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18 Criminology, Crim. Just. L & Soc'y 1 (2017)
Public and Professional Views of Sex Offender Registration and Notification

handle is hein.journals/wescrim18 and id is 7 raw text is: VOLUME 18, ISSUE 1, PAGES 1 27 (2017) Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society E-ISSN 2332-886X Available online at https://ccjls.scholasticahq.corn Public and Professional Views of Sex Offender Registration and Notification David Patrick Connora and Richard Tewksburyb a Seattle University b University of Louisville ABSTRACT AND ARTICLE INFORMATION This paper focuses on how various populations described in the research literature view Sex Offender Registration and Notification (SORN). Only a relatively small number of studies are devoted to perceptions of sex offender policies, and even fewer are available strictly on the topic of SORN. What follows is a presentation of the relevant research that shows how the public, lawmakers, criminal justice officials, treatment professionals, publicly identified sex offenders, and family members of publicly identified sex offenders perceive and experience SORN as a social policy. At the same time, the role of the media in shaping perceptions about convicted sex offenders and laws aimed at them is considered. It is argued that each population sees SORN laws differently, but the collective attitudes and beliefs suggest that such policies are not only widely endorsed but also lacking in efficacy. Although residency restrictions are often attached to SORN legislation and frequently become accompanying realities for convicted sex offenders, this discussion centers only on attitudes and beliefs of SORN. Keywords: Invited Review sex offender, SORN, perception, registration, notification 0 2017 Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society and The Western Society of Criminology Hosting by Scholastica. All rights reserved. There is substantial evidence across numerous jurisdictions that Sex Offender Registration and Notification (SORN) laws in America do not increase public safety. For instance, whether or not convicted sex offenders were obligated to register and cooperate with public notification procedures under SORN policies failed to predict if they sexually recidivated in Arkansas (Maddan, 2008), Iowa (Adkins, Huff, & Stageberg, 2000; Tewksbury & Jennings, 2010), Massachusetts (Petrosino & Petrosino, 1999), New Jersey (Tewksbury, Jennings, & Zgoba, 2012; Zgoba, Witt, Dalessandro, & Veysey, 2008), New York (Sandler, Freeman, & Socia, 2008), and Washington (Schram & Milloy, 1995). Despite this empirical reality, SORN mandates persist across the United States as popular mechanisms of sex offender management. This suggests that what social groups in American society think about SORN laws may influence the existence and survival of such policies. This paper focuses on how various populations described in the research literature view SORN.' Only a relatively small number of studies are devoted to Corresponding Author: David Patrick Connor, Seattle University, 901 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98122, United States. Email: connord@seattleu.edu

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