Public Perceptions Toward Community Management Policies for Individuals Convicted of Sexual Offenses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Community management policies for individuals convicted of sexual offenses (ICSO) are controversial, mainly because the effectiveness of these policies in reducing recidivism is limited and appear to have some collateral effects. Despite this, the current meta-analysis found the public highly support these policies. Studies examining public perceptions regarding community management policies for ICSO to understand levels of support, misconceptions about the policies, and factors affecting the views of the public were reviewed. After searching 7 electronic databases, 43 studies, both quantitative and qualitative, were included in the systematic review and 31 in the meta-analysis. Studies could be longitudinal or cross-sectional, needed to include public attitudes, opinions, and perceptions about ICSO community management policies and could include standardized or non-standardized measures, indirect assessments of attitudes, along with interviews and focus groups. Results suggest that overall, policies were supported by 76% of the public, 61% believed in their effectiveness, and 63% felt safer because of the policies. However, only 36% accessed the registry, 38% took preventive actions, and 40% were aware/concerned about the collateral consequences. All analyses yielded high levels of heterogeneity. Misconceptions about policies and ICSO were moderate. Finally, 36 studies explored factors that affected the public's attitudes and perceptions of policies with a variety of significant associations and predictors. The findings provide comprehensive evidence that while these policies are supported by the public, the public have less belief in the effectiveness of them in protecting children and reducing recidivism. Implications for public policy and future research are discussed.

Same Score, Different Audience, Different Message: Perceptions of Sex Offense Risk Depend on Static-99R Risk Level and Personality Factors of the Recipient

There are multiple ways to report risk scale results. Varela et al. (2014) found that Static-99R results were interpreted differently by prospective jurors based on risk level (high vs low) and an interaction between risk level and risk communication format (categorical, absolute estimate, and risk ratio). We adapted and extended Varela et al.'s (2014) study using updated Static-99R norms, recruiting a population-wide sample (n = 166), and adding variables assessing the personality factors 'cognitive motivation' (i.e., need for cognition) and 'attitudinal affect' (i.e., attitudes toward sex offenders, authoritarianism). We found a main effect of risk level and no effect of either communication format or the interaction between the two. Adding the personality variables increased explained variance from 9% to 34%, suggesting risk perception may be more about the personality of the person receiving the information than the information itself. We also found an interaction between attitudes toward sex offenders and risk level. Our results suggest risk perception might be better understood if personality factors are considered, particularly attitudes toward sex offenders. Because biases/personality of the person receiving the information are unknown in real world settings we argue that sharing multiple methods for communicating risk might be best and more inclusive.

The Impact of Media Watching and Victim Gender on Victim and Offender Blameworthiness and Punishment

In recent years, there has been increased attention regarding the impact of the media on individuals' perceptions of the criminal justice system, specifically focusing on the CSI effect and forensic evidence. In order to expand this area of research, this article focuses on the impact and interaction of crime-related media-watching habits and victim gender on perceptions of blameworthiness and punishment of both victims and aggressors in sexual assault cases. As expected, results supported the hypothesis that increased media-watching contributed to more stereotypical perceptions of sexual assault cases. However, slight variations observed in blameworthiness and punishment based on victim gender were nonsignificant. Implications for future research are discussed.

Negative Attitudes and Beliefs Toward the #MeToo Movement on Twitter

Given recent and growing societal movements focusing on sexual assault, such as the #MeToo Movement, it is imperative to understand current attitudes about sexual assault and these movements. The aim of this study was to examine negative attitudes and beliefs about sexual assault in the context of the #MeToo Movement by qualitatively analyzing social media posts (i.e., tweets) containing the hashtag "metoo" on Twitter, a popular social media platform. The initial sample consisted of 4,559 tweets that were publicly posted by Twitter users across a four-day timeframe and represented events and attitudes regarding both about an accuser and an accused. Data were cleaned and coded, and a remaining 508 tweets were included because they contained content that was categorized as negative in their attitudes or beliefs (either through attitudes of condemnation or ambivalence towards accusers and/or the #MeToo Movement). Results from a qualitative content analysis of tweets demonstrated that negative attitudes and beliefs about sexual assault within the context of the #MeToo Movement were conveyed through six main themes: (1) invalidating the accusations made as part of the #MeToo Movement; (2) insisting, and likely believing, that accusations made were false; (3) claiming that there were alternative motives for those accusations; (4) showing a concern for the harm that accusations may cause those accused; (5) exhibiting concerns about the effects of the Movement on male power, privilege, and status; and (6) questioning the integrity of the #MeToo Movement as a whole. These findings provide a deeper understanding of attitudes and beliefs about the #MeToo Movement, including novel beliefs not often addressed in the literature. Most importantly, these findings show that rape culture continues to persist despite current interventions and social movements. Results underscore the need for future interventions that aim to educate and improve societal attitudes towards sexual assault.

Rural residents' emotions, beliefs, and sources that influenced those beliefs regarding sex offender policies, practice, and the efficacy of treatment

Public perceptions regarding a sex offender's likelihood to reoffend and the efficacy of sex offender policies and practices is often inconsistent with the extant literature in academia. Thus, there is a critical need to better understand what influences those beliefs regarding sex offender policies and practices. We collected data from 284 residents from government defined rural counties and sought to examine: (1) the sources that were most influential in shaping their beliefs regarding sex offender policies and practices; (2) what characteristics the "influential sources" had; and (3) the residents' emotional response when they think about "sex offenders". The majority of participants were supportive of registration, community notification, and use of the polygraph. Further, the results suggest that "academics and peer review articles" rarely influence beliefs. Rather, "personal experiences" and the emotions "rage" and "sadness" (but not anger or disgust) may be important in influencing rural residents' beliefs regarding sex offender treatment, castration, execution, and misconceptions regarding juveniles with a sex offense. We conclude by discussing: (1) potential factors that may affect why academics are not perceived as influential sources; and (2) possibilities for how scientists can influence rural residents' beliefs by utilizing personal experiences and anecdotal information that may spark emotion.

Do Views on Sex Offending Vary by Nationality? A Comparative Analysis of Community Sentiment Toward Sex Offense Legislation in the United States and United Kingdom

Much attention has been paid to the examination of community sentiment regarding convicted sex offenders and the policy that governs these offenders' behavior. This literature, however, has largely been absent of international comparisons of sex offender community sentiment. The current study seeks to fill this gap by drawing from the results of surveys (n = 333) conducted in both the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). Results indicate that sex offender policy is generally supported in both the US and the UK. Contrary to our expectations, we found that participants from the UK were less tolerant of sex offenders residing in their neighborhoods than participants from the US. Additionally, there is support for the notion that sex offender policy holds a symbolic value for both study locations. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Incarcerated for a Sex Offense: In-Prison Experiences and Concerns about Reentry

Using a sample of 3,041 incarcerated men and women, this study examines the impact of being incarcerated for a sex offense and individuals' in-prison experiences on their concerns about reentry into society. Bivariate analyses suggest that being incarcerated for a sex offense is related to greater concerns about housing and fewer concerns about recidivism compared with individuals incarcerated for nonsex offenses. A sex offense conviction is also associated with weaker social bonds, greater relational difficulties, and greater fear of victimization while incarcerated. Multiple regression models indicate that, after controlling for in-prison experiences, being incarcerated for a sex offense increases reentry concerns related to employment and housing, though may reduce them for recidivism. In-prison experiences mediate the relationship between being incarcerated for a sex offense and reentry concerns. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Sexual Offense Legislation Across the Pond: A Review of Community Sentiment Toward the United Kingdom's Implementation of Sarah's Law

Within both the United States and the United Kingdom, laws have been implemented that govern the behavior of individuals convicted of certain sexually based offenses. Thus, research has naturally gravitated toward examining the public perceptions of these laws. Although both the United States and United Kingdom have laws regarding convicted sex offenders, and although these laws vary, research into the perceptions of these laws has largely been concentrated within the United States. The current study seeks to fill this gap through a survey of U.K. residents that assesses their perceptions of the implementation of Sarah's Law. Respondents were gathered through convenience sampling methods in both Bristol and London, England (n = 140). Overall, respondents were fairly supportive of Sarah's Law and its current implementation. However, as opposed to respondents in the United States, U.K. respondents were also open to the idea of providing a degree of privacy to convicted sex offenders and were more tolerant of sexual offenders living near them. Finally, age, race, and parental status of the respondents were found to be statistically significant predictors among four identified dependent variables testing support of the law. Implications from these results are discussed, and a direction for future comparative research is highlighted.

Parks, Playgrounds, and Incidents of Sexual Assault

In the United States, certain laws restrict those convicted of sexually offending from accessing social spaces where youth congregate such as parks and playgrounds. However, empirical work to date has rarely described sexual assaults in these locations or tested the assumptions of these laws explicitly. To address these gaps in the literature, we drew on the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to analyze offender, victim, and crime characteristics of sexual assaults that occurred at parks and playgrounds over a 5-year period (2010-2015). Estimated via multivariate logistic regression, results showed support for these law's assumptions when analyzing this particular location. However, stranger perpetrators were significantly more likely to sexually assault adult victims versus youth victims. Several other offense features distinguished youth versus adult victim sexual assault incidents at parks and playgrounds, such as the offender age, the use of force, and the injuries sustained by the victim. Collectively, these findings both support and challenge these types of social space restriction laws.