- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804757102
- eISBN:
- 9780804771399
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804757102.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
This chapter traces the evolution of American criminal registration laws, starting in the 1930s when cities and counties rushed to enact laws. While motivated by fear of an increasingly mobile and ...
More
This chapter traces the evolution of American criminal registration laws, starting in the 1930s when cities and counties rushed to enact laws. While motivated by fear of an increasingly mobile and anonymous breed of professional “gangsters,” the laws in actuality targeted persons with offending histories belying hardened criminal status (a single conviction typically triggered eligibility) and otherwise focused on crimes not typically thought worthy of public safety concern (such as miscegenation). Moreover, the laws swept up newcomer and resident ex-offenders alike, contrary to the ostensible motivating concern over itinerant anonymity. Only later did state governments enact registration laws, with California adopting the nation's first statewide law in 1947; state interest in registration, however, remained limited and sporadic up through the 1980s.Less
This chapter traces the evolution of American criminal registration laws, starting in the 1930s when cities and counties rushed to enact laws. While motivated by fear of an increasingly mobile and anonymous breed of professional “gangsters,” the laws in actuality targeted persons with offending histories belying hardened criminal status (a single conviction typically triggered eligibility) and otherwise focused on crimes not typically thought worthy of public safety concern (such as miscegenation). Moreover, the laws swept up newcomer and resident ex-offenders alike, contrary to the ostensible motivating concern over itinerant anonymity. Only later did state governments enact registration laws, with California adopting the nation's first statewide law in 1947; state interest in registration, however, remained limited and sporadic up through the 1980s.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804757102
- eISBN:
- 9780804771399
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804757102.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
Interest in criminal registration laws experienced a dramatic resurgence in the 1990s. While in 1990 only a handful of states had registration laws, by the middle part of the decade registration was ...
More
Interest in criminal registration laws experienced a dramatic resurgence in the 1990s. While in 1990 only a handful of states had registration laws, by the middle part of the decade registration was in effect nationwide and was the subject of ubiquitous public attention. Modern-day registration was complemented by community notification, a new social control strategy designed to expand the premise of knowledge empowerment beyond law enforcement to communities as a whole. This chapter chronicles the reemergence of registration and the genesis of community notification, as well as the content of the registration and notification laws themselves. It concludes with a comparison of new- and old-generation laws that, while sharing many similarities, nonetheless differ radically in their reach and requirements.Less
Interest in criminal registration laws experienced a dramatic resurgence in the 1990s. While in 1990 only a handful of states had registration laws, by the middle part of the decade registration was in effect nationwide and was the subject of ubiquitous public attention. Modern-day registration was complemented by community notification, a new social control strategy designed to expand the premise of knowledge empowerment beyond law enforcement to communities as a whole. This chapter chronicles the reemergence of registration and the genesis of community notification, as well as the content of the registration and notification laws themselves. It concludes with a comparison of new- and old-generation laws that, while sharing many similarities, nonetheless differ radically in their reach and requirements.
Wayne A. Logan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804757102
- eISBN:
- 9780804771399
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804757102.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
Societies have long sought security by identifying potentially dangerous individuals in their midst. America is surely no exception. This book traces the evolution of a modern technique that has come ...
More
Societies have long sought security by identifying potentially dangerous individuals in their midst. America is surely no exception. This book traces the evolution of a modern technique that has come to enjoy nationwide popularity—criminal registration laws. Registration, which originated in the 1930s as a means of monitoring gangsters, went largely unused for decades before experiencing a dramatic resurgence in the 1990s. Since then it has been complemented by community notification laws, which, like the “Wanted” posters of the Frontier West, publicly disclose registrants' identifying information, involving entire communities in the criminal monitoring process. The book provides an in-depth history and analysis of criminal registration and community notification laws, examining the potent forces driving their rapid nationwide proliferation in the 1990s through today, as well as exploring how the laws have affected the nation's law, society, and governance. In doing so, it provides compelling insights into the manifold ways in which registration and notification reflect and influence life in modern America.Less
Societies have long sought security by identifying potentially dangerous individuals in their midst. America is surely no exception. This book traces the evolution of a modern technique that has come to enjoy nationwide popularity—criminal registration laws. Registration, which originated in the 1930s as a means of monitoring gangsters, went largely unused for decades before experiencing a dramatic resurgence in the 1990s. Since then it has been complemented by community notification laws, which, like the “Wanted” posters of the Frontier West, publicly disclose registrants' identifying information, involving entire communities in the criminal monitoring process. The book provides an in-depth history and analysis of criminal registration and community notification laws, examining the potent forces driving their rapid nationwide proliferation in the 1990s through today, as well as exploring how the laws have affected the nation's law, society, and governance. In doing so, it provides compelling insights into the manifold ways in which registration and notification reflect and influence life in modern America.
