criminology sex offender registers
... types of sex offender registers – official registers, which are only available to the appropriate authorities, and unofficial registers, which are available to the general public. The unofficial registers are a contentious topic that touches on the issues of privacy invasion and human rights. The first thing we have to understand is that not everyone who commits a sexual offence has their details published in the register. In the event of a minor offence, Commonwealth and State legislation allow a person to “live down” an old conviction without having their details withheld. This is called a “Spent Conviction Scheme”. Nevertheless, these schemes recognise when the offence in question is to severe or abhorrent to be ignored and by acting such a way the offender has waved their rights to privacy. Another scheme also ...