Jeff Bouffard, professor of criminal justice studies in the Department of Sociology, and co-author LaQuana Askew, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, have published the article “Time-Series Analyses of the Impact of Sex Offender Registration and Notification Law Implementation and Subsequent Modifications on Rates of Sexual Offenses” in the Crime & Delinquency Journal.
The article was first published online in 2017 and will be in included in the journal’s October 2019 print edition. In the article, Bouffard and Askew examine data from a large metropolitan area in Texas from 1977 to 2012—using several time-series analyses—to determine the impact of initial sex offender registration and notification (SORN) laws and enhancements. They found no effect of SORN or its modifications on all sexual offenses or other specific measures, such as crimes by repeat offenders. The article details implications for effective policy and future research.