This book provides a comprehensive dissemination of theoretically grounded and empirically sound research on sex offenders and sex offending. It uses diverse methodological approaches with implications for the research of criminal justice policy and practice. The chapters derive from and focus on different geographical contexts and generate empirical evidence concerning sex offenders and sex offending including: low sex recidivism rates; a lack of sex offender specialization; little to no evidence of sex offending continuity from adolescence to adulthood; and a host of collateral consequences of sex offender registration and notification policies with limited deterrent effect or public safety benefit.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the "Journal of Crime & Justice."

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development and evaluation agency of the US Department of Justice. The NIJ is dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through science. NIJ provides objective and independent knowledge and tools to reduce crime and promote justice, particularly at the state and local levels. Each year, the NIJ publishes and sponsors dozens of research and study documents detailing results, analyses and statistics that help to further the organization's mission. These documents relate to topics like biometrics, corrections technology, gun violence, digital forensics, human trafficking, electronic crime, terrorism, tribal justice and more. This document is one of these publications.