NCJ Number
170792
Journal
New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1997) Pages: 405-426
Date Published
1997
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This article examines community notification and civil confinement as approaches to the problem of recidivism by sexual offenders.
Abstract
Sexual offender statutes requiring released sex offenders to register with the police have been adopted by all 50 States and the Federal Government; some statutes also provide for public notification. These laws address the community's need for information but do nothing to keep dangerous sex offenders who have a high possibility of recidivism from being able to strike again. Possible responses to this need include longer prison terms, perhaps life imprisonment without parole, or castration of sex offenders. Kansas and several other States are attempting to use civil commitment as an innovative approach to keeping dangerous sex offenders off the street, while avoiding the warehousing of thousands of prisoners when they may no longer be dangerous. The Kansas approach also offers medical help to the afflicted, along with strong protections for the community. Public notification laws and the civil commitment approach, together, uphold community norms, provide strong protections, keep the community involved in its criminal justice system, and provide a tough, but realistic, answer to the serious problem of recidivism by sexual offenders. Notes