Perspectives of Americans and Canadians on the use and function of sex offender registries

Sex offender registries (SORs) have been established in both Canada and the United States with the auspice of protecting the community from dangerous and violent sexual predators and have been generated as a response to community concerns. Yet, little is known about how community members perceive the function and use of these registries. The current study surveyed 207 student and 637 community participants from U.S and Canada. The results indicated that Americans were more in favor of the availability of SORs, were more accurate at identifying who should be placed on SORs, and were more aware of the registries than Canadians. Although students were less aware of SORs, they held more positive views of them than community members. Attitudinal measures were related to views of SORs, particularly attitudes toward sexual offenders. The findings suggest participants' views were commensurate with their respective countries' policies. Implications for public policy will be discussed.