What does the sex offender registry actually do?

Question

If I thought that the Public Registry or residency Restrictions would make my children safer then I would whole-heartedly support them but I doubt they anything other than create a false sense of security which is dangerous. All they appear to do is target reformed offenders for hate crimes.

Answer 1

If you know where they live, they're that much easier to avoid.

Answer 2

There are some superficial similarities - the assumption of the two punishments is to announce the criminal's crimes to the international and warn others that the bearer is a guy or woman of low ethical character. however the biggest distinction comes from the certainty that the crimes are actually not analogous to a minimum of one yet another. Adultery isn't as severe as lots of the crimes that could reason an criminal to finally finally end up on the intercourse criminal Registry. Adultery is an act that occurs between consenting adults, while rape, molestation, and sexual attack are actually not. Now, i don't think of that's in simple terms that a sixteen 12 months previous who sexts a bare ptcture ought to finally finally end up on the intercourse criminal Registry. i could be one hundred% in want of taking such particularly minor offenders off the record. however the record itself is probable, on stability, an outstanding thought.

Answer 3

To begin with, I doubt most of the offenders are "reformed." With most, pedophilia, etc., is not a habit but an illness. There's a good chance he'll molest or rape again. The sex offender registry can alert you to offenders living in your neighborhood. It's a good thing to know.

Answer 4

The whole idea is to allow the public to know who has been convicted on a sex crime. Parents can now see if a sex offender is living in their neighborhood and warn their children accordingly

Answer 5

In its current incarnation, the Public registry is USELESS!!!!!! And Residency restriction laws are just further punishing those who register, because the ones who are going to molest a child and re offend don't register and are going to take a child from areas they don't live in anyway (DUH).

The original purpose of the Sex Offender Registries was for law enforcement (NOT THE PUBLIC) to track sexually violent predators, repeat child molesters and pedophiles. However, given what is considered a sex offense these days and who is on the registry, most of the registered offenders pose no threat to the community, and those that do pose a threat DON'T REGISTER ANYWAY.

Do you even know what can land you on the registry in most states now? Let me educate you:

1. The 18 year old who slept with a girl who said she was 18 also but really was 15, so now he is a registered sex offender.

2. The guy who left the bar and was to lazy to go back in to take a leak, so he did it in the alley and was caught and charged with indecent exposure and now is a registered sex offender.

3. The teenagers who went skinny dipping at a beach, thinking no one was around, and were caught and charged with indecent exposure and are all now registered sex offenders.

4. The idiot guy from high school who stupidly posted pictures on myspace.com of a girlfriend at a party exposing herself and is now a registered sex offender for distributing child pornography?

5. The guy who was 20 with a 15 year old girlfriend, who had sex two weeks before her 16th birthday, and ended up on the Maine sex offender registry (by the way, one of you morons decided to murder this kid)

6. The 19 year old college student convicted on rape charges because he had "consensual sex" with another college student, who decided in the morning that she really didn't consent and reported it as a rape.

7. The guy who grabbed the arm of a 14-year-old girl and lectured her on how not to get killed. She had stepped directly in front of his car, causing him to swerve in order to avoid hitting her. That one action made him guilty of "the unlawful restraint of a minor," which is a sexual offense in Illinois.

8. The 19 year old girl who posted sexually explicit pictures of herself on myspace.com and is now charged with child pornography?

9. The 17 year old girl who gave a 15 year old boy a oral sex (BJ) at school and was caught by a teacher.

Truthfully, who of you out there think any of these people pose a threat to society? None of these sex offenders pose ANY RISK to anyone, but more and more of these types of offenders are being added to the registries daily, and most registries don't distinguish between high and low risk offenders. Most registries don't even tell you what the crime was, or if it is listed, it is the legal definition which most of the time is meaningless.

Do you really care about the guy who slept with his underage girlfriend whom he is now married to and has two kid with, (poor kids are harassed at school, beaten up, no friends because the neighbors won't let their kids play with them because daddy is a sex offender)

Given the uselessness of the registries now, I am sure most of you would agree that the public registries need to go back to their original intent, for law enforcement use only, and they need to be removed for the internet. The community only requires notification when a violent sexual predator, repeat child molester or pedophile moves into the neighborhood.

Of course there will be those who disagree with this, however the only reason to disagree would be for the further participation in vigilantism and harassment of the sex offenders on the list, their families and children. Everyone needs someone to feel like they are better than, and who better than sex offenders, RIGHT?

Answer 6

I can understand your perspective. Should there be a registry for burglars? How about killers? Why not one for drunk drivers? What will you do with all this valuable information? Shouldn't there be one for women who have had abortions or drug dealers? At what point does their privacy begin and 'our' right to know end?

Answer 7

the sex offender is to inform the public of the sex offenders in your area

Answer 8

So normal people can look it up and see what's living close to them.I do it all the time.You tell me what rights should they have?In my book they have NONE.I leave them alone and they had better leave me & my children alone.Good Luck!

Answer 9

actually, nothing, as most do not even register.