A Stitch in Haste

Ever since I started blogging about sex offender registries and redlining programs, I've gotten several emails and comments that generally go something like this:

I was young. The "victim" was young. We did what young people do. I am not a threat to anyone. And now I'm cursed for life. It's not fair.

The libertarian response is, "No it probably isn't fair."

The cynical libertarian response is "Get used to it."

Amie Zyla, 18, of Waukesha, Wis., has successfully promoted the idea that the public's right to know of a sex offender living nearby trumps a juvenile's right to keep court records secret. Last year, she persuaded her state's legislators to let police notify neighbors about the presence of a juvenile sex offender they consider a public risk.

This year, she went national. Congress is finishing work on a bill she promoted that could include juveniles on a federal registry being created. It would make failure to register a felony.
...
The rate at which juveniles repeat sex offenses ranges from 5% to 15%, compared with 20% to 25% for adult sex offenders, he says.

Seems to me that "5% to 15%" recidivism rate is not exactly a crisis demanding the kind of manic response we are seeing across the country and now in Congress.

But it also seems to me that sex offenders are even more easily classified as The Others Who Are Ruining America™ than are, say, gays or illegal immigrants. Who doesn't hate perverts, right? Unlike homophobia, damning child molesters never goes out of fashion, even when they're not really child molesters.

I certainly feel bad for people who are wrongly included in such registries and redlinings. But I see no reason not to expect the situation to get worse before it gets better. It's just too enticing a temptation for hack politicians.

(Via CrimProf Blog.)