Requiring that children who commit sex offenses be placed on registries often harms registrants while doing little to protect public safety. That's according to a report out this week from the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, which calls for an end to the practice in the state. The governor-appointed panel also found that youth sex offenders are highly amenable to treatment and extremely unlikely to reoffend.
Under current state law applicable to children, every person convicted of a sex offense while under the age of 17 must register, and some 70 percent of the 2,553 currently registered must do so for life, according to the commission. More than half of offenders are under 14. However, the category of "sex offense" under Illinois law encompasses a wide range of youth behavior," says the report, and "fails to differentiate between the "nature, harm, or severity of unlawful sexual conduct."
"Automatic, categorical registries do not protect public safety," the commission chairman, a former judge, told the Associated Press. "There's no evidentiary basis that says they do and more importantly, they have very negative consequences in the effects they have on the offenders' life."
The commission’s findings and recommendations mirror Human Rights Watch's own. In a 2013 report, Raised on the Registry, we documented the often lifelong harm caused to youth by registration, which requires that an offender's personal information be placed on an online registry, often making them targets for harassment and violence. Related "notification" laws severely restrict where youth who have offended can live, work, and attend school.
The commission found that registration and notification is not only "unnecessary," but also "counterproductive," as it may jeopardize victim confidentiality and can "interfere with youth rehabilitation to an extent that undermines public safety." By contrast, the commission found that individualized, community-based rehabilitation plans are highly effective.
The Illinois report grew out of a law passed by the Illinois General Assembly in 2011, directing the commission to analyze law and policy for working with and treating youth who have sexually offended.
The state government should now take the commission's unambiguous findings to heart, and abolish automatic registration for youth sex offenders. Anyone responsible for a sexual assault should be held accountable. But punishment should fit both the offense and the offender, and placing children who commit sex offenses on a registry – often for life – can do more harm than good.
