California, which has the largest sex offender registry in the United States, has received the news from the California Sex Offender Management Board that their registry is not working. The board reported that the fast-growing registry included too many unnecessary people and that it did not help law enforcement or the public differentiate potentially risky offenders from those who would likely not reoffend.



The board reported that about 95 percent of solved sex crimes are committed by people who are not on the registry, and said that the registry was created, in part, on assumptions that have since been proved to be wrong. The board called for an overhaul of the registry.



The board recommended to the California legislature that only high-risk offenders, such as violent predators and kidnappers–that is, offenders whose offenses are also characterized by something other than sex–should be required to register for life.



The list currently has 100,000 offenders registered, and is growing. California requires lifetime registration of all sex offenders. The nature or circumstances of the offense are not usually relevant to registration.



When the board reported earlier this year, they had found that the registry included many offenders “who do not necessarily pose a risk to the community.” Nine hundred such registered offenders last offended more than 55 years ago.



The registry is also used for Megan’s Law, a tool of law enforcement used to notify the public about sex offenders. It offers the public a searchable website of what are considered the most serious registered sex offenders. However, around 80 percent of all of California’s 100,000 registered offenders are posted on the Megan’s Law website.



Not only that, since 2005, the audit found that although 59 percent of released sex offenders violated parole, only 1 percent committed a new offense. That one percent represented 134 convicts. Of those 134, only one committed a new sex offense.







Although I don’t agree with every aspect of this report, there are definitely several notable quotes from the California Sex Offender Management Board in this report:



* A number of assumptions support the creation and maintenance of sex offender registries. Although these assumptions are widely held, accumulating scientific research on the actual realities makes it clear that these assumptions are, in almost every case, not accurate.







* About 95% of solved sex crimes are committed by individuals never previously identified as sex offenders and so not registered.







* Research studies have found no relationship between having a registry and a decrease in sex offenses.







* The sexual recidivism rate of identified sex offenders is lower than the recidivism rate of individuals who have committed any other type of crime except for murder.







* Registration – even though the courts have determined that it should not be classified as “punishment” – does bring with it multiple unwelcome impacts on registered offenders and on their families and children. These consequences include serious obstacles to finding appropriate housing – or any housing; obstacles to finding employment; obstacles to developing positive support systems; obstacles to developing close relationships; and obstacles to reintegrating successfully into communities.







* Effective policy must be based on the scientific evidence. Research on sex offender risk and recidivism now has created a body of evidence which offers little justification for continuing the current registration system since it does not effectively serve public safety interests. The research shows that, on average, after approximately 17 years living in the community free of any type of criminal offense, even high risk sex offenders are no more likely to commit a new sex offense than are individuals who had been convicted of some type of non-sexual crime.







Link to report:



http://www.cce.csus.edu/portal/admin/handouts/Tiering%20Background%20Paper%20FINAL%20FINAL%204-2-14.pdf