Sex Offender Community Notification: Assessing the Impact in Wisconsin

The authors confirm that community notification efforts protect and inform residents, thereby serving the purpose that policymakers intended, but at the cost of increased public anxiety, hindered reintegration of offenders into society, and increased labor burdens on service providers. In documenting community resident responses and expectations, Zevits and Farkas acknowledge the need to educate the public about what notification laws can and cannot accomplish. Also, the authors stress the value of developing protocol and organizing interagency teams to manage community notification efforts and offender supervision, as well as the need for considerable funding to cover labor expenditures for such tasks. Finally, they note the need for housing, employment, and treatment resources so that offenders can be successfully reintegrated into the community.