Sex Offenses and Offenders Reconsidered

Abstract

Analyses of national and state-based data suggest that the rate of reported sexual offenses has declined in the past 25 years. This decline began prior to the implementation of registration and notification laws in the mid-1990s and continued to decline after the laws’ passage. It remains unclear, however, whether registration and notification laws have produced a qualitative change in the characteristics of the offender population and/or the predictors of sexual recidivism. This study investigates key differences among offenders pre- and postimplementation of community notification laws across an 11-year period (1990-2000) using a random sample of 550 offenders in New Jersey. All offenders were followed for 6.5 years, and reoffenses were analyzed across a range of demographic, clinical, and criminal offense predictors.