Changing Views of Sex Offender Policies: A Counterevidence Based Intervention

Source: tandfonline.com 10/14/25 Abstract Sexual offender policies, like registration, are highly popular, but generally ineffective. It would be advantageous to decrease support for these policies and increase support for empirically supported ones. Past attempts to reduce support for these policies have resulted in only modest effects. The current studies designed an intervention to more substantially reduce support. In two studies, participants either read a refutation-style text that provided counterevidence to misconceptions about sexual offenders and offenses, or an information only text defining residency restriction laws, registration laws, and treatments for…

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AZ: Data suggest changes for sex offense policies

Source: azcapitoltimes.com 5/18/23 Based on a false premise, Justice Anthony Kennedy asserted in the case of Smith v Doe 538 U.S. 84 (2003) that “the risk of recidivism posed by sex offenders is frightening and high,” as high as 80% for those who are untreated. This, he contended, made it vital that the public be able to identify these individuals in the interest of public safety. Justice Kennedy’s statements were wrong then and they are wrong now. They were based on an article in a lay publication, Psychology Today, not…

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