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Sexual Predator Laws and Their History

This chapter describes sexual predator laws, comparing and contrasting the historical and contemporary attempts in the United States and Canada to address the risk created by individuals who engage in behaviors broadly characterized as sexually deviant. It considers the rationale for sentencing and the earliest attempts to bring “treatment” into the criminal dispositional formula for sex offenders. The chapter also looks at the impact that the choice of societal response has on risk assessment and evaluation in the two systems, including the assessment and commitment of juvenile offenders. It then discusses the current US practice of civil commitment for a person deemed to be a sexually violent predator, beginning with the US Supreme Court decision in Kansas v. Hendricks. The chapter compares and contrasts this practice with the Canadian approach of designating an offender as a dangerous offender or a long-term offender under the criminal law.