week 10 assignment 5
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dock1.docxSex Offenders Laws
Crimes related to sex offenses have been treated differently by the lawmakers when compared to other crimes. With changes in the release of offenders from prison with the introduction of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification. Laws mainly require the sex offenders to report to the police to offer reliable details once released from prison. This secure information includes the offender's name, DNA test, marital status, place of living, and a list of contacts. The registration laws also dictate the localities where the sex offenders should be and should avoid mostly near schools and day care centers (Esaterly, 2015). There is the debate that these laws should be changed based on the impact they have on the offender, considering they have already served their terms in jail. Some offenders once released from prisons become changed persons, subject to the laws, they may see themselves as culprits and unwanted in the society. Therefore, this paper provides the analysis of the rules concerning sexual offenses. This discussion-based on looking at the existing problems regarding equity, social issues, and ethical or moral concern regarding this law. This paper also offers a focus on the possible solutions as well as the advantages of these solutions on the issues related to sexual offense laws concerns.
Historical perspective of sexual offense laws
On most occasions, the lawmakers tend to assume that even after the prisoner's released from the prisons, they can still have the spirit of committing a similar offense. Therefore, police officers are always watching and monitoring their movement. Sex offenses result in emotional as well as the physical disturbances to the injured party hence it is becoming a challenge to let the offenders free even after being released from the prison. The lawmakers work every bit to ensure that everything is under control and no such incidence repeated.
Social Problems
Sexual offender laws play a crucial role in reducing the number of sexual offenses in the society. Sexual assault leaves a terrible taste in the mouth of the victims and their close relatives. It causes permanent scars which can affect how the victims relate to other members of the opposite sex as well as a way of reacting to the ordinary life. Therefore, the laws protect these individuals from undergoing such experience by preventing such behavior s in the society. However, despite the protection of the victims by the statutes, the offenders are left to suffer within the community. Sex offenders face residence restrictions, housing instability, loss of the interpersonal relationship, and finding challenges in accessing social support mechanism. It is genuine that the administrators are endeavoring to counteract such practices in the general public. The decree does not consider that the wrongdoer has just served the correctional facility terms and ought not further be put on discipline like house confinement, house flimsiness in this way promoting the loss of relational connections also trouble to get to human help (Levenson and Zgoba, 2014). Registration of the sex offenders is another concern because it causes social stigma amongst the offenders. In this case, the society will always consider the offender of having the same behavior even after being released from the jail.
Ethical or the moral problems
Public policy is a political process which considers law and order as essential issues and part of their agenda. As a result, working with the sex criminals is burdened with legal as well as ethical minefields which involve the protection of the society which is more important than the rights of the offenders. The treatment of the sex offenders in the community primarily requires management rather than rehabilitation. Treating the sex offenders through administration infringes their rights since it is unsuccessful and unethical (Astrid & Heather, 2011).
Another ethical concern is the practice which involves the registration of the sex offenders. This method seems to be encouraging this offense to be more rampant. Even though this practice is essential in monitoring the movement of the sex offenders after their release from the prisons, this method makes to appear as if they are ready to be involved in the same act. It may not be surprising if a sex offender repeats that practice because of having a feeling of being licensed to do so. Registration makes it impossible for the sex offenders to keep jobs and housing due to residency restrictions (Curtis, 2015).
Inequity
Proof exhibits that the sex offense laws are unequal. There is the need to rethink the enrollment in light of them. It does not imply that sex offense laws ought to be (Meloy, Boatwright, and Curtis, 2013). While tending to the issues of the sexual offense laws, a few components ought to consider, and this incorporates past offenses, the age of the casualties, identity issue, and whether the guilty party hitched or not. These components are fundamental in deciding the sort of the wrongdoer that ought to be or ought not to enlist. There is likewise need to stay away from any demonstration of disparity while tending to issues about the condemning of the offender.
As a rule, police have used the sex guilty party registry for the recognizable proof of the potential suspects particularly when the wrongdoing submitted in their locale. That the training regardless of the possibility that the enrolled guilty parties have not conferred the majority of the sex wrongdoings. That means, that disparity about taking care of the of the offense cases utilizing the sex offender laws. For instance, on account of Massachusetts, sex wrongdoer registry showed that out of 136 new sex offenses in a particular purview, just six were conferred by the people whose names showed up in the rundown of police registry (Anthony and Anthony, 2013).
Solutions
Social Problems
The vast majority incline toward that rather than the laws following the guilty party even in the wake of being discharged; they ought to be accused of more years in jail and released as free people like another criminal. Following of the released sexual offenders after their registration puts their life in danger within the public domain. The released offenders have faced difficulty in their quest while looking for jobs. Some of them who are students have also found some challenges especially stigmatization from their fellow students who consider them as sex criminals. Attitudes mainly contributed to by the law of public registration of the sexual offenders. They cannot access houses, and some of them have occasionally been accused of reoffending whenever there are any incidences of sexual crimes in the society. Therefore, charging sexual offenders for the rest of their lives or even for an extended period then being released later without registration and follow up proves to be effective. Once they serve these jailing terms, they will no longer follow.
Ethical or Moral problems
Usually, in the process of protecting the community the up to date sex offenders' treatment is based on the management rather than rehabilitation. Treatment of the offenders should involve delivering care as rehabilitation underpinned by the international human rights law as well as universal professional ethics. For state governments to help address the ethical concerns on the registration of the released sex offenders, there is a need to have programs that provide free and confidential treatment for the adults who have sexual fantasies directed to children.
Inequity
For states to ensure equity in the registration of the sex offender process, there is a need to rethink the process of conducting the registration process. The registration process which currently used serves little security to the public through imposing the registration requirements on those posing a criminal risk to the community. In this case, the lawmakers should replace the one size fits all registration system with a system that limits the registration to the individuals who have been identified to be posing high to medium risk to the community. For the determination of that particular risk, the state must consider the previous record of the offender, the specific sex crime committed, the period he or she has stayed in the community offense free, and other additional factors that statistically correlated to the likelihood of reoffending.
Another solution is that the registers being used by the law enforcement officers should be limited to the previously convicted offenders who had already committed sexually violent offenses against children and who have personally undergone an assessment of presenting high or medium risks of committing same crimes again. A reduction in the length of time for the registration. Currently, this law requires that the offender registers for the rest of their life even if they reformed. The main aim of recording the sexual offender is to secure the community. If this is the case, then the law should require registration for only so long as the offender can reasonably be deemed to pose a meaningful risk of being involved in another sexual, violent crime.
Advantages
Social Problems
Jailing the offenders for a more extended period is a useful approach towards addressing the challenges that these offenders faced after their immediate release from the prison following the registration. The advantage of this approach is that they would be able to access jobs without being labeled as criminals, to have access to learning facilities, and to be allowed to access houses. They would not undergo the same problems like residence restrictions, housing instability, loss of the interpersonal relationships, and inability to obtain social support mechanism form the society.
Ethical or moral problems
Treatment as rehabilitation involves a practical and ethical community sex offender balance is highly likely when the offender treated with respect and dignity just like other human beings. These offenders have a right to claim. Treatment as rehabilitation is holistic in supporting the offenders to lead a stable as well as productive life.
Inequity
If register can be limited to those who previously convicted of committing sexual, violent offenses or sex against kids as well as who have individually undergone the process of assessment of indicating high or medium risks to the community, then the registration would be in a position to protect the public. Reducing the time of registration would ensure that those who are deemed to be posing a less risk to the community given less opportunity for enrollment. That position is opposed to the individuals who are considered to be at risk of committing another sexual offense.
The advantages of rethinking about the registration system by replacing the singe-size-fits-all registration system with the system that is capable of limiting registration of those people who have been personally determined to be posing high to medium risk in the community are that there would be a reduction in the number of registrants. The use of sexual offense registers for the identification of the offenders whenever any sex-related crime is committed has led to the increase in the number of offenders as well as the false accusation of the offenders. The most common thing that has established is that almost three-quarter of the registered offenders falsely accused of reoffending. Law enforcement has also faced difficulty in monitoring the registrants because it has previously relied on the one-size-fits-all registration system which has proven to be ineffective.
