RT Article
T1 Examining the Influence of Jessica’s Law on Reported Forcible Rape: A Time-Series Analysis
JF Criminal justice policy review
VO 28
IS 1
SP 87
OP 101
A1 Dierenfeldt, Rick
A2 Carson, Jennifer Varriale
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1725396106
AB Since the 1990s, several measures intended to deter sexual offending have been instituted by state governments. A recent example is Jessica’s Law. First adopted in Florida, variations of Jessica’s Law have since been enacted by the majority of states. The impact of this legislation on forcible rape remains unexplored. Using a general deterrence framework, we apply Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) modeling to monthly Uniform Crime Report (UCR) aggregations of reported forcible rape from 2000 to 2011 in states requiring lifetime electronic monitoring of convicted sex offenders as a condition of Jessica’s Law. Results indicate a null relationship between Jessica’s Law and reported forcible rape. Policy implications related to the efficacy of sex offender legislation and alternatives for reducing sexual offending are discussed.
K1 Sex offender legislation
K1 Sex offenders
K1 Interrupted time-series analysis
K1 ARIMA
DO 10.1177/0887403414563139