Racial Bias in Sex Offender Registries: An Examination of the New York Sex Offender Registry Risk Assessment

• In Event: Roundtable: Race, Ethnicity and Crime

Abstract

Blacks and Latinos in the US experience racial bias within the criminal justice system even after controlling for legal and case specific factors. While consequences of this bias have been extensively studied (i.e., impacts on future labor force participation and overall life chances), these studies assume public knowledge of one’s crimes. However, little research has focused on the existence of racial bias within publically assessable sex offender registries which, given the relative ease of access to them, may cause adverse effects for Blacks and Latinos. Drawing on New York’s Sex Offender Registry, I examine the impact of race on male sex offender risk assessment. Using a focal concerns perspective, I hypothesize that net of legal factors, Black and Latino male sex offenders are more likely to receive longer sentences and be viewed as a higher risk to the community than White male sex offenders. My results contribute to the literatures on sex offender registry and racial/ethnic disparities in criminal justice outcomes.

Author

• Christine M. Walsh, University at Albany, SUNY