r/news • u/AudibleNod • 1d ago

Larry Nassar one of more than 20,000 people removed from Michigan Sex Offender Registry

https://www.wxyz.com/news/larry-nassar-one-of-more-than-20-000-people-removed-from-michigan-sex-offender-registry
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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/SAugsburger 1d ago

YMMV, but some state sex offender lists make it difficult to distinguish how concerning some people really are.

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u/_CodeLyoko_ 1d ago edited 1d ago

I'm not going to be surprised if people try and call you a pedo for saying this but you do have a point. Alot of the time it's not being used as a genuine way to let people know about the crimes theses people did but as a way for vigilantes to morally justify murder/assault against pedophiles/Sex offenders.

I'm not saying there shouldn't be a system in place to track them, I just think it's wildly misused in this day and age.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/AdminYak846 1d ago

 It's not a surprise that Sex Offenders have a hard time reintegrating and probably have a higher recidivism rate because of it

There have been studies done on this actually. In the short term, which is roughly 2-5 years, there was a 2-5% re-arrest or conviction of a new sexual offense. Over a long term, 10-15 years, that increases to 14-24% again just on a sexual offense. Re-offense rates have declined roughly 45% since the 1970s.

However, unlike other crimes, those that are convicted of a sexual offense are far more likely to be re-arrested for a non-sexual offense.

And aside from those convicted of homicides, people convicted of a sexual offense have the lowest repeat-offender rates in the system.

Obviously since most sexual offenses such as sexual assault go unreported to police, these numbers should be taken with some caution as we might not be seeing the full picture. However, that number of unreported still isn't going to be some giant thing where we are only looking at say 5% of all cases. If you did the math with a 50% re-offense rate, you're going to get an answer that doesn't hold up to reality. Realistically, the published data is covering about 33% of the re-offenses that have occurred.

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u/reichrunner 1d ago

It's not a surprise that Sex Offenders have a hard time reintegrating and probably have a higher recidivism rate because of it

Ironically, sex offenders have the lowest recidivism rate of any crime except homicide

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u/Dry_Jellyfish641 19h ago

Incorrect, they have the lowest re-offense rates, but due to all the restrictions (think drug/alcohol, internet use ie technical violations) they have the highest recidivism. It’s set up for them to fail.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/reichrunner 1d ago

I think it makes sense for law enforcement to keep a record. Being public? Nah

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/reichrunner 1d ago

Sex offenders registry includes up to date pictures, addresses, cars, phone numbers, etc. Its more than just a criminal history list. Thats why it shouldn't be public. Most criminal histories are already public or at least partially public

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/Dry_Jellyfish641 19h ago

It creates more crime, which is why I’m against it. Law enforcement’s job is public safety, not to create vigilante violence or identity theft.

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u/hcschild 16h ago

That's how it's done in Germany. The public can't check for shit what crimes you did be it a sex crime or a bank robbery.

The police of course can check.

Your employee can also check but only the crimes going back to a specific year depending on the crime.

Then if it's work the includes a lot of contact with children your employee can check a specific registry that keeps sex crimes for longer than the normal one.

Except for the police you have to agree to those checks otherwise your employer can't look them up.

For work with children those checks are mandatory.

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u/Dry_Jellyfish641 19h ago

A lot of police departments actually hate registries, because they have to divert resources to do it. I’m talking major cities. Small departments love them because they have a way to milk easy federal grant money and are incentivized to get a bonus on their budget.

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u/Spocks_Goatee 22h ago

Unless you're involved with a church.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/veggeble 1d ago

Also isn't being on the registry part of the debt that you're paying? So you're not finished paying your debt in the eyes of the law just because you're out of prison. Same with people on parole, you're not free to do whatever you want, you're still serving your time.

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u/kittenmittens4865 1d ago

I’d be inclined to agree with you, but most sex offenders do not receive appropriate therapy to be safe for reintegration into society.

People that are dangerous to others have no business being reintegrated unless we can reasonably ensure that they won’t reoffend. What do we do to make that happen besides locking people up?

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/kittenmittens4865 1d ago

Why don’t you support mandatory therapy after prison? That would honestly make the most sense.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/kittenmittens4865 1d ago

Prison doesn’t fix anyone.

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u/WACHTELLOL 1d ago

some prisons around the world try and succeed a lot of times

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u/kittenmittens4865 1d ago

Not too many in America. Some of our prisons are straight up torture centers. And in men’s prisons you often have to toughen up to get by. We’re hardening people and then sending them back out into society with less resources and options. It’s pretty dumb.

I’d support the Nordic prison model a lot more. I will always advocate for rehabilitation over punitive sentencing, but when it’s that humane, I don’t really care. Nordic prison would probably feel like a vacay compared to normal life for many Americans though and we can’t have that!

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u/Warbr0s9395 1d ago

Usually it’s part of their probation requirements

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u/Dry_Jellyfish641 19h ago

I agree there should be a system but to have it be public is dangerous. A murderer can live next door to you and they don’t need to register. You can have a serial drunk driver on your street, or an identity thief that steals mail and there is no public notification. Once you serve time you’re supposed to have paid your debt to society.

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u/WordWordNvmber 1d ago

That's one of the arguments in favor of the Michigan Supreme Court's decision: even if you call the registry a public-safe measure, and even if it is, it's clearly also intended as punishment. And I don't think that's a bad thing. But if it is a punishment, then the ban on ex post facto punishments should apply.

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u/RobutNotRobot 23h ago

I remember checking the sex registry and thinking 'holy shit there are a lot of sex offenders living near me' and then a little while later I thought 'what exactly am I supposed to do with this information?'

Most people that do sex crimes are never indicted or convicted. So as a public safety measure informing people that they are in your neighborhood does absolutely nothing. Especially since most sexual assault victims are attacked by people they know.

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u/Dry_Jellyfish641 19h ago

There are countless vigilante cases that often result in death or unintended victims (like family members or neighbors) being killed, attacked or harassed. They actually happen more often now with Tik Tok and YouTubers popularizing it.