A new study suggests posting the names and addresses of sex offenders online increases the chance the offenders will commit new crimes.
According to the study by the University of Michigan Law School andColumbia Business School, posting sex offenders' information online makes life so difficult for the offenders they may commit new crimes because they no longer consider prison a threat.
U of M law professor J.J. Prescott co-authored the study. He says offenders are likely to re-offend when they have nothing to lose.
“We got to give them something to lose if they’re going to commit another offense. I mean, as it stands right now, they’re already pariahs in their community, they can’t get a job, it’s very difficult for them to live, prison doesn’t sound so bad," Prescott says.
The Sex Offender Registration Act of 1994 requires Michigan State Police to post the names and addresses of sex offenders online.
Allison Lyons
