Book Review: The Registration and Monitoring of Sex Offenders: A Comparative Study
| DOI | 10.1350/ijps.2012.14.3.286 |
| Author | Kieran McCartan |
| Date | 01 September 2012 |
| Published date | 01 September 2012 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 14 Number 3
Book review
The Registration and Monitoring of Sex
Offenders: A Comparative Study
Terry Thomas
(Routledge; 188 pp.; ISBN-13: 978-0-4156-6781-4; £24.99 (paperback))
Thomas’s book evaluates sex-offender regis-
changed to one of punitiveness, crime con-
tration internationally, discussing the simil-
trol and risk management. This means that
arities, differences, good and bad practice.
sex-offender registration can be constructed
Thomas’s book is a one-stop shop on global
by society as essential and necessary for
sex-offender registration policy, discussing
effective public protection and effective risk
how sex-offender registration relates to reg-
management.
istration in general (Chapters 2 and 3), the
Internationally, a range of countries have
development of the American register
researched and implemented a national sex-
(Chapter 4), its impact internationally
offenders’ register, namely, the Republic of
(Chapters 5–7), as well as the impact of sex-
Ireland, France, Jersey, Canada, Australia,
offender registration on offender manage-
Pitcairn Island, South Africa, Kenya and
ment and recidivism (Chapters 8 and 9). In
Jamaica. Thomas’s book shows that, when
doing this, Thomas argues that sex-offender
countries have introduced national sex-
offender registers, this seems to have hap-
registration is an example of related, but not
pened: (1) as a result of calls from
intertwined, ‘worldly’ thinking on sex-
practitioners, or (2) as a reaction by govern-
offender management.
ments to societal concerns surrounding the
Thomas argues that registration and
uncovering of sexual abuse networks and/
community notification, especially with
or high-profile cases linked to problems
regard to offenders, are not new phenom-
with the current criminal justice system.
ena; what is new is the use of these tech-
Interestingly, it is the UK version of the
niques with sex offenders at the...
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