Perceived utility of community notification for sexually violent persons (SVP) on supervised release

ABSTRACT

Individuals committed under Sexually Violent Person (SVP) laws can be afforded conditional or supervised release (SR) in the community. SR placement is preceded by community notification. The objectives of this study were to assess SR residents’ attitudes toward community notification and their adverse experiences at being subjected to it. Interviews were conducted with 80 SR residents. In contrast to similar samples, participants presented with an overall favorable attitude toward community notification with a majority of participants rating it as fair and having some utility in reducing sexual offending. Threats/ridicule, job loss, and property damage were the top three adverse experiences reported; however, compared to other samples, participants reported significantly lower rates of job loss, property damage, and physical harm. Potential reasons for participant ratings and experiences as well as differences in ratings across similar samples are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Sex offender
• supervised release
• community notification
• Megan’s Law

Acknowledgements

Portions of this study were presented at the 38th Annual ATSA Conference in 2019 and Wisconsin ATSA Conference in 2020. We would like to thank James C. Mundt for his suggestions and critique of the manuscript and Leah Efferson and Ryan Mattek for their roles in data collection. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services – Division of Care and Treatment Services

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Readers interested in study materials and data should contact the corresponding author. Study materials, including limited or deidentified data, will be provided in accordance with Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements, as well as state statutes and policies governing research, patient rights, and open records.