The Challenges of Managing Sex Offenders in Canada through the National Sex Offender Registry

• In Event: Sex offenders and criminal justice

Abstract

Across Western nations, very few criminalized people are met with the level of fear and disdain as sex offenders. One modality for regulating and monitoring sex offenders and protecting the public is through sex offender registries. 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 media scrutiny. Drawing on 32 interviews with sex offender registry management officers in 15 municipal police services across Canada, we elucidate the manifold challenges faced by officers tasked with regulating and managing sex offenders within their urban centres. Specifically, we demonstrate how variations in housing, geographic area, sex offender registry unit structure and mandate, and communications across provincial, national, and international organizations serve as an admixture of challenges to regulating and managing sex offenders.

Authors

• Dale Spencer, Carleton University

• Rosemary Ricciardelli, Memorial University of Newfoundland