NCJ Number
199870
Journal
Campus Safety Journal Volume: 11 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2003 Pages: 14-16
Date Published
April 2003
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article explains the provisions of the Federal Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act and discusses issues in its implementation on college campuses.
Abstract
The Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act, which went into effect in October 2002, requires all campuses to keep a registry of convicted sex offenders who enroll in classes or work on campus. This list must be publicly accessible no later than September 30, 2003. There is no new Federal funding available to assist campuses in complying with the law. The underlying logic of the law is that the information on sex offenders on campus can help persons on campus guard against students or employees whom they know are past offenders. The registry also gives campus police a valuable source of information for investigating any sexual crimes that are committed. The law requires action to be taken by three groups of people: the sexual offender, university personnel, and campus security and police. Cooperation among all three of these groups is required for the law to be administered properly. Convicted offenders are required to register with the university, and the university has the responsibility of obtaining the necessary information from its students and employees. Campus police and security personnel are responsible for using the information as a tool to deter crimes and assist in investigations. They must also assist the university in collecting the information required for the creation of a publicly accessible database of offenders. It is still uncertain as to whether the university or security will be held accountable for obtaining the information necessary for compliance with the act. The effectiveness of the law has not yet been evaluated, since only with precise data collection over time will the law's impact be empirically determined.