Sex offenders

Resumo

Sexually-motivated crimes undermine the sense of security within communities, they are especially shocking if they occur under circumstances that are normally perceived to be safe (Laws 2000). In March 2011, news media reported a violent rape offence during which an adult female was raped on a pavement in front of passing drivers in England (ASIAONE 17MAR2011). In this incident, the perpetrator, Gary Gunstone, had just finished his prison sentence two weeks earlier for a previous rape offence during which he raped another woman in front of her sister. The public’s concern and worries of having sex offenders living within the community goes beyond the atrocity of the offensive acts and the lasting physical and psychological trauma on the victims, it is also about the risk of sex crime recidivism when they are back in the community (Laws 2000).