Past conduct good indicator for future
I have been investigating child abuse for most of the past 15
years of my law enforcement career. In most cases the offender has
disclosed a history of several prior victims.
Past conduct is the best predictor of future behavior.
I disagree that an offender will be “that creepy
guy” across the street (“Sex offenders deserve second
chance, March 9). The offender will most likely be well thought of
(until his crimes come to light). I’ve found that most child
molesters are more opportunistic than predatory.
These offenders tend to have poor impulse control. When stress
overwhelms them, they are more likely to try to regain control by
victimizing others; children are easy victims. Two of the goals of
legal punishment are specific deterrence and general deterrence.
Specific deterrence is intended to deter the defendant, and general
deterrence is intended to deter others from similar conduct.
If you’re in a room with a number of venomous reptiles,
each one you can locate reduces your risk of being bitten; the ones
you can’t locate are the greatest threat.
Dave Matney Detective, Grant County, Wash.
Sex crimes are often underreported
I enjoyed Lara Loewenstein’s column, still, I do take
issue with her argument about the low recidivism rate of convicted
sex offenders. Crimes of sexual violence are far less likely than
other types of crimes to ever be reported. This makes finding out
if a convicted sex offender committed another crime of sexual
violence unlikely.
Loewenstein made an excellent point: The vast majority of sexual
assaults are perpetrated by friends, family and acquaintances, and
thus a sex offender registry misleads people into being afraid of
strangers lurking in the dark. What we need is an overhaul of our
prison system that actually rehabilitates, rather than just
punishes inmates, and a society that spreads awareness of sexual
violence.
Alexis Flyer Co-executive chair, Clothesline
Project