Collateral Consequences of Sex Offender Registration

• Author: Richard Tewksbury
• DOI: 10.1177/1043986204271704
• Published date: 01 February 2005
• Date: 01 February 2005
• Subject Matter: Articles

10.1177/1043986204271704Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice / February 2005Tewksbury / SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION

Collateral Consequences of

Sex Offender Registration

RICHARD TEWKSBURY

University of Louisville

Sexoffender registration was widely implemented in the 1990s as a means ofenhancing commu-

nity awarenessof sex offenders to promote community safety. This study is one of the firstexam-

inations of the collateral consequences of sex offender registration from the perspectiveof the

offender. Drawingon data from 121 registered sex offenders in Kentucky, this research shows

that social stigmatization, loss of relationships, employment, and housing, and both verbal and

physical assaults are experienced by a significant minority of registered sex offenders.

Keywords: sex offender registration; collateral consequences; sex offenders

Criminal justice efforts to control violent and predatory crime take a vari-

ety of forms. In addition to traditional approaches of apprehending,

judicially processing, and incarcerating offenders, other efforts include pro-

viding intensive treatment (often in conjunction with incarceration), medical

interventions, civil confinement, and most recently, community notification

efforts to allowcitizens to be aware of and to monitor or avoid offenders. This

last effort has most frequently been implemented through the use of publicly

accessible registries of violent and sexual offenders posted on the Internet.

Such efforts aim to both promote community awareness of offenders’ pres-

ence and deter offenders via reductions in their opportunities to locate and

access unsuspecting and vulnerable victims. Community notification and

registration efforts, however, present a high likelihood of additional collat-

eral consequences also befalling offenders.

The concept of deterrence is based on the idea that the presence or threat of

sanction will divert potential criminal offenders from committing criminal

67

This research was funded in part by the Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Vol. 21 No. 1, February 2005 67-81

DOI: 10.1177/1043986204271704

© 2005 Sage Publications