Do Sex Offender Laws work?

In 1994, states in the US were required to create sex offender databases. Then, two years later, Megan's Law allowed these databases to be made public. (1) Besides having your name visible to the public, being listed on such a registry also includes your address and photograph, as well as what you were convicted of (though this often lacks context). (2) But surely those on these registries have all committed some horrible crime against a child? Not so: actually, according to Human Rights Watch, "at least five states required men to register if they were caught visiting prostitutes. At least 13 required it for urinating in public (in two of which, only if a child was present). No fewer than 29 states required registration for teenagers who had consensual sex with another teenager. And 32 states registered flashers and streakers." (2) So, surprise, surprise, the number of sex offenders in the U.S. has increased dramatically recently: in December 2008, there were 674,000, (1) and by October 2014, there were 760,000. (1)

In addition to being listed on a registry, some convicted sex offenders are denied access to the internet, (1) and (in my home state of Georgia), all such offenders "are barred from living within 1,000 feet of anywhere children may congregate, such as a school, a park, a library, or a swimming pool. They are also banned from working within 1,000 feet of a school or a child-care centre." (2)

What are the effects of these laws on the offenders themselves? Research shows that "social stigmatization, loss of relationships, employment, and housing, and both verbal and physical assaults are experienced by a significant minority of registered sex offenders." (4) Also, offenders often get harassed, and in some cases have been killed (which is easier when you can find out where they live). According to Jill Levenson of Lynn University, half of offenders also have trouble finding jobs. (2)

All these laws are based on the premises that:

1. having committed a sex offense means you will be likely to do so again, and that
2. sex crimes committed against children are commonly committed by strangers.

The problem is that research suggests that these premises are both false. First of all, one study found that, unlike the seemingly baseless 75-90% rates often cited by politicians advocating tougher sex offender laws, about 5% of sex offenders in the US get rearrested for sex crimes within 3 years. (2) The US DOJ has also found that the recidivism rate is between 3 and 14 percent within "the several years immediately following release, with those numbers falling further over time." (3)

As for the assumption that lots of sex offenses are committed by people the victim did not know, research also suggests that that's false: among child victims, 93% of such offenses were committed by someone the victim knew. (3)

Given the above, it should be no surprise that studies have failed to find evidence that these laws work. For instance, a study by Kristen Zgoba found that the New Jersey sex offender registration/warning system did not affect the number of sex crimes in that state. (2) Another study, published in 2008, looking at Megan's Law found that it "showed no demonstrable effect in reducing sexual re-offenses." (1) Yet another study (this one from 2011) concluded that its results "do not support the hypothesis that sex offender registries are effective tools for increasing public safety." (5)

Therefore, it is clear that these laws need to be reformed to bring them in line with evidence. What should be done, specifically, is: 

1. abolish registries, at least until such time as it becomes possible to tell which offenders will reoffend, 
2. tighten the requirements for being listed as a sex offender
3. eliminating the bullshit rules prohibiting offenders from living within a certain distance of a school or other places children may congregate, which as discussed above is based on the false premise that they are likely to abuse more children. 

Not that they shouldn't be punished, of course--but jail time is enough.

Sources:

1. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/10/17/challenges-to-sexoffenderregistries.html

2. http://www.economist.com/node/14164614

3.http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/08/sex_offender_registry_laws_have_our_policies_gone_too_far.html

4. http://ccj.sagepub.com/content/21/1/67.short

5. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/658483