Tucker Carlson

Community notification laws require that residents be informed when a convicted sex offender moves into a neighborhood. In the following viewpoint, Tucker Carlson contends that criminals are more likely to commit crimes in areas where they are not known. When neighbors are aware that a convicted sex offender lives among them, he argues, they can keep their children out of harm’s way. Furthermore, Carlson asserts, community notification laws ensure that the offender will know he or she is being watched and will therefore refrain from participating in illegal behavior. Carlson is a Bradley Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy institute.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. Who may be hurt by community notification laws, in Carlson’s opinion?
2. What is the recidivism rate for parolees and probationers...