Citation

Redlich AD. J. Child Sex. Abus. 2002; 10(3): 91-116.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5719, USA. aredlich@leland.stanford.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

17522002

Abstract

Megan's law, a law designed to protect children from sexual abuse, enables law enforcement to notify communities when convicted sex offenders reside in their neighborhoods. Although there is vast support for the law, little is known about the perceived efficacy of the law. Community members', law enforcement officials', and law students' attitudes toward community notification and other child abuse prevention measures were investigated. The groups significantly differed in support of Megan's Law and surrounding issues, such as whether all criminals should be subject to community notification. Also, perceptions of the efficacy and the degree to which offenders' rights are violated differed according to whether community notification tactics were typical or extreme.

Language: en