In response to many high-profile cases of sexual assault, federal and state governments have placed a number of unique criminal sanctions on sex offenders after their release from prison. These include residency restrictions, exclusionary zones, electronic monitoring, and chemical castration. However, the majority of sex offender policies are not based on empirical evidence, nor have they demonstrated any significant reductions in offender recidivism. In fact, some of these policies have unintended consequences that actually increase the likelihood of sexual offenses.