Sex offender laws may increase the risk of abuse

Politicians and the public love sex offender laws. Everyone wants to protect children and reduce threats to public safety. Trouble is, the laws may do more harm than good.

The right to live free of sexual violence is fundamental. But two years of intensive research into sex offender laws in the United States has convinced us at Human Rights Watch that politicians in California (and elsewhere in the country) failed to do their homework when enacting such popular laws. Many bills are passed in response to truly horrific crimes, —like the murders of Polly Klaas, Megan Kanka and Jessica Lunsford— but sadly, they are often based on misconceptions that make them less effective in preventing violence.

The laws we studied cover three main categories — residency restrictions, community notification and registration. Although promoted as ways to protect children, they are not limited to people who have abused children and are likely to do so again. Instead, they typically apply to anyone who has committed any kind of sex-related offense and can include teenagers having consensual sex, streakers and others committing nonviolent crimes. Those convicted as juveniles—some as young as 10—are also subject to these laws.

But is public safety really served by such legislation? There's a lot of evidence to suggest that these laws don't protect children and may even increase the risk by exacerbating the factors that lead people to re-offend.

Let's look at why residency restrictions, for example, aren't effective. Under California's Proposition 83 — also known as Jessica's Law — sex offenders released from prison after the law took effect are barred from living within 2,000 feet of any school or park. Given the density of schools and parks in many areas, the residency restriction effectively banishes them for life from living in many cities and towns, often far from their homes, families, jobs and treatment. That makes it nearly impossible for offenders to re-integrate into society successfully and hinders their supervision by police.

Earlier this month, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation notified 2,741 sex offenders that they have less than 45 days to comply with this restriction. One man, unable to find anyone who would rent to him, is reportedly living in a tent in the Ventura River bottom. Turning former offenders into outcasts puts a tremendous burden on law enforcement and diverts resources that could be better used.