NCJ Number
227569
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 48 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2009 Pages: 257-266
Date Published
July 2009
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article examines time periods for sex offender registration and reexamines the way in which they are arrived at and their current significance. It questions the necessity for an automatic lifetime registration for all sex offenders completing custodial sentence; and examines whether there is a need for a mechanism of appeal for lifetime registrants.
Abstract
At the present there is no mechanism or judicial oversight in place to allow for variation or revocation of the time periods an individual is required to notify the police of his or her circumstances while on the sex offender register. Regular risk assessments are carried out on registrants but these assessments are used only for increasing or decreasing the interventions being carried out by the various agencies involved; they are not used in any forum that might consider changing the length of time for which registration should continue or even ending registration requirements altogether. Without such a form of judicial oversight the register could become a meaningless ritual for many low-risk offenders who could be in danger of mudding up the register and distracting from work with high-risk offenders. The sex offender register requires offenders to notify the police every time their circumstances change. This notification requirement continues for time periods, dependent on the severity of sentence received; some offenders are subject to a lifetime's registration. This article considers the basis of these time periods and the necessity of introducing a form of appeal to allow revision or suspension of the registration requirement for low-risk offenders. Table, notes, and references