Structuring Relief for Sex Offenders from Registration and Notification Requirements: Learning from Foreign Jurisdictions and from the Model Penal Code: Sentencing
25 Pages Posted: 17 Apr 2018
Date Written: April 12, 2018
Abstract
A wide array of collateral sanctions envelops convicted sex offenders. Among the most debilitating are registration and notification requirements, which are governed by both state and federal laws. Notification statutes in particular carry with them a host of negative ramifications for the individuals affected but also impose cost on public coffers and public safety. Ex ante limitations on such restrictions would be most effective but are also largely politically unpalatable. Therefore, individual relief provisions, perhaps along the model of Model Penal Code: Sentencing, should be adopted and extended to sex offenders. Overall public safety and the reintegration of sex offenders would be served best if the United States moved away from public notification, limited registries to those convicted of sexual offenses and at high risk of committing another serious sex crime, and invested more heavily in prevention and the treatment of sex offenders.
Keywords: Collateral Sanctions, Evidence-Based, Model Penal Code, Notification, Public Safety, Registration, Reintegration, Risk Assessment, Sentencing, Sex Offender
JEL Classification: K1, K10, K14, K42
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation