This study investigated public attitudes regarding sex offender sanctions through telephone surveys (n ¼ 703). The greatest support was for residency and work restrictions. There was less support for publication of names in a newspaper, curfews, life in prison, and castration. Support for nonsevere sanctions correlated with socioeconomic status, being a parent of a school or preschool aged child, and a fear of sex offenders. Support for severe punishments for sex offenders positively correlated with fear and being a parent of a preschool-aged child. Education and income were negatively correlated with both severe and non-severe sanctions for offenders.

Although registries of convicted sexual offenders are widely popular, little is known about the impact of the policies. The goal of this research was to measure one aspect of the impact of registry policies: patterns of usage of publicly available registries. Using a computer-assisted telephone survey, Michigan residents were questioned about their utilization of the sex offender registry and whether they believed any sex offenders lived in their community. The authors found that few respondents had looked at the registry. Reasons respondents provided for nonuse included lack of interest in the registry, living in a "safe" area, and not having children. Although it was found that registry use was related to awareness of offenders in the community, after viewing the registry, nearly half of the survey participants still believed no offenders lived in the community. Logistic regression was used to predict both registry use and awareness of offenders in the community.

Since 1994, policies have been instituted throughout the United States that require sex offenders to register their personal information with law enforcement officials (Jacob Wetterling Crimes against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Program, 1994). With the passage of additional laws, this information is now available to the public via the Internet or a request to a police department. These laws have brought about consequences for both the registrants and for members of their families. A focus group was held with four mothers who have sons listed on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. Psychological and social consequences of registration were found and policy implications are discussed.

The crisis intervention team (CIT) is a tool that can be used to foster pre-booking diversion of individuals with mental illness from the criminal justice system and into community treatment services. Although CIT is often implemented solely as the training of law enforcement officers, the model stipulates that CIT is a vehicle for collaboration with community stakeholders who share a similar philosophy, as well as expanded mental health services offering a 24 hour-seven days per week drop-off option for law enforcement officers. This case study presents the countywide implementation of CIT and expands previous findings on the prevalence of officer interaction with persons with mental health issues and CIT training outcomes, including changes in officer perception of individuals with mental health issues. Furthermore, analysis of the disposition of calls for officer assistance coded as mental health or suicide found significant increases in officer drop-offs to the mental health crisis center post-CIT training. Interrupted time series analysis determined that this change has been sustained over time, perhaps owing to the unique communication between county law enforcement and mental health staff. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Findings support inclusive eligibility for MHC participation across diagnostic categories and should inform policy and practice in regard to MHC development and operation. Future research should examine other key characteristics to determine ways in which resources can be best utilized.