VOLUME 21, ISSUE 3, PAGES 69– 86 (2020) Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society E-ISSN 2332-886X Available online at https://scholasticahq.com/criminology-criminal-justice-law-society/ Moral Panics and the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) Scale: Does the Perpetual Panic Over Sex Offenders Predict Participant Attitudes Toward this Group? Jennifer L. Klein,a Danielle J. S. Bailey,b Danielle Tolson Cooperc a University of Texas at Tyler b University of Texas at Tyler c University of New Haven A B S T R A C T A N D A R T I C L E I N F O R M A T I O N The post-conviction experiences of registered sex offenders tend to be a difficult experience associated with a variety of unintended consequences including social isolation and harassment. Those consequences result, in part, from community members’ perceptions of this offender group and fear associated with their crimes. Framed within the construct of a perpetual style moral panic, the current study seeks to examine whether prior attitudes and beliefs regarding SORN legislation are significant predictors of the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) Scale. Furthermore, the study seeks to examine whether the elements of Cohen’s moral panic can stand alone in the prediction of the CATSO scale. Results of the study, future research needs, and policy implications are discussed. Article History: Keywords: Received August 24th, 2020 sex offenders, community member perceptions, moral panic, CATSO Scale Received in revised form November 4th, 2020 Accepted Novemeber 4th, 2020 © 2020 Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society and The Western Society of Criminology Hosting by Scholastica. All rights reserved. Corresponding author: Jennifer L. Klein, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Texas at Tyler, Department of Social Sciences, Division of Criminal Justice 3900 University Blvd, Tyler, TX, 75799, USA. Email: [email protected] 2 KLEIN ET AL. Of all convicted offenders, persons convicted safety but may result in a counterintuitive effect by of sexual offenses are among the most feared and inhibiting reentry and rehabilitation success (Huebner perceived dangerous populations. Believed to be & Bynum, 2006; Prescott & Rockoff, 2011). Scholars dangerous individuals with a high recidivism risk argue that moral panic may be responsible for the (Sample & Kadleck, 2008), numerous post-conviction continued proliferation of restrictive sex offender restrictions have been imposed on this population in legislation even in the face of negative empirical the name of public safety. These restrictions include evidence (Klein & Mckissick, 2019). However, to date sex offender registration and notification (SORN) there has been limited research on how moral panics policies and intensive, lifetime community influence community attitudes towards sex offenders supervision, as well as civil commitment. Although and sex offender policies. Of the research that does researchers find that these policies do not provide the exist, a majority focuses on how moral panic drives public safety benefits for which they were designed public support for restrictive sex offender policies (Caldwell & Dickinson, 2009; Huebner & Bynum, (Fox, 2013; Klein & Mckissick, 2019; Maguire & 2006; Prescott & Rockoff, 2011; Renzema & Mayo- Singer, 2011), with limited attention paid to the role Wilson, 2005; Sandler et al., 2008), scholars continue that moral panic plays in sex offender stereotypes and to find strong support for these enhancement measures community attitudes overall. among the public (Levenson et al., 2007; Mears et al., Moral Panics 2008). The misperception regarding sex offenders is Cohen (1972) defined moral panics as a one of the reasons that public support continues to hold ‘fundamentally inappropriate’ reaction to a relatively strong in the face of contradictory empirical evidence. minor social event that leads to an exaggerated level Persons convicted of sexual offenses are believed to of fear and panic. This reaction was rooted in the self- be a homogeneous population, consisting mainly of fulfilling prophecy that whatever event sparked the child predators who rape and murder children (Sample original crisis would occur again, a belief that caused & Kadleck, 2008). Perpetuation of this stereotype in society to seek out and dramatize similar events as popular media and the creation of an us versus them proof of that implicit assumption (Cohen, 1972). mentality of offender posed against victim has created Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) identified five a perpetual panic regarding sexual offenders necessary elements of a moral panic: concern, (Burchfield et al., 2014). This citizen panic, in turn, hostility, consensus, disproportionality, and volatility. drives legislative changes that expand the type and Citizens must be concerned about a behavior of a number of offenses considered to be sexual offenses, group of people to such an extent that the group’s as well as enhanced post-conviction restrictions for behavior is portrayed as a threat to the social values of persons convicted of sexual offenses (Lytle, 2015). the broader community. This hostility creates an us One explanation for the perpetuation of sex versus them attitude; one that demonizes the offending offender legislation is moral panic, which is broadly population as a “folk devil” (Cohen, 1972) or villain. defined as inappropriate reactions to minor social Consensus requires this attitude to be widespread problems. Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) throughout society, and disproportionality refers to the documented five elements needed to sustain a moral widespread concern being exaggerated or distorted to panic. All five of these elements have been identified such a degree that the attention paid to that behavior in relation to community members’ support for sex or group is beyond the attention paid to similar offender registries (Klein & Mckissick, 2019), behaviors/groups. Finally, volatility indicates a suggesting that moral panic may be the reason that sex sudden eruption of panic and, oftentimes, just as offender legislation continues to broaden in scope and sudden cessation. Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) numbers. However, to date, relatively few researchers noted that while the total lifespan of a moral panic may have examined what other effects moral panic has had be relatively short, others can become routinized or on the environment surrounding persons convicted of institutionalized into society so that the condemnation sexual offenses. The current study uses online survey of the behavior continues, but the intense level of fear data to examine the role that moral panic plays on the and panic subsides. However, sex offender researchers perpetuation of the sex offender stereotypes in argue that moral panics regarding sexual victimization community member samples. and persons convicted of sexual offenses have become so ingrained in society that sex offender policy is Literature Review driven by constituent fear (Sample & Kadleck, 2008), moral panic, and misbelief (Maguire & Singer, 2011). Persons convicted of sexual offenses are subject to a variety of restrictive, post-conviction Perpetual Moral Panic of Sexual Offenses and requirements that are designed to increase public Offenders. Both Cohen (1972) and Goode and Ben- Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society – Volume 21, Issue 3 MORAL PANICS AND THE CATSO SCALE 3 Yehuda (1994) described moral panics as a temporary threats or violence (Wolak et al., 2016). Sexual situation, one that would eventually subside. In fact, recidivism is also relatively rare. Researchers have Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) wrote that “the fever found that sexual recidivism rates are generally below pitch that characterizes a society or segments of it 10% (Sample & Bray, 2006; Sandler, Freeman, & during the course of a moral panic is not sustainable Socia, 2008), with mental health treatment resulting in over a long stretch of time” (p. 158). However, sex a significant reduction in sexual recidivism levels offender policy researchers argue that the fear of (Kim et al., 2016). However, these realities are rarely sexual victimization has sustained itself in a way that reflected in community member’s perceptions of other moral panics may not. In particularly, Jenkins sexual offenders. (1998) argued that sexual abuse of children became a The stereotypical sex offender is perceived sustained focus of panic from the 1990s onward, as a by the general public as an untreatable child predator result of several factors, including expansion of who will inevitably recidivate (Lam et al., 2010; internet access, female empowerment, and several Levenson et al., 2007; Richards & McCartan, 2017). high-profile cases in which a child was abducted, Levenson and colleagues (2007) used a sample of raped, and murdered. Burchfield and colleagues Florida residents to examine public perceptions of (2014) found support for what they termed “perpetual sexual offenders and found that community members panic” by analyzing Google Search Data between estimated sexual recidivism levels around 75% and 2004 – 2012. Their data showed a high public interest believed that half of sexual assaults are committed by in “sex offenders” between 2004 and 2012 that did not strangers. Additionally, most of the sample (77%) experience significant yearly fluxuations compared to agreed that sexual offense rates were on the rise, a searches related to “terrorism” and “crime.” This belief that sustains a high fear of sexual