Does sex offender registration and notification reduce crime? A systematic review of the research literature

Abstract

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy was asked by the Sex Offender Policy Board to evaluate the effectiveness of sex offender registration and community notification laws on reducing crime. We conducted a systematic review of all research evidence throughout the United States and located nine rigorous evaluations. Seven of these studies address whether the laws influence “specific” deterrence—the effect of a law on the recidivism rates of convicted sex offenders. The other two studies analyze “general” deterrence—the effect of a law on sex offense rates of the general public, as well as recidivism rates of convicted sex offenders. Regarding specific deterrence, the weight of the evidence indicates the laws have no statistically significant effect on recidivism. This finding, however, should be regarded with caution since we only found seven credible studies and these studies have widely varying results. Additionally, three of the studies have small sample sizes. Thus, at this time, we tentatively conclude that existing research does not offer much policy guidance on the specific deterrent effect of registration/notification laws. For general deterrence, the two studies provide some indication that registration laws lower sex offense rates in the public at large. Again, caution is warranted when generalizing this result since it is based on only two studies. Additional research is necessary before definitive conclusions can be drawn. (Author text)