Sex offender vigilantism: The costs of registration and notification laws

• In Event: Control of Sex Offenders: Efficacy of Sex Offender Legislation

Abstract

Convicted sex offenders are required to register their person information with law enforcement and update their registry information on a regular basis. In many cases, law enforcement release this information to the public through online sex offender registries or other methods of notification. The argument in favor of this is registration and notification laws provide public safety benefits because they increase neighborhood residents’ awareness of the location of convicted sex offenders. However, this system has resulted in the victimization of a considerable number of registered sex offenders. In isolated incidents across the country, vigilante citizens have used the registry to locate sex offenders and inflict harassment or harm on them, ranging from posting degrading flyers around town to physical assaults and murders. This study uses news reports of vigilantes targeting sex offenders and explores the stories using narrative analysis to identify the ways in which the stories are framed. Also, we consider certain individual and situational variables, including characteristics of the sex offender, the vigilante’s method of attack, where the attack occurred, and whether or not the vigilante was apprehended and punished.

Authors

• Douglas N. Evans, John Jay College of Criminal Justice / Mercy College

• Michelle Cubellis, John Jay College of Criminal Justice / CUNY Graduate Center

• Adam Gregory Fera, CUNY Graduate Center / John Jay College of Criminal Justice