An Examination of Multiple Factors Influencing Support for Sex Offender Policy

The general public has an influence on the creation and implementation of criminal justice policy. There is strong public support for policies targeting sex offenders, in particular, despite research evidence demonstrating their ineffectiveness. Any change in current policy will require a change in public perceptions. As such, it is important to identify the factors that influence one’s support for current sex offender policies. Using a student sample, this exploratory pilot study employed a survey with an experimental vignette component to examine the influence of personal demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about sex offenders, and offense characteristics on support for three current sex offender policies. Results from the multivariate analyses suggest that support for sex offender policy is complex and influenced by a number of factors. Greater support for sex offender policy was associated with more social distancing, higher perceptions of sex offender riskiness, offender criminal history, and younger victim age