Document Type
Article
Abstract
This paper provides a look at the parameters of the Alaska’s sex offender registration statute. At the time of its enactment in 1994, the Alaska Sex Offender Registration Act was one of the most stringent in the U.S., far exceeding the miniumum requirements imposed on the states by the federal Jacob Wetterling Act. The federal Adam Walsh Child Protection Act, signed into law in 2006, has the net effect of bringing all the states closer to Alaska’s registration and publication requirements. However, Alaska’s statute and its federal counterpart were based on assumptions about sex offender recidivism and the effectiveness of sex offender treatment which are contradicted by much of the research conducted since creation of Alaska’s sex offender registry. Empirical evidence also shows that Alaska’s sex offender registration and notification system and others like it do not demonstrably serve their stated purpose of increasing public safety. The severity of the registration requirements may prohibit the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community, and the increasing burden on law enforcement to monitor and maintain very broad registries may prevent police from focusing on the more serious sexual predators.
Publication Date
10-13-2008
Recommended Citation
Periman, Deborah, "Revisiting Alaska's Sex Offender Registration and Public Notification Statute" (2008). UAAJC Occasional Papers. 2.
https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/uaa_uaajc_occasional_papers/2
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/7241