What began as assistance in law enforcement has developed into a groundswell of a public demand to know what kind of people live next door.
The idea was rooted in good faith: people are more likely to be vigilant when a known threat is nearby. While sex offender registration allows law enforcement to monitor sex offenders who have completed probation or parole, community notification also allows the public to take matters into its own hands. From neighborhood association bylaws outlawing residency by sex offenders to distributing leaflets notifying neighbors of a sex offender, there are few limits to what the community is allowed to do with this public registration information. Nearly every single court across the United States has held that registration and notification requirements are nothing more than “collateral consequences” to conviction. See Smith v. Doe, 538 U.S. 84 (2003) (United States Supreme Court finds no violation of ex post facto clause in Alaska’s sex offender registration statute because sex offender registration and notification fulfilled law enforcement, not punitive, purposes).
The theory behind sex offender registration is similar to every time in history people have sought to label, demean, and dehumanize a group of people deemed less worthy than others. Once you affix the label, all distinctions and explanations under understanding of the context of events that led up to that moment become irrelevant. Once labeled, people pretty much figure out where to go from there…both the accused and the ones pointing the finger.
From the adulteress to the Salem Witches to gays and Jews and Coloreds and Communist Menace, our world has a storied past with how we treat people after we label them. With the passage of time we realize the problems with the labels. And how it transforms the aggrieved into a monster beyond rehabilitation.
We have yet to stop ourselves in the midst of this process.
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