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How Do Sex Offenders Increase Recidivism?

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Since 1996, it has been a federal requirement for sex offenders to register. With the introduction of the Wetterling Act, Megan’s Law, the Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act, and the Walsh Act this registration has been expanded and now requires community notification. This information must be given frequently until a statutorily required limit has passed depending on the severity of the crime. The Walsh Act established a three-tier system for offenders, offenders must register home and work addresses, failure to register results in a felony, internet restrictions, and length of registration variations from fifteen years to life (Bonnar-Kidd, 412). They all have aimed at reducing recidivism and sexual assault, but limits reintegration for the …show more content…
Sex offenders have the lowest rate of reoffending among all other class of crime, and this rate continues to decline over time (Bonnar-Kidd, 414). According to Heroux, rapists have a 2.5 percent recidivism rate, while drug offenders have a rate of 41.2 percent. Sex offender registration laws may aim to notify the public of the offender’s presence to increase safety, decrease re-offense, and decrease sexual assault. Yet, by separating and isolating a person we actually may be increasing their rate of recidivism by limiting reintegration. Instead, in-prison interventions and therapies along with the use of supervisory programs that find employment, treatment, and housing after release lower recidivism for sex offenders by 30 percent (Heroux). Even with restricted housing, there is no way to stop an offender from repeating an offense if they truly want to seek out the crime. One subject in Bucher’s film called these restrictions “feel good laws” because they give the illusion of a safe …show more content…
In the 1990’s, as the public became increasingly aware of sexual violence they turned to legislatures to develop and reform laws regarding sexual offenders. The hope was that with notification, communities would be motivated to adopt protective actions against violent and sexual crimes occurring in their homes (Bandy, 239). Both the works of Bandy and Bonnar-Kidd state that fear occurs after notification, but there is little research that protective behaviors ever follow. Instead, there must be a perceived personal risk, not just fear, to adopt habits that include avoiding unsafe areas, locking the doors, buying or carrying a weapon, taking self-defense classes, or installing an alarm system (Bandy, 241). The desire of risk community theory is that “to induce the public to take protective actions, the best results come from communication that is given (a) in the written form, (b) repeatedly, and (c) by a multitude of authoritative groups (Bandy,

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