Law Enforcement Perspectives on Sex Offender Registration and Notification: Effectiveness, Challenges, and Policy Priorities

Abstract

Since the 1990s, sex offender registration and notification (SORN) has assumed a prominent place on state and federal crime control agendas in the United States. Although researchers have examined many aspects of SORN policies and systems, relatively little is known about how SORN is used, perceived, and experienced by law enforcement professionals in the context of their work. This article presents findings from a mixed-method study, consisting of face-to-face interviews and a national online survey of police and sheriff agencies. We examined law enforcement views on SORN’s general functions and efficacy, barriers to SORN effectiveness, and recommendations for SORN-related policy. Results highlight the challenges associated with SORN’s various functions as a law enforcement information tool, as an offender monitoring mechanism, and as a conduit of public information. They also indicate differences between the perspectives of agency leadership and those on the front lines of registry enforcement and management, as well as a range of concerns associated with the reliability and utility of registry information, inter-system communication, registrant homelessness and transience, and the public’s capacity to understand registry information. Implications for policy reform and for SORN-related research are discussed.

Risk, discretion, accountability and control: Police perceptions of sex offender risk management policy in England and Wales

“…To capture a breadth and depth of these perspectives the research combined an online questionnaire survey with a series of semi-structured interviews. The survey was developed by the authors from a study by Harris et al (2015), which examined law enforcement perspectives of sex offender management and policy in the USA. Where appropriate, to reflect the English and Welsh context (legislation, language and policy), the type and nature of questions asked in the current study were adapted from the original.…”

Information Pertaining to Released Sex Offenders: To Disclose or Not to Disclose, that is the Question

“…Some states notify the public only about high‐risk sex offenders, while other states employ broad notification practices and disseminate information about all registered sex offenders (see Harris et al . ; Levenson et al . ).…”

“…Most statutes permit public posting of name, conviction, photograph, and often a home and work address. Some states notify the public only about high-risk sex offenders, while other states employ broad notification practices and disseminate information about all registered sex offenders (see Harris et al 2016;Levenson et al 2007). Moreover, the release of information can be proactive as well as reactive, with press releases, flyers, and door-to-door warnings issued regarding the presence of sex offenders (Levenson and Cotter 2005).…”

“…Ireland, like many jurisdictions (see Harris et al . ; Thomas ), has adopted a multi‐agency approach in dealing with offenders after conviction and release, and as such, information is communicated between agencies such as the Gardaí, the probation service and the prison service, in addition to other stakeholders, and also extends to foreign agencies (through Interpol, for example). Co‐operation between these agencies is considered to be crucial in identifying and managing risk, as well as assisting in rehabilitative efforts (Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform ).…”

Police officer perspectives on the implementation of a sex offender community notification scheme

“…The form that notification takes varies from state to state (e.g. door-knocking, community meetings, posters, flyers, social media; see Harris et al, 2015), but federal legislation mandates that all states must maintain a publicly accessible online sex offender register (see Thomas, 2011). The information that is published generally includes the offender's name, date of birth, gender, address, past convictions, a physical description and photograph, and may also include his or her driver's licence number, a description of his or her motor vehicle including licence plate number, his or her place of employment, his or her victim's gender and age, and risk rating (see Ackerman et al, 2011 for a descriptive analysis of the content of statebased online public sex offender registries).…”