The promises and perils of developing a national sex offender recidivism database in Australia

Bibliographic Data

ID15310364
AuthorsCaroline Spiranovic (0000-0002-5270-8719, University of Tasmania, corresponding author), Anna Ferrante (0000-0002-9479-7908, Curtin University), Marie‐Jeanne Buscot (University of Tasmania), Marie-Jeanne Buscot (University of Tasmania), Catherine Griffiths (0000-0003-1347-0119, The University of Western Australia), Alfred Allan (0000-0001-7039-797X, Edith Cowan University), Stephen C P Wong (University of Saskatchewan), Stephen Wong (0000-0001-9484-7007, University of Saskatchewan), Hilde Tubex (0000-0001-6132-6184, Law School, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia), FRANK MORGAN (0000-0002-5417-6234, School of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia and Law School, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia)
Year2020
Volume32
Issue3
Pages359-367
Publication date2020-07-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCurrent Issues in Criminal Justice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1034-5329 • E-ISSN: 2206-9542
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10345329.2020.1807701
OpenAlexW3090104045
LanguageEN
References cited5

Much of what we know about sexual offenders and risk management is derived from empirical studies on sex offender populations in North America. In comparison to Canada and the United States, the evidence base in Australia on sexual offender risk management is under-developed. In this paper, we describe a current research project tasked with developing a national sex offender recidivism database to advance the evidence base in Australia. It is argued that a national database would advance knowledge and practice in the field of sex offender risk management in Australia in a multitude of ways. Yet there are many obstacles and difficulties in developing such a database. After putting forward a case for the need for such a database, we outline the issues we have encountered and the approaches we have adopted to develop this database. It is intended that this contemporary comment may not only alert readers to this emerging data resource in Australia but also function as a road map to guide future empirical research on offender population databases in Australia

Criminology · Database · Political science · Population · Project commissioning · Publishing · Recidivism · Resource (disambiguation · Sex offender · Sociology · Computer Science · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Demography · Law · Psychology · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending

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