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3 - Registries and Registrants:

Research on the Composition of Registries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2021

By
Alissa R. Ackerman
Edited by
Wayne Logan  and
J. J. Prescott
Wayne Logan
Affiliation:
Florida State University School of Law
J. J. Prescott
Affiliation:
University of Michigan Law School
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Summary

Chapter 3 analyzes the demographic makeup and composition of state sex offender registries. The data reject the popular narratives of incomplete registries filled with dangerous individuals. The chapter begins by investigating the widely reported counts of registered individuals from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). While NCMEC reports that there are nearly one million registrants nationwide, no true national registry exists to confirm this claim. Further, independent studies indicate that many registrants simply do not live in their listed community – they may be incarcerated, committed, deported, or deceased. Additionally, the data refute common arguments that registries are systematically incomplete with regard to “missing” registrants. The chapter next examines how registries reflect broader racial dynamics. The typical registrant is middle-aged and white. However, registries are disproportionately black, and black registrants are overclassified with respect to recidivism risk. Finally, the chapter dissects the technical and data challenges affecting registries. While intra-registry duplicates plague few jurisdictions, many registries contain individuals present on other states’ registries. This chapter contends that policymakers should account for these deficiencies when considering sex offender policy.

Keywords

sex offender registriesregistrationnotificationdemographicsracial disparitiesregistry errorsregistry managementregistry implementationNational Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Type
Chapter
Information
Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Laws
An Empirical Evaluation
 , pp. 35 - 47
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Ackerman, Alissa R. (2015). National estimates of registered sex offenders in the United States: Is double counting a problem?. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 40, 75–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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Ackerman, Alissa R., Levenson, Jill S., & Harris, Andrew J. (2012). How many sex offenders really live among us? Adjusted counts and population rates in five U.S. states. Journal of Crime and Justice, 35, 464–474.Google Scholar
Ackerman, A.R. & Sacks, M. (2018). Disproportionate minority presence on U.S. sex offender registries. Justice Policy Journal, 15, 1–20.Google Scholar
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