Domestic Violence Registry

Individuals who have been convicted of domestic violence have been punished by prison terms and probation. They have also been sentenced to enroll in anger management and therapy as a way to potentially be rehabilitated. With the high number of repeat offenders, however, it’s apparent that the punishments and programs currently implemented aren’t working. A new approach to punish offenders and prevent potential victims from being abused is being discussed in the county of Suffolk, NY; whether or not to create an online domestic violence offender registry.[1]


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Currently, there are registries that provide information on domestic violence offenders, but that information is only available to law enforcement personnel.[3] The proposed legislation in Suffolk County aims to create a registry that is available to everyone, much like that of Meagan’s Law in California which outs sex offenders. The registry would list the offenders name, provide his/her address and display a current photo.

There are positive and negative components to this proposed legislation. One of the arguments supporting it is that gives individuals seeking a new relationship some background on the person they’re interested in. This is especially important with the growing popularity of on-line dating. Would-be victims may have the opportunity to check the registry to find out if they are about to jump into a relationship with an individual who has a violent past. The registry could prevent countless occurrences and even save lives. An argument to this point is that, much like the Megan’s Law registry, it may create a false sense of security. A woman may have checked the registry for the name a man gave her and be relieved that she didn’t find anything negative in his background. However, the man could easily have provided her a fictitious name. On-line dating provides individuals the opportunity to create a completely different identity; they can portray themselves as whatever they think others want them to be.

Another argument supporting the online domestic violence registration leans more toward punishment than recidivism; it would create a feeling of shame and embarrassment to the offender.[4] A domestic dispute can erupt from the slightest thing: money issues, jealousy, name-calling, a simple misunderstandings, etc. Therefore, offenders more than likely don’t have the opportunity to weigh the consequences before their actions. Heat-of-the-moment occurrences reduce the probability that the passing of this legislation will act as a deterrent, but at the very least, the offender’s reputation will be effected. S/he will be known by anyone who looks up his/her name as an abusive individual. An argument to this would be that once an offender is on the registry, there’s nothing preventing him/her from continuing the abusive behavior other than the punishments currently in place, which have also shown not to work. Moreover, the offender may retaliate against his/her victim for reporting the incident which led to him/her being placed on the registry.[5]

The legislation for a registry of domestic violence offenders is well intentioned, but there seem to be more negative arguments than positive ones. Perhaps it would be more attractive with some modifications. For example, the registry shouldn’t simply show that an individual is an offender and leave it at that; this leaves his actual offense up to the imagination of whoever’s researching him. A better approach would be to detail the incident that put him on the list so the public knows precisely what he did. Without such an explanation, he would be unfairly labeled as a man who committed a horrific crime. In actuality, the crime was probably much less severe than the public’s assumptions.

Another modification to the legislation would be to place each offender on the registry for a specified amount of time; a probation period. If by the end of their probation they have gone without another violent offense, of any kind, they should be taken off the registry. If at any time, during their probation period or after, they are convicted of another violent offense, they should be permanently placed on the registry. This would give them incentive to change their behavior, thereby adding a deterrent factor to the legislation.

[1] http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/domestic-violence-abuser-list-proposed-for-suffolk-1.1630202
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxTpOkQK1g0
[3] http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/family/fam-06.htm%23registry
[4] http://wcbstv.com/topstories/domestic.violence.registry.2.1239337.html
[5] http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/domestic-violence-abuser-list-proposed-for-suffolk-1.1630202