The Tuna Net Analogy

How many other creatures are inadvertently caught in the nets?
Dr. Alissa R. Ackerman

When I first heard Dr. Danielle Harris talk about the “tuna net analogy,” I was stunned by her accuracy in describing the problem we faced and floored by her ability to bring it to life with such simplistic, vivid imagery. It was the perfect analogy.

Let me explain.

Large tuna nets, like the one described in the story above, were designed to catch particular species of tuna. As I explained in my last post, sex offense registries were created with a specific type of offense in mind: those committed by individuals who engage in repeated, violent sexual crimes against children they do not know. As I noted, these types of offenses are very rare. These offenses were the intended target of modern sex crimes legislation, yet, as lawmakers popularized these policies across the United States in the 1990s, the ability of registries to “snag” only their appropriate “catch” was diminished.

That sea turtle caught in the mesh? A high school senior who had sex with his tenth-grade high school sweetheart. The young tuna that had not yet grown to breeding age or size? The ten-year-old who was playing doctor with his cousin. Of course, more serious kinds of offenses get caught in the net, too, including crimes involving child sexual exploitation material (child pornography), those involving family members, and adult sexual assault. All sorts of sea life inadvertently get caught in industrial tuna nets, just as many different offenses get absorbed into the widened net intended for one particular type of offense.

The problem with this is that it leaves community members unable to distinguish between the tuna and the sea turtle. On the registry, they both look the same.

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