{\rtf1 \pard\tx1500\tx3000\plain\fs20\b1 From: \b0\tab "Lana Hollady" <lhollady @charter.net>\par \pard\tx1500\tx3000\plain\fs20\b1 To:\b0\tab "Al Fricke" <alfricke@pacbell.

net>, "'Amy Phenix'" <amy@amyphenix.com>, ...\par \pard\tx1500\tx3000\plain\fs20\b1 CC:\b0\tab <pspizman1@juno.com>, "'Holly Corye ll'" <hollycoryell@hotmail.com>, " Di...\par \pard\tx1500\tx3000\plain\fs20\b1 Date: \b0\tab 3/18/2008 4:27 PM\par \pard\tx1500\tx3000\plain\fs20\b1 Subject: \b0\tab sex offender registration is effective\par \par \par \par \par \par \par Do Sex Offender Registration and Notification Laws Aff ect Criminal Behavior?\par \par \par \par \par <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_ dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=330160> J.J.\par PRESCOTT \par University of Michigan L aw School\par <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=93931> J ONAH E.\par ROCKOFF \par Columbia University \_ Columbia Business School; Nation al Bureau of Economic\par Research (NBER) \par \par _____ \par \par February 1, 2008\par \par NBER Working Paper No. 13803 \par \par \par \par \par \par \pa r Abstract: \par In recent decades, sex offenders have been the targets of some of the most\par far\_reaching and novel crime legislation in the U.S. Two k ey innovations\par have been registration and notification laws which, respectiv ely, require\par that convicted sex offenders provide valid contact information to law\par enforcement authorities, and that information on sex offenders be mad e\par public. Using detailed information on the timing and scope of changes in\p ar state law, we study how registration and notification affect the frequency\pa r of sex offenses and the incidence of offenses across victims, and check for\pa r any change in police response to reported crimes. We find evidence that\par re gistration reduces the frequency of sex offenses by providing law\par enforcemen t with information on local sex offenders. As we predict from a\par simple model of criminal behavior, this decrease in crime is concentrated\par among local vi ctims (e.g., friends, acquaintances, neighbors), while there\par is little evide nce of a decrease in crimes against strangers. We also find\par evidence that co mmunity notification deters crime, but in a way\par unanticipated by legislators . Our results correspond with a model in which\par community notification deters first\_time sex offenses, but increases\par recidivism by registered offenders due to a change in the relative utility\par of legal and illegal behavior. This finding is consistent with work by\par criminologists suggesting that notificati on may increase recidivism by\par imposing social and financial costs on registe red sex offenders and making\par non\_criminal activity relatively less attracti ve. We regard this latter\par finding as potentially important, given that the p urpose of community\par notification is to reduce recidivism. \par \par \par \p ar \par \par You can find a link to the entire article here:\par \par \par \pa r http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1100663\par \par \par \par \par \par \par \par }