Sex Offenders and Public Policy (Current Controversies)

Cover

Sex Offenders and Public Policy (edited by Lynn M. Zott) is a 2007 anthology within the Current Controversies series. It designed to present sharply contrasting viewpoints on criminal justice, legislation, treatment, and public responses to sexual offending. The book organizes contemporary debates into four central questions: whether sex-offender policy rests on accurate assumptions, whether treatment works, what controversies surround current policy, and how policies might be improved. Each chapter juxtaposes essays by policymakers, prosecutors, journalists, scholars, professional organizations, and critics, offering a panoramic view of how American society constructs sexual danger, evaluates risk, and negotiates the tension between public safety, constitutional protections, empirical evidence, and moral outrage. The structure encourages critical thinking by exposing contradictions between fear-driven legislative action, research findings on recidivism, the limits of punitive approaches, and arguments for more evidence-based, rights-respecting alternatives.

Content

Here are summaries of some essays from the book that take a humanistic perspective.

Chapter 1: Is Sex Offender Policy Based on Accurate Assumptions?

• Research and Statistics Debunk Common Misconceptions (Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers)

A quick review of the facts and statistics about sex offenders and sexual abuse reveals that many widely held beliefs about both topics are highly inaccurate.

• Americans Exaggerate Threats Posed by Sexual Predators (Benjamin Radford)

Americans’ hysteria about sexual predators has led to the passage of ineffective and costly legislation that does nothing to protect children.

• Clarifying the Facts Can Strengthen Public Policy (Eric Lotke; Herbert J. Hoelter)

To reduce sexual victimization, public policies on sex offenders must be based on current statistics and informed by research.

• Most Sex Offenders Are Not Murderers (Lisa L. Sample)

Harsh laws targeting sex offenders are based on the false belief that sex offenders often kill their victims; research indicates that sex offenders rarely commit murder.

Chapter 2: Is Treatment for Sex Offenders Effective?

• Treating Sex Offenders Makes Sense (Pamela D. Schultz)

Treating sex offenders is a much more effective approach to reducing sexual violence than radical, punitive, fear-based approaches currently being advocated.

• Pedophiles Are Criminals, Not Patients (Thomas S. Szasz)

Pedophiles are criminals and do not suffer from mental illness or disease.

Chapter 3: What Controversies Surround Sex Offender Policy?

• Registries and Community Notification Target the Wrong People (Michelle L. Meloy)

Registration and notification laws that purport to increase public safety by demonizing and isolating sex offenders actually make it more difficult for convicted offenders to reform themselves and increase the likelihood that they will re-offend or be subjected to vigilante justice.

• Iowa’s Residency Restrictions Have Proven Unsuccessful (Iowa County Attorneys Association)

Residency restrictions for sex offenders in Iowa are ineffective, difficult to enforce, costly, and should be replaced with laws that can be enforced to effectively protect children against sexual assault.

• GPS Tracking of Sex Offenders Fails to Protect Children and Promotes Panic (Katharine Mieszkowski)

Using technology such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to track sex offenders is viewed by experts in sex offender management as ineffective, likely unconstitutional, and symptomatic of widespread misconceptions about sexual assault.

• Juveniles Engaging in Consensual Oral Sex Should Not Be Punished (Karen Houppert)

Youth that engage in consensual oral sex are not sex offenders. States should change punitive laws that severely punish youth for engaging in consensual sexual activity.

• Legislation Must Be Based on Scientific Research (Richard B. Krueger)

The hysteria driving the passage of ineffective and excessively punitive sex offender legislation is evidence that American society is engaged in another witch hunt, just as it has been many times in the past. Careful, scientifically sound research is needed to develop laws and policies that are both effective and just.

• Death Penalty for Sex Offenders Sends the Wrong Message (Debra Saunders)

Laws that allow the death penalty to be imposed on repeat sex offenders endanger children, are unconstitutional, and send the wrong message to victims of sexual assault.

• Castration Is Inappropriate and Immoral (Daily Press, Newport News, Virginia)

Castration of sex offenders—especially when used as an alternative to incarceration—threatens public safety. Castration has not shown to be effective in reducing sexual offenders motivated by nonsexual desires and is reversible; furthermore, the desire for revenge that motivates the public to support castration is morally questionable at best, and fails to address the fact that most children are sexually abused by someone who is either a member of the family or in a position of trust in the community.