NCJ Number
247576
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 78 Issue: 1 Dated: June 2014 Pages: 28-31
Date Published
June 2014
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article examines whether the collateral consequences of being a registered sex offend are as bad as the research suggests.
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that sex offender registries have detrimental effects on the lives of sex offenders and their families. These detrimental effects include harassment or victimization, social isolation, difficulty finding employment, and difficulty finding housing. This article examines whether these negative consequences are as bad as the research suggests. The article examines two limitations of these studies which serve to overestimate the negative consequences. These limitations are lack of comparison groups of other ex-convicts or other residents living in the same neighborhood, and use of self-report surveys to obtain information from sex offenders on their experiences with the registries. The article examines current research that has examined the collateral consequences of sex offender registries and compares the findings to those of other studies that have examined the experiences of other former convicts. Suggestions for future research are discussed. References