Donna Schram, Cheryl Milloy - February 1998

Washington State law provides for the civil commitment of extremely dangerous sex offenders. This study describes the 61 adult offenders who were referred for possible commitment as predators but for whom such petitions for civil commitment were not filed, during the first six years after the law's passage (July 1990 through June 1996). The subsequent criminal behavior of these 61 offenders was tracked in official records for the time period following their release from custody. During this period, more than one-half of the group were rearrested. The highest percentage of offenders were rearrested for nonsexual crimes.

Robert Barnoski - December 1997

The 1997 Washington State Legislature recognized the need to improve the analysis, evaluation, and forecasting of sentencing and treatment alternatives.  In order to measure the success of criminal justice programs in increasing public safety and reducing subsequent offenses by convicted persons, the Institute was directed to:  1) propose a common definition of recidivism, and 2) develop standards for measuring the effectiveness of programs funded by the Community Juvenile Accountability Act.  This report incorporates both assignments. 

Scott Matson, Roxanne Lieb - October 1997

In 1996, Congress amended the federal law that requires states to register sex offenders. These amendments, known as "Megan's Law," authorize the public release of information about registered sex offenders when necessary to protect public safety. This report analyzes the 47 states with Megan’s Laws. These state laws can be divided into three categories, organized principally by the degree of notification: 1) Broad community notification; 2) Notification to individuals and organizations at risk; or 3) Access to registration information. This report also discusses implementation issues, offender harassment, and legal challenges to these laws. A summary of notification programs in other countries is provided.

Roxanne Lieb - May 1997

In 1990, the Washington State Legislature passed the Community Protection Act, a comprehensive set of laws that increased prison terms for sex offenders, established registration and notification laws, authorized funds for treatment of adult and juvenile sex offenders, and provided services for victims of sexual assault. The legislation directed the Institute to evaluate the effectiveness of these state-supported programs. This chartbook contains information selected from this research.

Roxanne Lieb - December 1996

In 1990, Washington State enacted a law authorizing civil commitment of individuals found to be “sexually violent predators” at the end of their criminal sentence. This civil commitment law was part of an omnibus bill, the 1990 Community Protection Act. In order to increase the state’s knowledge about effective strategies with sex offenders, the legislature directed the Institute to evaluate this law’s effectiveness. This publication updates information on the implementation and background of sexual predator laws.

Scott Matson - December 1996

This issue brief explains the general requirements established by the federal government for registration of sex offenders released from incarceration. Also included are the results from a 1996 Institute survey listing the number of registered sex offenders by state.

Scott Matson, Roxanne Lieb - November 1996

In August and September of 1996, the Institute conducted a survey of law enforcement to solicit information on community notification procedures throughout Washington State. The report describes sex offender harassment incidents and methods law enforcement use to reduce these incidents, including community meetings.

Scott Matson - October 1996

An April 1996 Institute report analyzed state statutes covering community notification; 32 states were included. This update includes eight additional states that passed legislation either authorizing community notification or allowing access to sex offender registration information. Arizona’s community notification law also was amended, therefore it is also included.

Roxanne Lieb - October 1996

In 1990, Washington State enacted a civil commitment law for persons found to be sexually violent predators. As of September 1996, 38 persons are housed at the Special Commitment Center in Monroe, Washington; 21 have been committed under the Act, and the others are awaiting trial. This paper summarizes records from the Special Commitment Center regarding the residents' criminal history, offense pattern, treatment history, and mental health diagnosis.

Scott Matson, Roxanne Lieb - July 1996

This paper describes the policy debates surrounding registration laws and summarizes the features of legislation in all 50 states.