Helpful Terms and Definitions
See some common terms and their definitions used by SORRB.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Adam Walsh Act | The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 is a law that aims to "protect children from sexual exploitation and violent crime, to prevent child abuse and child pornography, to promote Internet safety, and to honor the memory of Adam Walsh and other child crime victims." (External link to Act document.) |
| Board | A group of people that have managerial, supervisory, investigatory, or advisory powers. |
| Cannot Level (CNL) | Used as a Risk Classification level, CNL is used for an offender who, by statute, SORRB can't classify. [Visit page "Cannot Level (CNL)" for more information.] |
| Child Pornography | "The terms child pornography, child porn, kiddie porn, and the like should not be used as they do not accurately convey the nature and extent of the harm committed against the child and may imply that the child is complicit in the sexual abuse, thus detracting from the fact that the images are evidence of the commission of the crime of sexual assault and/or rape of a child." (Source: external link to the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children website.) |
| Civil Commitment | A legal process that allows a court to order a person to be treated in a facility. (The State of Georgia does not have a legal process to commit a sex offender civilly). |
| Court order | A direction issued by a judge requiring someone to do or not do something. (Visit "Court Order for SORRB Classification.") |
| CSEM or CSAM | Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) or Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) are defined as, "Any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes." (Source: external link to the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children website.) |
| Department of Community Supervision (DCS) | Probation or Parole merged into the Department of Community Supervision (DCS) in 2015. (Visit agency website.) |
| Expedite | To speed up a process. The term is used by SORRB in relation to requesting that a Risk Classification be completed more quickly than planned. (Visit page "How Do I Request Expedited Risk Classification.") |
| Level 1 | Used as a Risk Classification level, SORRB has determined the sex offender is a low risk for sexual reoffense. |
| Level 2 | Used as a Risk Classification level, SORRB has determined the sex offender is a moderate risk for sexual reoffense. |
| Leveling | SORRB's process of determining the likelihood that a convicted sex offender will engage in another crime against a victim who is a minor or commit a new, dangerous sexual offense. Also known as Risk Classification. |
| Not leveled | Used as a Risk Classification level, "not leveled" means that SORRB has not yet reviewed the case. |
| Parole | Released from prison early and placed on Community Supervision with the Department of Community Supervision (DCS). (Visit agency website.) |
| Probation | The offender was either only sentenced to community supervision or they maxed out their prison sentence (held in prison until the end of their mandatory sentence time) and are now serving time on community supervision. |
| Recidivism | The tendency of a convicted offender to re-offend. |
| Reevaluation | An offender who has received Risk Classification and will be re-classified. (Visit page "How Do I Request a Reevaluation?") |
| Review | A formal examination or assessment. The term is used by SORRB to mean that after a set time, the Board may review the risk classification level given. (Visit page "How Do I Request a 10-Year Review?") |
| Risk Classification | The process SORRB undergoes to assign a risk level to an offender. (Visit page "Risk Classification.") |
| Sexual Offender Registry | A list of all convicted sexual offenders in the State. Georgia's Sexual Offender Registry website is managed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (see "What SORRB Doesn't Do"). (External link to the GBI Sex Offender Registry.) |
| Sexual Re-offense | The act of committing a new sexual offense after a previous one, regardless of whether it leads to legal consequences. It emphasizes the behavior itself. For example, an individual that commits a sex offense, is not caught, and then commits another sex offense (and is or is not caught). |
| Sexual Recidivism | A broader term referring to the tendency or likelihood of a sexual offender to reoffend. It encompasses the concept of sexual re-offense but also includes the consequences of that re-offense, such as being caught, charged, or convicted again. |
| Sexually Dangerous Predator (SDP) | Used as a Risk Classification level, SORRB has determined the sex offender is a high risk for sexual reoffense. The term is also used by states that comply with the Adam Walsh Act, regardless of risk. |
| Sexually Violent Predator | Term used by states that have civil commitment, which the State of Georgia does not have. |