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Washington State's Community Notification Law: 15 Years of Change by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (2006)

In 1990, Washington became the first state to authorize the release of information regarding sex offenders to the public. Since then, the law has been amended numerous times to expand its application, increase uniformity across counties, and increase citizen access.

Violent and sexual felony recidivism by sex offenders in Washington has decreased since passage of the 1997 statute. The causal link to notification laws is not proven by this research, but the drop in recidivism rates by sex offenders is clear, and the influence of community notification laws cannot be ruled out.

As part of this evaluation, the Institute contracted in 1997 with the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center (SESRC) at Washington State University to conduct telephone interviews with a sample of Washington State residents regarding the community notification provisions of the Community Protection Act. In 2007, the Institute again contracted with SESRC to conduct a nearly identical survey and learn how responses may have changed.

The purpose of this study was to examine public perceptions about sex offenders and community protection policies. Data were obtained from a sample of 193 residents in Melbourne, Florida. It was hypothesized that the public holds some inaccurate beliefs about sex offenders, and that there is strong public support for community protection policies. It was found that community members believe that sex offenders have very high recidivism rates, view sex offenders as a homogeneous group with regard to risk, and are skeptical about the benefits of sex offender treatment.

This policy and practice brief examines the differences in state laws regarding community notification and explores some innovative approaches to notification and education in place across the United States.