Notification Tools Research Articles

Who accesses the sex offender registries? A look at legislative intent and citizen action in Nebraska

States are required to maintain an Internet‐based sex offender registry in order to comply with community notification laws. Such legislation, however, relies on citizens to proactively access information regarding sex offenders’ whereabouts in order to take precautions to protect themselves and their families. This study examines the legislative intent, in terms of the target audience for sex offender community notification laws, and whether this audience is in fact using the online community notification tools available to the public. Survey responses from a representative sample of Nebraska residents and logistic regression are used to examine who is likely to access the registry information and also who is likely to take preventative action in response. Our findings and the implications of the results on notification laws are discussed.