources for families that combat certain behaviors in their formative stages. Instead of expanding the scope of existing registries, State and Federal legislators should implement interventions that research has shown to prevent sexual violence. Data tables and figures and 145 notes