Grand Challenges: Social Justice and the Need for Evidence-based Sex Offender Registry Reform

June-2016 National:

Sex offender registries, though popular, bring with them enormous fiscal costs and unintended consequences for offenders and communities. Consistent with the Grand Challenges, social workers can play a role in advocating for sex offender management policies that are better informed by evidence and thus a better use of resources.

Registry reform would also mediate the stigma resulting from the sex offender label, and reduce barriers to offender reintegration. A brief history of registration laws and the research regarding their effectiveness will be provided, followed by a rationale for needed improvements in sex offender management policy. Five evidence-based recommendations for reform will be proposed:

(1) juveniles should not be subjected to sex offender registration;

(2) registration durations should be guided by risk assessment research;

(3) procedures for relief and removal from registries should be available;

(4) discretion should be returned to judges;

(5) residence restrictions should be abolished. Such changes can result in improved public safety outcomes and social justice, as well as reduced fiscal and social costs.

..Source.. by Levenson, Grady and Leibowitz