Research on sex offender laws and their effects on people and society

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	US states using civil commitment of sex offenders. Source: New York Times

Civil commitment is the confinement for an indefinite period of time of people deemed to be a danger to society. In the mid-1990s, it began being used in the United States to prolong the incarceration of certain sex offenders after they finished serving their prison sentences. Almost 3,000 people were in civil commitment for sex offenses in 18 US states by the end of 2006, and two more states have since adopted the practice.

For more information, see the SOLR report, Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders.
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Note posted on January 10, 2008, updated February 1, 2008, September 7, 2008, January 28, 2009.

According to figures reported by the New York Times, the number of civilly committed sex offenders in 18 states as of Fall 2006 was 2,694, except for some inmates not included in the count in two states due to changes in laws. See A Profile of Civil Commitment Around the Country, New York Times, March 3, 2007.
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Note posted on January 10, 2008, updated January 28, 2009.

That’s the way it’s supposed to work, but the treatment is often either ineffective or just not provided. See, for example, A Record of Failure at Center for Sex Offenders, New York Times, March 5, 2007.
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Note posted on January 10, 2008.

According to figures reported by the New York Times, the number of civilly committed sex offenders that have ever been fully discharged in 18 states as of Fall 2006 was 252, or nine percent of the committed population at that time. In addition, another 154 inmates (six percent) were on conditional, supervised, or transitional release. See A Profile of Civil Commitment Around the Country, New York Times, March 3, 2007.
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Note posted on January 10, 2008.

No. It’s supposed to be that way, but many states define any kind of sexual activity or contact with a child below a certain age (such as 14), even when no force or coercion was used, as automatically violent.

An example of legislatures redefining the word “violence” was the passage of Senate Bill 2161 in California in 1996. Section 3 of this bill changed the meaning of the legal term, “sexually violent offense,” which is part of the qualification for civil commitment, to include essentially any sexual act with a child under the age of 14. This means, for example, that a woman allowing a thirteen-year-old boy to penetrate her is committing a violent act on him. Also, allowing a curious child of thirteen or younger to touch one’s genitals is now, by this definition, a violent act on the child.

For more information, see the section on The Linguistics of Civil Commitment in the SOLR report, Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders.
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Note posted on January 10, 2008, updated September 7, 2008, January 28, 2009.

Yes. See Q&A # 16.
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Note posted on January 28, 2009.