Brain On Stress

Sex offenders have been a serious problem for our legal system at all levels, not to mention those who have been their victims. There are 43,000 inmates in prison for sexual offenses while each year in this country over 510,000 children are sexually assaulted(Oakes 99). The latter statistic, in its context, does not convey the severity of the situation. Each year 510,000 children have their childhood's destroyed, possibly on more than one occasion, and are faced with dealing with the assault for the rest of their lives. Sadly, many of those assaults are perpetrated by people who have already been through the correctional system only to victimize again. Sex offenders, as a class of criminals, are nine times more likely to repeat their

Stories of sex offenders have been increasingly a focus of attention by the criminal justice system over the past years. By legal definition, a sex offender “is a person who is convicted of a sexual offense (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition),” an act which is prohibited by the jurisdiction. What constitutes as a sex offense or normal/abnormal sexual behavior varies over time and place, meaning that it also varies by legal jurisdiction and culture. In the United States of America, for example, a person can be convicted of wide range of sexual behavior that includes prostitution, incest, sex with a minor, rape, and other sex offenses (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition). As the nature of sex crimes have long held the

However, during high stress times the hippocampus, which is associated with the ability to place memories in the correct context of space and time, and with the ability to recall the memory, is suppressed. This suppression is hypothesized to be the cause of the flashbacks that often affect people with

Summary: Sex offenders that were convicted, but not incarcerated are released back into the community. They have many hurdles to jump in order to prove the authority and even their neighbors that they have changed and will not reoffend. There are numerous limitations and controls for such offenders, and a few of them are GPS tethers, residence and employment restrictions, and regular mandatory registrations. Many of these policies were implemented after horrific events where children were abducted or lured, raped, and murdered. The article “Social Policies Designed to Prevent Sexual Violence” discusses how the latter policies need a revision with scientific evidence-based approach and that policies that use risk assessment strategies to identify high risk offenders should be created instead.

Sexual offenders are the most vilified type of offenders within public opinion and the criminal justice system. The American precedent cases of Jacob Wetterling, Pam Lyncher, Megan Kanka, and other notorious crimes perpetrated by sexual offenders with a prior history of conviction have demanded a response from the criminal justice system to increase public safety. In 1994, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Program was passed (Scholle, 2000), the first piece of legislation to advocate for the development of state-maintained registries of convicted sexual offenders. The legislation has been amended numerous times since then; in its present state, the law requires all states to maintain a registry, the mandatory registration of convicted sex offenders after release, community notification laws in place, and public access to the registry (Burchfield and Mingus, 2012; Lees and Tewksbury, 2006; Petrunik, Murphy, and Fedoroff, 2008; Scholle, 2000; Tewksbury and Lees, 2006; Wagner, 2011).

In the overwhelming majority of cases of sexual offenses, the victim knows the perpetrator and is usually not a stranger. In a poll of sex crimes against children 88% of the respondents recognize that these acts generally involve perpetrators who are related to or otherwise know the victim (Bumby, Carter, Gilligan, & Talbot, 2010, p. 2). According to research conducted in New York over a nine year period, shows that sex offender laws target only a small percentage of known and registered sex offenders. These laws create a false sense of security, which the sex offender will be a

Since the early 1990s, there has not been a classification of criminals who have been subjected to more extensive legislation than sex offenders. A common belief that sex offenders posed a greater threat to reoffend compared to other types of criminals had surfaced, encouraging immediate action to protect the public from such individuals. In a short amount of time, society had implemented sex offender registration laws and sex offender notification laws in which sexual offenders would have to abide by. These innovational registration laws required sex offenders to regularly provide any identifying details, criminal history, and contact information to law enforcement authorities that would be made available to the public through the use of secluded registries exclusively for those who commit acts of sexual violence.

There are many things people can say and use to describe the actions of a sex offender. Some are true and some are just random descriptions that only pertain to just one person who committed a sexual offense. There are certain common characteristic that do stand out as a whole that researchers have noticed among sex offenders who and have been incarcerated. The most common characteristic is the offender having deviant sexual arousal, interest, or preferences. This means that the individual is engaging in sexual contact with children or others against their will. Not only that, but they enjoy inflicting pain or humiliating others. With this particular characteristic it would include them exposing oneself n a public setting and secretly watching

Critically evaluate the ways in which the criminal justice system deals with the risk and management of sex offenders.

Over two decades ago, law enforcement started compiling information on convicted sex offenders, in an online database with the exclusive aim of reducing recidivism. Initially, it was for law enforcement, but throughout the years this information became available to the public (McPherson 2016). Before the early 1990’s, a tracking system was unheard of for keeping tabs on sex offenders. Since then, legislatures have enacted laws, with the most recognized act; Sex Offender Registration and Notification (SORN), which is Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWA) of 2006 (“109th Congress Public Law 109-248,” 2006). The Act was amended when a young child by the name of Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbor. This

Stress is neutral. It is the individual's perspective that determines whether it is positive or negative. Positive stress can provide energy to handle emergencies, and overcome challenges by activating the higher thinking centers of the brain (Tennant). Stress becomes negative when the individual feels threatened and not in control of the situation. This reaction is much more powerful, affecting the brain and body in ways that can be destructive both physically and mentally (Tennant). Everyone will experience stress in their lifetime, but at what age is it most damaging? Teenagers report experiencing stress that follows a similar pattern as adults, according to a new survey released by the American Psychological Association. In fact, during

Research has shown that sex offenders are perceived by society as remorseless, heartless, dangerous, monsters (Blanchard, 1995; Marshall 1996) with the only considered punishment being to, “lock em up and throw away the key” (Scheela, 2001 p.749).

This response in the context of acute crisis can be activated purely by psychological states such as loss of control, predictability, and social support. Exploration into the disruptive effects that stress has on areas of the brain such as the hippocampus during acute stress and activation of fight or flight show frontocortical executive functions and behavioral regulation are greatly impacted. There are concerns with neuroinflammation and glucorticoids that are released during stress which increase neuroinflammation in brain regions that pre-disposes individuals to depression (Sapolsky, 2015). Extensive neuroscience research has shown that in two structures of the brain, hippocampus and frontal cortex, stress and glucocorticoid excess decreases synaptic plasticity, cause dendrite atrophy, and even causes a total loss of gray matter volume (Sapolsky, 2015). These effects suggest stronger evidence for stress as a risk factor for various neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and addictive

When the words “sex offender” is said, the vision of an older man and a younger kid pops into our heads. But 75% of the people on the sex offender list imagine a life not worth living, or choosing the wrong girlfriend/boyfriend. Not everyone on the list should be there, and not everyone on the list should be treated the same.

From the time we are able to talk until the day that we die, we are constantly being warned about the realities of this world. Sexual offenders are one of those realities that no one really wants to talk about, but being informed can help prevent this disturbing reality from coming true. Sexual Assault is the highly most reported crime in America today. The rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network statistics show that “every 107 seconds, another American is sexually assaulted” (Statistics). If we cannot prevent these heinous acts, the least we can do is speak up for the voiceless and declare that sex offender registries stay in place.