Sex offender notification and protective behavior.

A primary purpose of sex offender community notification statutes is to give community members the opportunity to engage in precautionary behavior to prevent victimization. This exploratory study examines the effect of notification by comparing the behavior of 87 Hamilton County, Ohio, residents receiving sex offender notification to the behavior of 149 other residents who had not received notification. The findings indicate that notified respondents are significantly more likely to engage in behaviors to protect themselves and others from victimization, and to engage in community reporting behavior.