Note: A slightly different version of this article was published in the Alaska Justice Forum:
"Revisiting Alaska's Sex Offender Registration and Public Notification Statute" by Deborah Periman. Alaska Justice Forum 25(1–2): 2–5 (Spring-Summer 2008).
Revisiting Alaska's Sex Offender Registration and Public Notification Statute
Periman, Deborah. (Oct 2008). "Revisiting Alaska's Sex Offender Registration and Public Notification Statute." Justice Center Working Papers 7.
Summary: This paper provides a look at the paramaters of Alaska's sex offender registration statues and examines . In Alaska and throughout the country sex offender registration requirements have become more inclusive: almost all convicted sex offenders now must register for very extended periods; the registry is available over the Internet; and more details on the current status of the offender are available to the public. The intent of the registries is to protect the public from convicted offenders, but it can be argued that the increasingly stringent demands placed on offenders may, in fact, be counter-productive. 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.
