Is civil commitment more appropriate than public registry for the most dangerous sex offenders?

Question

NJ is one state that provides for a civil committment for sex offenders that pose a significant threat to society if released. These include the ones that attain sexual gratification from the mutilation of their victims, etc. Civil committment basically amounts to a life sentence for those offenders. They are the ones most people are most afraid of but they will not appear on a registry because they are not free. Could this practice replace the need for a registry that could include "one-time offenders?"

Please, no diatrides about the recividism rates or the ratio of known to stranger offenders. This question is about the efficacy of two different methods of protecting society, not about which side of the treatment vs. punishment arguement you happen to take.

nk rso and cantcu, neither of you has answered the question. I'm not looking for a debate on recidivism here.

Answer 1

There are several states that allow for civil committments, but often the requirements for the person to qualify are higher than you might think. In other words, it is not just anyoen but the "one time offender".

Personally, I think they both play a role in protecting society because often times those one time offenders are actually more than that, they were just only caught the one time. I do however think that the public registries should have a scale to determine who is posted so that more violent offenders are desribed as such.

The cost of civil committments, both in the court system - because very few AGREE to it - and the cost of the committment make the registry the most practical in my book.

Answer 2

no I disagree because 1% sex offender reoffend of same crime here some FACT
http://www.geocities.com/eadvocate/issues/index.html

I don't know what so many people are saying 99% will reoffend
if that is true then millions of children would have been molested

we have over 500,000 sex offender in the USA on the loose right now and still adding every day so if that 100% will reoffend then assuming that 1 sex offender would molested 20 child before getting caught then that would be a huge number
so that 99% do not add up

Answer 3

The recidivism rates for fixated pedophiles is almost 100%! I am not talking sexual offenses. Statutory Rape is a sexual offense and could be between a 17 and a 16 year old! You can charge 17 year olds in my state!

For those people who's primary sexual orientation is children, the only way they won't re offend is if they are locked up!

Answer 4

The whole "sex offender" questing seems simple to me. Give them longer sentences, but lower minimums. For a crime that would currently get you 3 to 5 years, change it to 2 to 10 years, or something like that. When they're deemed to have "paid their debt to society," AND judged to be safe to the general population, they should be released. From that point, there should be no further punishment. If murderers don't need to be publicly registered, then why rapists? In both cases, they simply shouldn't be released if they're still judged to be a threat. And in both cases, if they DO commit another serious, violent crime, they've proven themselves to be a continuing threat, and they should get a minimum of life in jail.

Answer 5

sex offenses have a broad range,child molesters is what we think of but their are rapists, guys who expose themselves,guy who solicit the services of a prostitute are also sex offenders. it depends on the nature of the crime. each case is different