Policing the Sex Offender Registry: Preliminary results

• In Event: Policing Sexual, Domestic, and Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

In Canada, the Canadian National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police remains in effect. Created in response to the 2004 passing of the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, the NSOR was designed to give police immediate access to current ‘vital’ information about convicted sex offenders. Another function is to allay public fears and give the perception of protecting citizens from those interpreted as ‘predators’. In Canada, only the police (not the public) can access the registry, but those named on the registry are not protected from community notification laws or media scrutiny. In this paper we offer preliminary results from interviews with officers charged with managing the registry in urban centres across Canada and probe their experiences of utilizing the registry monitor sex offenders in the community.

Authors

• Dale Spencer, Carleton University

• Rosemary Ricciardelli, Memorial University