Sexual Offender Registries: Public Safety or Scarlet Letter?

Sexual offender legislation has been based on “moral panics” stemming from sensationalized cases (i.e. Wetterling, Kanka, and Klaas). The variety of sex offenders that are treated with blanket punishment is causing collateral consequences which actually create more risk to the public. By comparing the Idaho Sexual Offender Registry with the Idaho Department of Justice Database, this study determined what offenses were being committed after placement on the registry. My research identifies a collateral consequence of unsafe driving conditions. It found that there was a 113% increase of moving traffic related charges and 94% increase of non-moving violations such as driving without privileges, unregistered vehicles, and no insurance and moving violations. These finding were unexpected, but supported by other data nationwide. Possible factors contributing to this are caused by residency restrictions causing offenders to avoid detection by not keeping current on licensure for vehicles. Future research should delve into this dynamic to understand why this trend is occurring