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Article
Publication date: 11 April 2016

Kendra Bowen, Erika Frenzel and Jason D. Spraitz

In the USA, sex offender policy research has focussed on demographic characteristics of registrants, recidivism rates of registrants, accuracy and completeness of listed…

Abstract

Purpose

In the USA, sex offender policy research has focussed on demographic characteristics of registrants, recidivism rates of registrants, accuracy and completeness of listed information, and the collateral consequences experienced by registrants. This growing body of research demonstrates the need to explore offender perceptions of sex offender registration and notification (SORN) laws. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether registration related variables influenced sex offenders’ opinions about the registry, compliance with the registry, self-worth, and deterrence perceptions.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper utilized a sample of 286 male registered sex offenders (RSO) in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. Four multivariate regression models were run to examine registration related variables impact on sex offender opinions of the registry, registry compliance, feelings of self-worth, and perceptions of deterrence.

Findings

The multivariate regression results suggest registration related variables have a significant impact on RSO opinion of the registry, compliance with the registry, and opinions of self. Specifically, the number of collateral consequences that one experienced, police contacts that RSOs had, and being recognized as a sex offender were significantly related to the dependent variables in the regression models.

Originality/value

This study adds to the body of research that indicates sex offenders experience a myriad of consequences that are outside the scope of the registered sex offender laws. Policy implications and societal consequences of these findings are discussed, as well as a future research agenda.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2011

Ryanne Colbert

Sex offenders and the laws concerning them represent a highly controversial and emotionally charged issue. Current efforts of legislation in the United States to manage the…

1635

Abstract

Sex offenders and the laws concerning them represent a highly controversial and emotionally charged issue. Current efforts of legislation in the United States to manage the increasing number of sex offenders being arrested and eventually released back into communities are inadequate to manage such a large population of offenders, and the effects of registration and notification laws are more detrimental than beneficial to the communities they intend to protect. This paper discusses the notion that a significant cause of the problem relates to the overly broad standards that are used to define who is to be charged as a sex offender. The term “sex offender” needs to be reserved for those individuals who best represent the meaning of the term, and the resources available for this issue should be directed towards the effective management of those offenders instead of being spread so thin amongst so many offenders who do not pose a serious threat to society that none of them are sufficiently supervised after release from incarceration. Furthermore, laws and federal guidelines regarding sex offender legislation needs to be based on empirical research findings instead of uniformed public pressure.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 October 2021

Alan J. Drury, Matt DeLisi and Michael Elbert

Sex offender registration and notification act (SORNA) offenders are a source of scholarly study across the social, behavioral, forensic and legal sciences with the bulk of…

Abstract

Purpose

Sex offender registration and notification act (SORNA) offenders are a source of scholarly study across the social, behavioral, forensic and legal sciences with the bulk of literature focusing on the legal standing and deterrent value of sexual offender registries. Less research focuses on the offending careers of current SORNA offenders relative to other types of sexual offenders whose current offense is not SORNA. The purpose of the current study is to examine this issue empirically.

Design/methodology/approach

Using cross-sectional data from a census of male federal offenders who ever perpetrated a sexual offense from the central USA between 2016 and 2020, the current study used t-tests, logistic regression and negative binomial regression to compare current SORNA offenders to other federal correctional clients in terms of their lifetime offending history, sexual violence and compliance on federal supervision.

Findings

Current SORNA offenders are significantly more severe and versatile in their sexual offending, have more extensive criminal careers and criminal justice system involvement, and exhibit significantly increased odds of revocation on supervised release despite controls for age, race and ethnicity. However, sensitivity models that specified the federal Post-Conviction Risk Assessment reduced the effects of SORNA status to non-significance in all models.

Originality/value

SORNA offenders are potentially a significant offender group with evidence of both and given their versatile and specialized lifetime offending and noncompliance on federal supervision. However, current SORNA status is rendered spurious once a risk assessment is controlled suggesting more research is needed to evaluate whether sex offender registries posit greater crime control benefit.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2007

Piyal Sen and Deji Adeleke

This article reports on a study designed to review the media coverage of patients in a medium secure unit and to demonstrate the value to such units of having a media strategy…

Abstract

This article reports on a study designed to review the media coverage of patients in a medium secure unit and to demonstrate the value to such units of having a media strategy. Most of the patients in the study had a history of sexually motivated offending, a significant proportion against children. The pattern of a typical media report and the organisational response is discussed, while broader political developments over the study period are noted.

Details

Mental Health Review Journal, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-9322

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 June 2021

Jill O. Jasperson, Thomas E. Dearden and Ronald Mellado Miller

In 2015, Utah enacted the first white-collar crime (WCC) registry. Similar to sex offender registries, this registry provides demographic information to the public. Utah’s law…

Abstract

Purpose

In 2015, Utah enacted the first white-collar crime (WCC) registry. Similar to sex offender registries, this registry provides demographic information to the public. Utah’s law includes convicted offenders of second-degree felonies for a variety of non-violent, financial crimes, including securities fraud, insurance fraud and theft by deception (H.B. 378, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of this new registry.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was built in 2016 to better understand the perceptions of said WCC registry. This paper considers the relationships between demographic variables, fear of crime and support for Utah’s WCC registry using data from over 968 university students in Utah.

Findings

The authors find strong support for the registry, with 76% of the sample supporting its implementation. Only one variable, social political affiliation, was significant. Those who defined themselves as social strong liberals were more likely to select somewhat support rather than definitely support the registry.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that we know of to examine support for a WCC registry.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2016

Matt DeLisi, Daniel E. Caropreso, Alan J. Drury, Michael J. Elbert, Jerry L. Evans, Timothy Heinrichs and Katherine M. Tahja

The purpose of this paper is to examine the dark figure of crime among federal sex offenders from the USA to quantify crime victims and sex crime events among those with no…

3285

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the dark figure of crime among federal sex offenders from the USA to quantify crime victims and sex crime events among those with no official criminal record.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data on 119 offenders selected from a five-year census of sex offenders selected from a federal probation jurisdiction in the Midwestern United States, descriptive, partial correlations, and ROC-AUC models were conducted.

Findings

In total, 69 percent of offenders self-reported a contact sexual offense during polygraph examination. In total, 34 offenders had zero official record of sexual abuse but non-zero self-reported history of sexual abuse. These 34 clients offended against 148 victims that potentially denoted a minimum number of 148 sex crime events, a median number of 1,480 sex crime events, a mean number of 32,101 sex crime events, and a maximum number of 827,552 sex crime events. Total paraphilias were not predictive of self-reported sexual offending but were strongly associated with prolific self-reported sexual offending.

Originality/value

The dark figure of sexual offending is enormous and the revelation of this information is facilitated by polygraph examination of federal sex offenders. Ostensibly non-contact sex offenders such as those convicted of possession of child pornography are very likely to have a history of contact sexual offending. Consistent with the containment model, polygraph examinations of the sexual history of offenders convicted of sexual offenses should be required to facilitate public safety.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2016

Marek Palasinski and Neil Shortland

The purpose of this paper is to address individual factors predicting punitive attitudes towards sexual and domestic offences and offenders have received little attention.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address individual factors predicting punitive attitudes towards sexual and domestic offences and offenders have received little attention.

Design/methodology/approach

In Study 1,137 participants completed a 25-item online questionnaire exploring individual factors hypothesised to predict punitive attitudes towards four sexual crimes: rape, paedophilia, incest and bestiality. In Study 2,100 participants completed a similar questionnaire exploring individual factors hypothesised to predict punitive attitudes towards male and female emotional, physical and sexual abusers.

Findings

The standard multiple regression models of Study 1 found that age (i.e. being older), belief in a just world and gender (i.e. being female) were predictors of harsher punitive attitudes. The models of Study 2 found that the low score on the social dominance scale was the most common predictor.

Research limitations/implications

This survey-based project presents a nuanced picture that could be complemented by the inclusion of a wider range of more complex factors and follow-on qualitative studies.

Practical implications

The key message from this study is to inform the public on the role of personality factors in developing punitive attitudes.

Social implications

It is vital to increase the legislators’ and the people’ awareness of the factors shaping the public impressions of criminal justice processes and evidence-based treatment effectiveness.

Originality/value

This relatively modest paper offers insight of personality factors into people’s punitive attitudes shaping actual legislation.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2019

Carollyne Youssef

While most studies utilise quantitative methodologies to examine issues relevant to sexual offending behaviour, such as treatment programmes and risk assessments; substantially…

Abstract

Purpose

While most studies utilise quantitative methodologies to examine issues relevant to sexual offending behaviour, such as treatment programmes and risk assessments; substantially fewer studies have utilised qualitative methods, and specifically Layder’s Adaptive Theory (AT) as a methodology; and there is a paucity of research examining community maintenance programmes altogether. The purpose of this paper is to report on the use of AT to the understanding of the significance of community maintenance programmes for high-risk sexual offenders.

Design/methodology/approach

Using AT as a unique framework, this study examined an Australian sample of services providers and high-risk sexual offenders participating in a community maintenance programme. In particular, the current research aimed to develop an understanding of community maintenance programmes for released sexual offenders, in a bid to develop a theoretical framework for these programmes. The research had three subject groups, service providers, programme participants who had not reoffended and programme participants who had sexually reoffended.

Findings

It appears that this methodology is a useful approach to studies within forensic rehabilitation and offender research. Common, reoccurring themes have been gathered through this approach, which would not have been possible with a quantitative methodology.

Research limitations/implications

While this research methodology was applied to a small sample size, its use suggested that AT was an informative and useful research approach to utilise in offender research more broadly, yielding rich in-depth information.

Practical implications

Utilising AT provided an in-depth understanding and exploration of experiences for offender populations as well as staff delivering programmes, which enhances the efficacy of programmes delivered by incorporating “user feedback” and allows programme developers to utilise such feedback to improve programmes. An AT approach to offender rehabilitation has been useful in providing exploratory information in the absence of any conceptual or theoretical frameworks and with a very little extant information. Given maintenance programmes are quite understudied, this approach allowed for common themes to emerge in order to guide future research as well as the development of a paradigm. It is worth considering the utility of this methodology for a variety of forensic research, particularly areas which remain understudied.

Social implications

Sexual offending behaviour is a significant societal concern. A better understanding of what makes programmes more effective for those who use them and run them, will assist in reducing recidivism, which will benefit the community at large.

Originality/value

Layder’s AT has not been used with an offender population in the past, and specifically within the sexual offending realm, thus this paper offers a unique and effective approach to offender research.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 December 2016

Anna Gekoski, Julia C. Davidson and Miranda A.H. Horvath

The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings from a study commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) in England, concerning intrafamilial child…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings from a study commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) in England, concerning intrafamilial child sexual abuse (IFCSA)/incest. Specifically, it aims to explore what is known about the prevalence, nature, and impact of IFCSA and where the gaps in knowledge lie.

Design/methodology/approach

A rapid evidence assessment (REA) was used, the function of which is to: search the literature as comprehensively as possible within given time constraints; collate descriptive outlines of the available evidence on a topic and critically appraise it; sift out studies of poor quality; and provide an overview of the evidence. Over 57,000 documents were scanned, and 296 ultimately systematically analysed.

Findings

It was found that: there is wide variation in prevalence rates between studies; girls are more likely to be victims than boys; the onset of abuse is typically school age; abuse in minority groups is under-reported; sibling abuse may be more common than that by fathers; female perpetrated abuse may be under-reported; families where abuse occurs are often dysfunctional; and IFCSA has significant adverse effects on victims.

Research limitations/implications

A REA is not a full systematic review, differing in the scope and depth of the searches and depending almost exclusively on electronic databases, not accompanied by searching journals by hand.

Practical implications

This work found numerous gaps in current knowledge about IFCSA, which the authors recommend be addressed by further research, including: the scale and nature of IFCSA in disabled victims, research on BME children’s experiences; the prevalence of abuse by stepfathers as compared to biological fathers; the experiences of male victims; the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered child victims; the short-term impact of IFCSA based on child victims’ experiences; and more widely, further research on the prevalence of abuse in clinical populations and the relationship between that and prevalence in wider society. In addition to such questions, the OCC inquiry will also investigate issues surrounding child protection and criminal justice responses to (IF)CSA and how these might be improved. The evidence base for this section of the inquiry is reported in Gekoski et al. (2016).

Originality/value

The findings of this research provide the evidence base for a new two-year inquiry into the subject of IFCSA by the OCC.

Details

Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, vol. 2 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-3841

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 11 April 2016

Tim Bateman and Hannah Smithson

271

Abstract

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

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