subject: Number Please [print this page] Number Please Number Please
Number Please...
Mr. D, 2005
Operator: Information.....what city please?
Caller: Yes, operator, can you give me the number for sex offender recidivism?
Operator: Would that be sex offender recidivism for all crimes, or just sex crimes, sir? Caller: Just for sex crimes ma'am.
Operator: One moment please........ Sir, I have a large number of listings. Can you give me more information?About the one you're looking for?
Caller: No, I can't. I guess I'll take all of them.
Operator: OK sir, but I can only give out three.
Caller: How many are there? Operator: Quite a few sir.
Caller: OK. I guess this will take a bit more effort than I thought.
Operator: Would you like me to start with the earliest, or most recent?
Caller: The earliest please.
Operator: State or national?
Caller: I'll start with the national stats please.
Operator: OK.....
> A Bureau of Justice Statistics study of 9691 sex offenders released in 1994, found 5.3% were
rearrested for a sex crime within 3 years.3
> A 1999 Justice Department study of 11,000 sex offenders found 7.3% of those treated, and 17.6% of
those untreated re-offended after 5 years.1
> A 2002 Justice Department study found 13% of child molesters and 19% of rapists re-offended
within 5 years.2
Caller: Thank you. [Hang up] [Re-dial]
Operator: Information.....what city please?
Caller: Yes, I'm trying to get all the listings for sex offender recidivism for sex crimes only, and so far I haveThe first 3 oldest national listings. May I have the next 3 please?
Operator: One moment please....
> A 2002 private study of 9454 sex offenders, released from 43 states, found 10% treated and 17%
untreated re-offended.1
> A 2003 private study of over 31,000 sex offenders found 13.7% re-offended within 5-6 years.3
that's all the national listings, would you like a state listing?
Caller: Please.
Operator: > A New Jersey Department of Corrections study found less than 7% of all sex offenders released
From New Jersey prisons in 1994 committed another sex offense within 3 years.3
Caller: Thank you. [Hang up] [Re-dial]
Operator: Information.....what city please?
Caller: Yes ma'am....May I have the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th state listings for sex offender recidivism? Operator: Oh....hi sir....sure, one moment...
> A New Jersey Department of Corrections study found that 6.0% of sex offenders released in 1994from the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel committed another sex offense within 5years.3
> Another NJ.D.O.C. study found that 6.5% of sex offenders released in 1995 from the A.D.T.C. re-offended within 5 years.3
> A 2001 NJ.D.O.C. study of 726 sex offenders released from all New Jersey prisons between 1993and 1997 found that 6.7% were re-arrested for a new sex crime.2
Caller: Thanks again... [Hang-up] [Re-dial]
Operator: Information.....what city please?
Caller: Yes ma'am....1 have been calling for the listings for sex offender recidivism and....
Operator: Hi sir....it's me again....I'll get the next three...
> A 2002 N.J.D.O.C. study of 79 sex offenders covering 1990 through 2000 found that 3.8% werere-convicted of a new sex crime.2
> Another NJ.D.O.C. study found that of all sex offenders released from the A.D.T.C. in 1990 and1991, 8.6% committed another sex offense within 10 years.3
That's all of them sir, but I have a cross reference here to "sex deviate". Would you like me to check?
For a listing?
Caller: Sure, if you would, and thank you. Operator: I have two more listings...
> A study reported in the 1940's in New Jersey showed that out of 3295 sex offenders convicted inNew York State, between 1930 and 1939, 9% reoffended.4
> Another study reported in New Jersey in the 1940's showed that out of 555 sex offenders convictedin 1930 in New York State, 7% committed another sex offense.4
There's a footnote to these studies if you'd like...
Caller: Please.
Operator: "The committee concluded: In substance, then, the average sex offender's criminal career seldom is prolonged. Even less seldom is it continuously sexual. When persistent at all, the design is usually criminal, not sexual. The average sex offender is often the less troublesome than the recidivist offender in the non-sexual field, who incidentally becomes involved in a sex crime. These facts indicate that the recommendation that all sex offenders be segregated for life is completely unrealistic and unwise."4 (Emphasis added)
Caller: Thank you operator.
Operator: You're welcome sir. [Hang up]
Caller: {to himself} There sure seems to be a bunch of information about sex offender recidivism. I guess one just has to know where to look for it. It's interesting that there appears to be little difference between recidivism these days, and 60 years ago! It would seem to me that this is the information people should know about while they're considering "Pedophile Free Zones" and all the rest of the additional restrictions on sex offenders. In fact, I'm gonna send this stuff to a dozen or so local newspapers. After all, aren't they supposed to be impartial and report the truth! Seems to me people's fears might be calmed somewhat if they knew the truth. Then maybe I wouldn't be reading stories like the one in the New York Daily News op-ed page last summer claiming "80%" of sex offenders re-offend. Or, I won't hear some arrogant gas bag morning radio announcer from New Jersey 101.5 claim that "95%" of sex offenders re-offend, like I did in the early summer of 2004. Where do these people get numbers like this? It's their ignorance, and that of many politicians, that's feeding ammunition to the "war on pedophiles"5, and causing a great deal of time and money to be wasted on "feel good" legislation.
The preceding numbers were brought to you as a public service by:1 "Despite High Profile Cases, Sex Offense Crimes Decline", USA Today 8/25/05.2 "Sex Offender Detention Program is Mired in Litigation and High Costs; Annual $40 million price tag is fourtimes original estimate." New Jersey Law Journal, 3/7/05.3 Sex Offender Recidivism: Myths and Facts", The Podium (ADTC), 8/04.4 Report to the New Jersey Legislature by the Committee on Institutions and Agencies, INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 1949 ("Tappan Report").5 "N.J. town aims to shut out pervs", New York Daily News, 7/25/05.http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/number-please-2634522.html
