Abstract
Public perceptions regarding a sex offender’s likelihood to reoffend and the efficacy of sex offender policies and practices is often inconsistent with the extant literature in academia. Thus, there is a critical need to better understand what influences those beliefs regarding sex offender policies and practices. We collected data from 284 residents from government defined rural counties and sought to examine: (1) the sources that were most influential in shaping their beliefs regarding sex offender policies and practices; (2) what characteristics the “influential sources” had; and (3) the residents’ emotional response when they think about “sex offenders”. The majority of participants were supportive of registration, community notification, and use of the polygraph. Further, the results suggest that “academics and peer review articles” rarely influence beliefs. Rather, “personal experiences” and the emotions “rage” and “sadness” (but not anger or disgust) may be important in influencing rural residents’ beliefs regarding sex offender treatment, castration, execution, and misconceptions regarding juveniles with a sex offense. We conclude by discussing: (1) potential factors that may affect why academics are not perceived as influential sources; and (2) possibilities for how scientists can influence rural residents’ beliefs by utilizing personal experiences and anecdotal information that may spark emotion.