Sexual offenders after prison | Academic Papers Help

Sexual offenders after prison

BACKGROUND
A sex offender is an individual who compels another individual to have sexual contact against their will. The sexual offenders can compel their victims through several means such as the use of physical force, chicanery or threats (Sex Offenders, n.pag). Studies indicate that 80-90 per cent of sexual offenders are men of heterosexual orientation. Studies also indicate that women sexual offenders often target adolescents and children. Sexual offenses is an umbrella term referring to a wide range of actions including; voyeurism, production of child pornography, secretly capturing photos or videos of people engaging in sexual acts, and exposing one’s private parts among others (Sex Offenders, n.pag).
Research suggests that the aberrant sexual interests of those who perpetrate sexual offenses begin before they get to 18 years of age. Unfortunately, majority of sexual offenses go undetected and this is particularly true for voyeurs, serial rapists, and exhibitionists among others (Sex Offenders, n.pag). Even though a high percentage of sexual offenders adhere to a specific type of sexual offense, some perpetrators are notorious for applying multiple types. Sexual assaults are carried out with the sole purpose of satisfying emotional needs as opposed to physical needs. In fact, acts of sexual violence instill a sense of power in perpetrators (Sex Offenders, n.pag).
To determine the jail sentence for a sexual offender, several things are taken into consideration (Dray, n.pag). These include; the type of sexual crime committed, the degree of violence applied in the act, the victims’ age, and whether the sexual perpetrator is a facing first time charges (Dray, n.pag). Sexual offenses laws also differ from one state to another. Whereas other states serve offenders with a mandatory minimum sentence, others forbid split sentences while others leave no room for parole or probation (Dray, n.pag). Several treatment procedures are applied to sexual offenders during their sentence. These include; chemical castration, behavior modification, covert sensitization and therapy (Dray, n.pag).

SEX OFFENDER STATISTICS
According to a research that was carried out in August 2012, there are 747,408 registered sexual offenders in United Statistics (Sex Offenders Statistics, n.pag). Correction agencies are overseeing the supervision of 265,000 sexual offenders. The research findings indicated that 5.3 per cent of the sex offenders will commit another sexual violation when released from jail. Also, the findings indicated that 87 per cent of those convicted will engage in non-sexual crime after their release. Sixty per cent of the second offenses by sexual offenders are committed when they are in supervised communities (Sex Offenders Statistics, n.pag). The average rates of re-conviction of child molesters and rapists are 20 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Further, the findings showed that 30 per cent of the children who are sexually abused will also become sexually abusive in their adult life. Sexual offenders who are sentenced for 8 years end up serving three and a half years on average (Sex Offenders Statistics, n.pag).
In line with the above statistics, it is evident that released sexual offenders still pose a great deal of danger to the public. There are several strategies the government has initiated to ensure that the released sexual offenders are closely monitored for the safety of all. States have come up with detailed strategic plans on how to keep tabs on released sexual offenders by tracking them (Dunlap, n.pag). For instance, the State of California has implemented Jessica’s Law as a means of managing sexual offenders. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) have given strict and clear guidelines to be adhered to by states when handling released sex offenders (Dunlap, n.pag).

SEX OFFENDER MONITORING
Once released, sex offenders are required to sign up with the sexual offender registry in their state. The functions of these registries include monitoring sex offenders and availing their information to the public through various media (Dunlap, n.pag). SORNA requirements oblige sex offenders to submit detailed information about them including their work stations, the schools they attend, comprehensive description of their cars, DNA, email addresses, palm prints, and any other alias they use while surfing the internet. All this information is registered and uploaded on databases that are accessible to the public (Dunlap, n.pag). Approximately 674,000 sex offenders are on the sex offender registries across the United States. Unfortunately, the large number of individuals on the registries has made it difficult for law enforcement agents to keep track of them in an efficient manner (Dunlap, n.pag).
Following their sign up on the specified state registries, sexual offenders are categorized into three levels based on the degree of risk they possess. These levels are; level one, level two, and level three. Level one category comprises of sex offenders who display low risk. Level two offenders have medium risk followed by level three offenders who have high risk. Some sex offenders have to put on Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices because they are of high risk. Law enforcement agents face another challenge when distinguishing which offender should be placed under which category based on the crime they committed (Dunlap, n.pag).
According to Dunlap, other problems crippling the sex offender tracking system include; released offenders failing to register, submission of fake addresses by the offenders, and the disappearance of sex violation culprits (n.pag). Tracking and monitoring of sexual offenders is no guarantee that the sexual offenders will not commit other sexual offenses (Dunlap, n.pag).
It is imperative that authorities reveal the identities and locations of sex offenders to the public (Community “Sex Offender,” n.pag). However, the sole purpose of this revelation should not be to name or shame these individuals. Rather, awareness, public safety and prevention should take centre stage. Once equipped with such knowledge, the people in the community will know how to protect themselves. Children, adolescents and other vulnerable groups will be able to get better security with regards to situations that may put them in jeopardy. Concealing the identity of sex offenders may function as an encouragement to the continuance of the sexual violent acts. However, the display of the offender’s details may serve as a deterrent (Community “Sex Offender,” n.pag).
Even though the publication of perpetrators details goes a long way to empower the public on how to protect themselves against being sexually violated, there are some dangers the publication poses (Gallinnetti, 4). The revelation of an offender’s identity goes hand in hand with the revelation of the victim’s identity. Such information can cause further victimization to the victim. Further, research findings have indicated other negative effects associated with community notification. These include the high chances that the community’s vigilantism towards the alleged perpetrators will increase (Gallinnetti, 4).
In a 10 year longitudinal study conducted by Professor J.J Preston, findings revealed vital information with regards to two key stages following the release of sex offenders. The first stage involves the registration of a sexual offender with their state registries (Masson, n.pag). Results show that registration of offender’s information without further publication substantially reduces the sex offense cases. A 13 per cent reduction in sex offenses is recorded in areas with an average number of registered sex offenders and this percentage grows when using bigger registries. On the other hand, the second stage that involves making public the identities of sex offenders could actually make weak the security of the public by making sex offenders more likely to commit other sex offenses (Masson, n.pag).

Works Cited
“Community Sex Offender Notification.” mako.org.au. n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.
Dray, Serah. “About Sexual Offenders.” ehow.co.uk. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.
Dunlap, Kamika. “Sex Offenders After Prison: Sex Offender Monitoring.” findlaw.com., 2010. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.
Galllinnetti, Jacqui. “Prohibition of Public and Community Notification.” uct.ac.za n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.
Masson, John. “Study Casts Doubts on Sex-Offender Notification Laws.”law.umich.edu. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.
“Sex Offenders.” dovesprogram.com. n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.
“Sex Offenders Statistics.” statisticbrain.com. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.