Week 7 Discussion: The Effectiveness of Sex Offender Registries

The Effectiveness of Sex Offender Registries
Name
Institutional affiliation The Effectiveness of Sex Offender Registries
Sex offenders commit crimes that involve sexual acts for instance rape. For decades, there has been a debate on the efficiency of the sex offender’s registries with some people arguing that the process needs to be reviewed. When someone is involved in such a crime, they are required by law to register as sex offenders (Agan, 2011). This means that they have to provide information to the authorities about where they live and work. There is no restriction for registration even if the perpetrator does not live in the state they were convicted in. Registration has played a significant role in the fight against sexual abuse. According to the police department, people tend to report cases of abuse if they find out that the offender is already in the list (Powell, Day, Benson, Vess, & Graffam, 2014). The list has been made public so that people can find out the sex offenders living among them and be more careful in their daily activities. The primary objective of the list is to inform the community of any sex offender living among them. It is important for people in the community to have access to the list for their own safety. It plays a significant role in the prevention of sex abuse.
Despite the advantages of the list, it has also received its fair share of criticism. Critics argue that most people tend to react over if they find a sex offender living among them (Ackerman, Sacks, & Osier, 2013). This is true in that most sex offenders receive ridicule and embarrassment. The list ...