Nationwide legislation requires that the names of convicted sex offenders living in communities be made public. The social movement that urges sex offender notification uses the rhetoric of community justice. However, analysis of the implicit and explicit meanings of community, victims, offenders, and social control indicates that differences exist between the principles of notification and those of community justice. These differences have several aspects. First, the notification movement has focused on some realities about sex offenses to the exclusion of others. In addition, the process of classifying offenders pares the identity of the sex offender down to the offending alone. Moreover, notification laws maintain the dominance of the criminal justice system, whereas restorative justice has evolved from the grass roots. Furthermore, the notification movement offers little aid to victims and focuses mainly on exiling rather than understanding offenders. These and other differences suggest that sex offender notification is a flawed strategy for controlling sex crime. Nevertheless, the notification movement makes clear the urgent need for programs for sex offenders. The Safer Society is a program that emphasizes both treatment and restorative justice principles. Other innovations are in development; research on effective sex offender treatment should become a priority. 74 references (Author abstract modified)