SEX OFFENDER LEGISLATION
The goal of sexual offender legislation in create and increase awareness in the public about the presence of sex offenders within their communities so as protection measures can be taken by families against sexual victimization (Levenson & Cotter, 2005). This law will have effects if it can lead to a reduction in the cases of sex crime and especially the recidivistic crimes that happens over a given time. The positive effects of the legislation could only be noted if they can be direct results of the law’s implementation and not other potential effects. Research has shown that registries offender may not lead to reduction of recidivism but they mostly make the communities to feel in control and hence safer. If the law would address what drives a person to sexual crime, then it would be said that the law has a direct influence on the recidivism (Levenson & Cotter, 2005). Sex offenders do not seem to commit crimes because they live near the victims, but in most cases they take advantage of a certain opportunities to build a relationship with the victims and their families for such crimes to take place. The law can have unintended or counterproductive impacts especially in relation to reintegration of the offenders into the community. The unique stigma resulting from registration of sex offender and notification of the community has been observed and documented. The stigma leads to difficulties among the offenders in accessing essential services or gaining employment which comes with psychological stressors like shame, hopelessness and depression. However, the society favors legislation due to the sense of security offered (Levenson & Cotter, 2005).
Looking for alternative the available legislation on management of sexual offenders should involve an approach that considers the input of entire community. This involves the adoption of three strategies which include a collaborative approach, public engagement approach and evidence-based strategy. A collaborative approach involves venturing beyond conventional adversarial and reactive strategies common in criminal justice. This involves concerted efforts among the agencies of criminal justice system and community organizations through forging partnerships for the purpose of analyzing the problem and coming up with responsive solutions (Alexander, 2010). After implementing these solutions, collaboration among the relevant entities should always share information concerning the progress being made by the offender and looking into whether there is need for modification of the supervision plan being used to manage the situation. The effectiveness of this approach is that a collaborative team work can be used in sensitizing the community on the need to reintegrate the offender and engaging the various stakeholders in supervising progress made by the offender and the community (Alexander, 2010). An evidence-based strategy involve utilizing the available research on what works in preventing recidivism and helping the community in integration efforts. It involves using the practices and principles that are evidence based in reducing the case of crime recurring and helping the offenders in adapting to different ways of life. This method is effective since progress can be checked through empirical review (Jackson, 2008). Public engagement should center on involving the public in the integration process so to remove any stigma on the sex offender.
Conclusion
The effectiveness of this legislation can be viewed in terms of what influences it has in reducing recidivism and in enhancing the reintegration of sex offender. While it may not reduce recidivism it gives the community a sense of safety when the offender whereabouts are known. Full impacts would be seen if offender management approach involves not just the criminal justice system agencies but the community in which the reintegration takes place.
References
Alexander, R. (2010). Collaborative supervision strategies for sex offender community management. Fed. Probation, 74, 16.
Levenson, J. S., & Cotter, L. P. (2005). The effect of Megan’s Law on sex offender reintegration. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21(1), 49-66.
Jackson, R. L. (2008). Sex offender civil commitment: Recommendations for empirically guided evaluations. Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 36(3), 389–429.
