By Meghan M. Mitchell, Kristen M. Zgoba, Alex R. Piquero . . . There are roughly half a million sexual assault incidents in the United States every year — and more than 11,000 in Florida alone. These numbers are troubling. So it’s no surprise that people search the sex offender registration website to make sure that no one convicted of a sexual…
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By Sandy . . . At this time of public outrage and demands for meaningful criminal justice reform, one area in need of serious attention is the racial make-up of our states’ sexual offense registries. In 2018 a study was done that has been largely ignored. It shows conclusively that in every state in the union except one – Michigan…
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By Rebecca Kanable . . . A sex offender expert with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections on Monday discouraged the Harmony Town Board from passing an ordinance restricting where sex offenders could live in the town. The town board later tabled its proposed ordinance again during a lengthy meeting. The sex offender ordinance was proposed after board members learned that…
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Reprinted in full with permission. By John Ulrich . . . Kristen Burgess took a courageous step forward (Record-Eagle, Jan. 5) to shed light on the community’s response to intrafamilial sexual abuse. When I started my career in 1987, there were “family-centered” programs for parents who decided not to divorce after intrafamilial child sexual abuse. Families were ordered into long-term…
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By Ken Nolley . . . The Register-Guard editorial on Oct. 20 noted that current policy limits online information about persons on the sex offender registry to high risk offenders. The editorial saw this as a “shortcoming in state law,” which might suggest to some that this was merely an egregious oversight. But whether one agrees with that policy or…
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By Giulia Lowe and Gwenda Willis The present study examined the effect of offense-based labels on community members’ willingness to volunteer with people convicted for varying offenses and any priming effect of labeling language. Participants (N = 310) were randomly assigned to a label condition or a neutral condition and completed an anonymous online survey about their willingness to volunteer…
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By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg . . . Seth (not his real name) describes himself as an outcast as a child. “I was the fat kid with glasses that got picked on ever since first grade,” said Seth, now 40, who grew up in New Jersey, where he still lives. “I was always a socially awkward kid.” In 1993, when he was 14,…
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Originally printed 10/10/2013 By Sandy . . . Why advocate for not monitoring registered offenders on Halloween? What’s the harm? I’m so glad you asked. Most Halloween restrictions apply to everyone on the registry or everyone under supervision, whether or not their offenses had anything to do with a child. This broad-brush application is bumping up against constitutional protections. Many…
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