This study addresses the sex offender registration and community notification legislation and whether it has an impact on the amount of rapes that take place in the United States. A meta-analysis will be done of previous studies before and after the enactment of the legislation to determine if they rate of recidivism has decreased. An analysis of the rate of rapes per capita since the passing the laws will also show if the laws deter individuals from committing sex offenses. This thesis uses a model of criminal behavior to predict what the effects of the laws will have on the choices the sex offender makes.