Noah Berlatstky, writing for qz.com, effectively explains why sex offender registries don’t work.
Berlatsky writes in response to the apparent satisfaction some take in the fact that former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, and claims that the registry will protect the public from the likes of Turner.
The truth, though, is that there’s very little evidence that sex offender registries increase safety in any material way. A 2014 study conducted by Purdue University economics professor Jillian B. Carr of people on the North Carolina sex offender registry found that being on the registry had no effect on recidivism. That’s consistent with a 2007 report by Human Rights Watch, which looked at various studies and concluded that sex offender registries did little to prevent sexual violence.
You can read the entire column here.