@article{ref1,
title="The Adam Walsh Act",
journal="Criminal justice policy review",
year="2010",
author="Freeman, Naomi J. and Sandler, Jeffrey C.",
volume="21",
number="1",
pages="31-49",
abstract="With the enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWA), states are required to standardize their registration and community notification practices by categorizing sex offenders into three-tier levels in the interest of increasing public safety. No empirical research, however, has investigated whether implementation of the AWA is likely to increase public safety. Using a sample of registered sex offenders in New York State, the current study examined the effectiveness of the Adam Walsh-tier system to classify offenders by likelihood of recidivism. Results indicated that the AWA falls short of increasing public safety. In fact, registered sex offenders classified by AWA as Tier 1 (lowest risk) were rearrested for both nonsexual and sexual offenses more than sex offenders in Tier 2 (moderate risk) or Tier 3 (highest risk).<p />",
language="",
issn="0887-4034",
doi="10.1177/0887403409338565",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0887403409338565"
}