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The public's panic about the fear of recidivism if adjudicated sex offenders are ever to be released to the community has not subsided, despite the growing amount of information and statistically-reliable data signifying a generally low risk of re-offense. The established case law upholding sex offender civil commitment and containment statutes has rejected challenges of unconstitutionality, and continues to be dominated by punitive undertones. We have come to learn that the tools used to assess offenders for risk and civil commitment are often inaccurate and that meaningful treatment for this population is often unavailable and ineffective. Yet, society continues to clamor for legislation confining this cohort of offenders for "treatment," and, ostensibly, protection of the community, and legislatures respond quickly to these calls. This "reform legislation" often includes strict and demeaning post-release restrictions that track offenders and curb their integration into society. These "reforms" continue to show no benefit either to the public or to the individual offender. The absence of meaningful and effective treatment during confinement, combined with inhumane conditions upon release, make it far less likely that this cohort of individuals will ever become productive members of society. Only through therapeutic jurisprudence, a focus on rehabilitation, and a dedication to treating sexual offenders humanely, will it be possible to reduce recidivism and foster successful community reintegration.

The public's panic about the fear of recidivism if adjudicated sex offenders are ever to be released to the community has not subsided, despite the growing amount of information and statistically-reliable data signifying a generally low risk of re-offense. The established case law upholding sex offender civil commitment and containment statutes has rejected challenges of unconstitutionality, and continues to be dominated by punitive undertones. We have come to learn that the tools used to assess offenders for risk and civil commitment are often inaccurate and that meaningful treatment for this population is often unavailable and ineffective. Yet, society continues to clamor for legislation confining this cohort of offenders for "treatment," and, ostensibly, protection of the community, and legislatures respond quickly to these calls. This "reform legislation" often includes strict and demeaning post-release restrictions that track offenders and curb their integration into society. These "reforms" continue to show no benefit either to the public or to the individual offender. The absence of meaningful and effective treatment during confinement, combined with inhumane conditions upon release, make it far less likely that this cohort of individuals will ever become productive members of society. Only through therapeutic jurisprudence, a focus on rehabilitation, and a dedication to treating sexual offenders humanely, will it be possible to reduce recidivism and foster successful community reintegration.

Title: Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) Excerpt: Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) Background Governing Laws ... recidivism rates between sex offenders who underwent treatment and those who had not.

Title: THE IMPACT OF PRISON-BASED TREATMENT ON SEX OFFENDER ... Excerpt: THE IMPACT OF PRISON-BASED TREATMENT ON SEX OFFENDER RECIDIVISM: EVIDENCE FROM MINNESOTA 1450 Energy Park Drive, Suite 200 St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-5219

The purpose of the present study was to test models of combining static and dynamic risk measures that might predict sexual recidivism among adult male sex offenders better than any one type of measure alone. Study participants were 759 adult male sex offenders under correctional supervision in Vermont who were enrolled in community sex offender treatment between 2001 and 2007. These offenders were assessed once using static measures (Static-99R, Static-2002R and VASOR) based on participants' history at the date of placement in the community. A 22-item dynamic risk measure (SOTNPS) was used multiple times to assess participants, shortly after their entry into community treatment and approximately every six months thereafter. Analyses of SOTNPS scores resulted in the development of a new 16-item dynamic risk measure, the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS).

The criminal justice system manages most convicted sex offenders with some combination of incarceration, community supervision, and specialized treatment (Knopp, Freeman-Longo, and Stevenson, 1992). While the likelihood and length of incarceration for sex offenders has increased in recent years (since 1980, the number of imprisoned sex offenders has grown by more than 7 percent per year; in 1994, nearly one in ten state prisoners were incarcerated for committing a sex offense [Greenfeld, 1997]), the majority are released at some point on probation or parole (either immediately following sentencing or after a period of incarceration in prison or jail). About 60 percent of all sex offenders managed by the U.S. correctional system are under some form of conditional supervision in the community (Greenfeld, 1997).

Recently, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that a policy banning registered sex offenders from entering Albuquerque's public libraries is unconstitutional. Over the past decade the availability of online sex offender registries has enabled widespread awareness of sexual offenders living in the community, increasing concerns for the safety of children and leading politicians to pass laws restricting where sex offenders can live, work and even be present. Residence restrictions in 30 states and countless municipalities typically prohibit individuals convicted of sex crimes from residing within 500 to 2500 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds, daycare centers, bus stops and other places where children congregate. Few court challenges have been successful in overturning such restrictions. Research shows that politicians and citizens are overwhelmingly in favor of such laws, which are often based on stated (but empirically unsupported) assumptions that almost all sex offenders reoffend and that they are immune to therapeutic intervention. In fact, recidivism rates of known sex offenders are much lower than commonly believed, and properly designed treatment, though not equally effective for all offenders, can significantly reduce the risk of re-offending. Restrictions also reinforce the myth of "stranger danger," despite research from the Justice Department indicating that over 90 percent of child sexual abuse victims are well known to their perpetrators, who typically cultivate opportunities for molestation through familiar relationships with relatives and acquaintances.

During the summer of 2006, the Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives (DPCA) conducted a survey of County Probation Departments to assess sex offender management practices. Among the resulting recommendations was that DPCA draft and disseminate a series of research bulletins on issues related to sex offender management so that probation officers in the field would have the latest information. This bulletin represents the first in a series expected to be completed by the end of 2007 that will bring together issues in managing sex offenders on probation, including assessment, re-sentence investigation, treatment, supervision strategies to reduce risk, the use of technology such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and forensic computer searches.

Sex Offender Recidivism Prior to and Following the Implementation of SORN. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual ...

Title: An Analysis of Risk Factors Contributing to the Recidivism of ... Excerpt: Most studies of sex offender recidivism are studies of only those persons released from prison or prison-based treatment programs (Barbaree, Seto,

A brilliant experiment has proven that adversarial pressures skew forensic psychologists' scoring of supposedly objective risk assessment tests, and that this "adversarial allegiance" is not due to selection bias, or preexisting differences among evaluators. The researchers duped about 100 experienced forensic psychologists into believing they were part of a large-scale forensic case consultation at the behest of either a public defender service or a specialized prosecution unit. After two days of formal training by recognized experts on two widely used forensic instruments -- the Psychopathy Checklist-R (PCL-R) and the Static-99R -- the psychologists were paid $400 to spend a third day reviewing cases and scoring subjects. The National Science Foundation picked up the $40,000 tab.

This just goes to show you that corruption is indeed part of the "justice" system.

An outside 2010 evaluation of the Tennessee Department of Correction's program to prevent inmates from getting raped by other inmates or staff members found the program was ineffective. That's the same pr...

Original ArticleWhen looking at sex crimes, recidivism should be defined as committing another sex crime, not just any crime or technical violation, then the recidivism rate would be even lower.10/27/2012By Laura SmithGREEN BAY - Prisoners at Gr...

The publicity about online "predators" who prey on naive children using trickery and violence is largely inaccurate. Internet sex crimes involving adults and juveniles more often fit a model of statutory rape-adult offenders who meet, develop relationships with, and openly seduce underage teenagers-than a model of forcible sexual assault or pedophilic child molesting. This is a serious problem, but one that requires approaches different from those in current prevention messages emphasizing parental control and the dangers of divulging personal information. Developmentally appropriate prevention strategies that target youths directly and acknowledge normal adolescent interests in romance and sex are needed. These should provide younger adolescents with awareness and avoidance skills while educating older youths about the pitfalls of sexual relationships with adults and their criminal nature. Particular attention should be paid to higher risk youths, including those with histories of sexual abuse, sexual orientation concerns, and patterns of off- and online risk taking. Mental health practitioners need information about the dynamics of this problem and the characteristics of victims and offenders because they are likely to encounter related issues in a variety of contexts.

Though it has been demonstrated that Sexual Assault type offences receive longer sentencing when the opportunity is given (Roberts, 1990), the variables surrounding this have not been clearly demonstrated in literature. In order to achieve a better understanding of this phenomenon, it is hypothesized that variables will inevitably be derived from a somewhat general perspective, and later refined. One study (Holland & Sheets, 2009) concluded that vulnerability and perceived vulnerability of the victim had a positive correlation with perpetrator sentence length for hypothetical scenarios. Although this outcome is of some use, its intent was not to determine why. When applying both studies mentioned above in practice, I feel that although this is highly relevant, it merely proposes an answer to "why?" with limited insight. The outcome, that people will give longer sentences to perpetrators of vulnerable victims, exclusively answers to those cases where the victim was indeed vulnerable.

Original ArticleDiigo Post Excerpt: Mass incarceration of American youth is actually making the country's crime problem worse, according to a new study of Chicago youth incarceration. The study, conducted by Anna Aizer of Brown University and Jo...

Original Article Remember, recidivism (in most studies) means the conviction for another crime, or technicality, not necessarily another sex crime. If they only considered new sex crimes, then the rates would be even lower. 09/21/2013 We read with... Original ArticleRemember, recidivism (in most studies) means the conviction for another crime, or technicality, not necessarily another sex crime. If they only considered new sex crimes, then the rates would be even lower.09/21/2013 We read with...