Cutting The Cycle: Can Castration Truly Deter And Decrease Recidivism Among Sexual Offenders?

Sex offending, especially against children, has acquired a significant public profile in recent years, in part through graphic media coverage of police investigations, conviction of perpetrators and release of offenders. Offenders' return to the community is made more difficult by hostile broadcast and print media coverage, providing an additional dimension to risk management for professionals charged with public safety. This paper discusses aspects of the issues involved, and presents the results of an empirical investigation which explored the views of five specialist police officers dealing with sex offenders, four generalist uniformed police officers, 10 members of the public and three newspaper crime journalists about different types of sex offenders and their management. Police perceptions of the risks presented by sex offenders living in communities were distinct from public perceptions. Specialist police officers were more pragmatic in terms of how sex offenders should be dealt with, whilst generalist police were more concerned with law and possible disorder. Journalists showed similar risk perceptions to those of some of the general public participants, but differed considerably from police officers. Both police and public were unhappy with media treatment of sex offending and offenders. The paper concludes by discussing dimensions of risk management associated with sex offenders living in communities, including community notification, housing, and the potential for vigilantism. Finally, suggestions are offered for improving current systems that deal with information about released sex offenders.

There is some debate about whether sex offenders are similar to non-sex offenders. It is known that sex and non-sex offenders are heterogeneous groups. Comparative studies must take this heterogeneity into account. Based on an aggregated database, a study was conducted among adjudicated juvenile (sex) offenders. The sample consisted of juvenile male sex and non-sex offenders who had been subjected to a psychological assessment at the request of the judge or district attorney. The central question focused on the differences between juvenile sex offenders, in particular rapists and sexual assaulters (n = 57), child molesters (n = 55), and non-sex offenders: violent (n = 85) and nonviolent offenders (n = 80). The results demonstrated that sex offenders differ from non-sex offenders with regard to demographic characteristics, problem behavior, and personality traits. Some reference is made regarding future research.

The current study examines whether the recidivism trajectories post-prison release for post-sex offender registration and community notification (SORN) sex offenders are similar to or different from the recidivism trajectories post-prison release for post-SORN non-sex offenders who are released from prison via parole. Furthermore, this study also focuses on whether or not a series of collateral consequences are experienced similarly or differently among these post-SORN sex and post-SORN non-sex offender parolees. Using random samples of 247 post-SORN sex offenders and 250 post-SORN non-sex offenders released from prison in New Jersey via parole, the results indicate that sex offender and non-sex offender trajectories are similar with the exception being that there is a higher prevalence of non-sex offenders who exhibit a high-risk trajectory. Additional results demonstrate that, although sex offenders and non-sex offenders share the experience of collateral consequences, several collateral consequences including not living with friends, living in group facilities, and residential relocation appear to differentially impact sex offenders post-prison release. Study limitations and policy implications are also discussed.

Legal Constraints on the Indeterminate Control of ‘Dangerous’ Sex Offenders in the Community: The Dutch Perspective In the Netherlands, the legal possibilities for post-custodial supervision have been extended considerably in recent years. A currently passed law aims to further increase these possibilities specifically for dangerous (sex) offenders. This law consists of three separate parts that may all result in life-long supervision. In the first two parts, the supervision is embedded in the conditional release after either a prison sentence or the safety measure ‘ter beschikking stelling’ (TBS). This paper focuses on the third part of the law, which introduces an independent supervisory safety measure as a preventive continuation of both a prison sentence and the TBS measure. Inevitably, this new independent sanction raises questions about legitimacy and necessity, on which this paper reflects from a human rights perspective. Against the background of the existing Dutch penal law system, the content of the law is thoroughly assessed in view of the legal framework of the Council of Europe and the legal principles of proportionality and less restrictive means. In the end, we conclude that the supervisory safety measure is not legitimate nor necessary (yet). Apart from the current lack of (empirical evidence of) necessity, we state that there is a real possibility of an infringement of Article 5(4) ECHR and Article 7 ECHR, a lack of legitimising supervision ‘gaps’ in the existing penal law system, and finally a lack of clear legal criteria. Regardless of the potential severity of violent (sex) offenses, to simply justify this supervisory safety measure on the basis of ‘better safe than sorry’ is not enough.

There is some debate about whether or not sex offenders are similar to non-sex offenders with regard to family background (parental characteristics), personality, and psychopathology. The central aim of this study focused on the comparison of juvenile sex offenders and non-sex offenders. The sample consisted of incarcerated juvenile male sex (n = 30) and non-sex (n = 368) offenders. It appeared that sex offenders resembled non-sex offenders with respect to most of the offender and parental characteristics. Results demonstrated some differences between both groups, while the majority of characteristics were similar. Limitations of the study are discussed, especially the low number of sex offenders, followed by suggestions for further research.

AimsTo study associations between intellectual disability (ID) and sexual and violent offending among individuals subject to pre-trial forensic psychiatric assessment. To investigate sentences following pre-trial forensic psychiatric assessment in offenders with and without ID.MethodsA population-based observational study using data from pre-trial forensic psychiatric assessments in Sweden (1997–2013), the Swedish National Crime Register and several other Swedish national registers. The study population consisted of 7450 offenders (87% men, 13% women) who were subject to forensic psychiatric assessment in 1997–2013, of whom 481 (6.5%) were clinically assessed as having ID.ResultsID offenders were more likely than non-ID offenders to have a sexual crime as an index crime [26.2v. 11.5%, adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.02–3.58] as well as previous convictions regarding sexual offending (10.4v. 5.6%, adj OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.70–3.12). These associations were restricted to male offenders; sexual offending was uncommon among women. Comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder reduced the association between ID and sexual offending (adj OR 2.7v. 3.1,p= 0.017), while comorbid autism spectrum disorder had no significant influence on the association (adj OR 2.7v. 3.0,p= 0.059). Violent crime was equally common among ID and non-ID offenders. Offenders with ID were more likely than non-ID offenders to be sentenced to forensic psychiatric care or community sanctions and measures (such as probation, conditional sentences or fines) than to prison; however, 15% of individuals who received an ID diagnosis during the forensic psychiatric assessment were sentenced to prison. Previous criminal convictions, concurrent antisocial personality disorders and substance use disorders were associated with a higher probability of a prison sentence among offenders with ID.ConclusionsSexual crime is overrepresented among offenders with ID compared to offenders with other mental disorders than ID in forensic psychiatric contexts. ID offenders become subject to forensic psychiatric care and forensic psychiatric services need evidence-based treatment programmes for offenders with ID. In addition, there is a need for early intervention strategies suitable for disability services and special education schools, in order to address the complex needs of individuals with ID and prevent sexual and violent offending.

BackgroundThis study adds to the scarce literature on female adolescent sexual offenders by examining differences between female adolescent sexual and nonsexual violent offenders in the prevalence and impact of dynamic risk and protective factors for general recidivism.MethodThe sample consisted of female adolescents who were convicted for a sexual offense (FSOs; n =31) or nonsexual violent offense (FNSOs; n = 407), and for whom the Washington State Juvenile Court Assessment was completed.ResultsIn FSOs, considerably more protective and fewer risk factors were present than in FNSOs in almost all domains (i.e., school, relationships, family, attitude and aggression). In addition, differences in the impact of risk/protective factors on general recidivism were found. In FSOs, risk/protective factors in the family and aggression domains were especially important, whereas in FNSOs, risk/protective factors in the attitude domain were especially important.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that treatment programs developed for mainstream female offenders may also be useful for female sexual offenders in reducing general recidivism. Furthermore, the results are of importance for determining the main focus of treatment for both mainstream and sexual female adolescent offenders.

Élaboration d’une échelle des représentations sociales négatives concernant les auteurs de violences sexuelles

In late 1994 the New Jersey legislature, in response to a public uproar following the death of four young girls who were molested, then killed, by sex offenders, enacted a package of interrelated sex offender statutes, the most important three of which are the focus of this commentary. The first requires sex offenders released from prison to register with the police. The second establishes a system of notification to communities concerning released sex offenders. The third provides for the civil commitment of mentally ill and violent sex offenders. These three statutes, along with several others, have come to be known, collectively, as Megan's Law, named after Megan Kanka, the latest and most publicized victim. Registration The registration act is the least controversial of the three.(1) Law enforcement authorities claim that the benefits of registration statutes are substantial. They facilitate the investigation of sexual crimes, establish a legal ground for detaining known sex offenders found in suspicious circumstances, and perhaps deter released sex offenders from committing new sexual crimes because they know they can be easily traced. The civil liberties of sex offenders are intruded upon only minimally by these statutes since registration takes little time or effort, does not unduly invade privacy, and does not publicly stigmatize sex offenders or make it difficult for them to adjust to community living. Opponents argue that sex offenders should not have to endure registration because they have paid their to society by suffering imprisonment. This claim overlooks the reality that the legislature defines the debt. In this case the debt includes post-prison monitoring. Opponents also argue that registering sex offenders may have the paradoxical effect of encouraging reoffending on the ground that the registration of sex offenders may confirm them in the recognition that they arebad and that they might as well act bad and reoffend. This is pure speculation and not persuasive. Critics argue further that registration statutes foster a false sense of security and represent an expenditure of valuable funds that might better be spent on treatment and closer supervision of the most dangerous offenders. But most states are beginning to respond to the problem of sexual crime on a variety of such fronts, and not exclusively by registration. The arguments of these critics, whatever their merits, have been overtaken by events. By February 1995 more than forty states had enacted registration statutes, sixteen of them in 1994 alone, and it seems likely that the rest of the states will adopt such statutes soon because new federal legislation requires each state to enact a registration law within three years or lose ten percent of its federal crime control grant.(2) Four state registration statutes have been challenged as unconstitutional. In each case the statute has been upheld.(3) One argument against registration statutes has already proved to be unfounded. It had been argued that these statutes would not be complied with and that most offenders would evade registration. But data collected by California and Washington state agencies indicate that there has been a relatively high rate of compliance, seven-six percent in the state of Washington.(4) Community Notification The second statute of this package, the notification statute, is more controversial and has been challenged in New Jersey as it surely will be in other states, though only a few states have as yet enacted such a statute.(5) Contrary to what is often assumed, the New Jersey statute does not require general community notification for all released sex offenders but, rather, provides for three tiers of notification. The first, for offenders at low risk of reoffending, provides only for notice to victims and law enforcement agencies likely to encounter the offender. Offenders are considered to be at low risk if they are under the supervision of probation or parole, are receiving therapy, are employed or employable, and are free of alcohol or drug abuse. …

In this paper we seek to assess the effects of the neighborhood context on sex offenders’ perceptions of their neighbor’s willingness to support them upon release. We also examine the effect of the neighborhood context on sex offenders’ feelings of stress and the need for secrecy, potential risk factors for recidivism. Using survey data obtained from a sample of 333 in-treatment sex offenders, we find that the neighborhood social context exerts an important influence on sex offenders’ perceptions of neighborhood support. We also find that offenders are less likely to worry about the negative repercussions of their status as a sex offender when they perceive higher levels of neighborhood support. Despite the limitations of the sample, implications of this research indicate a need for policies that promote public awareness of local sex offenders while also offering education and understanding about potential barriers to successful sex offender reintegration.

This paper describes a treatment program which provides group therapy to young male offenders convicted of sexual and physical assault. The traditional difficulty of providing group therapy to male adolescent sex offenders housed with non - sex offenders in secure custody facilities led to development of the program. In the group treatment therapy program, young offenders convicted of physical and sexual assaults may participate in a common group where they acquire awareness of maladaptive behaviours (i.e., inappropriate modes of relating to both women and men), empathy with victims, awareness of high risk situations, and enhancement of prosocial behaviours. The group treatment program is semi - structured and is based on cognitive, behavioural and social learning principles.In recent years, the public has become increasingly concerned about the number and nature of physical or sexual assaults committed by adolescent males. Many of the young offenders who commit the assaults end up in secure custody facilities. Both the courts and public expect these young people to be rehabilitated during the period of their confinement, based on the notion that the adolescents' attitudes and behaviours are still amenable to change (Arnold and McDonald, 1994).The challenge for staff of these secure custody facilities is to develop effective rehabilitation and treatment programs for incarcerated young offenders. Group therapy is becoming a popular treatment modality. The successful implementation of group therapy in secure custody facilities depends on the nature of the facility, and the make - up and characteristics of the population group (Miscevich, 1985).In a secure custody facility with a mixed offender population (offenders charged with various offences), the success of group therapy depends on institutional treatment philosophy, staff's view of residents, staff - resident ratio, level of supervision, staff - resident relations, staff's view of various charges and the physical structure of the facility. Group therapy is more difficult to apply in an institution where sex offenders are integrated with other types of young offenders. In these situations the inherent resident subculture fosters a hierarchical social system based on the type of crime committed (Miscevich, 1985). Sex offenders generally occupy the lower levels of the system and are subject to victimization from the other residents (Griffiths, Klein, and Verdun - Jones, 1980). Many of them are despised and are a target of assault (Brady, 1993). Sex offenders who attend a specific treatment group reveal their charges to the whole facility, making them reluctant to participate for legitimate fear of being attacked or of losing their social position within the resident hierarchy. Programs for sex offenders are easier to run in a facility housing only sex offenders, but such a facility does not exist in Ontario. Protective custody for young offenders within the facility is against current Ministry policy. Nonetheless, group therapy remains an important part of a comprehensive treatment approach for young sex offenders in secure custody facilities (Bengis, 1986; Coleman, 1988). Group therapy approaches must offer young sex offenders the opportunity to participate without the risk of victimization by other young offenders (Mamabolo and Papastergiou, 1991).This paper describes a group treatment program, the Human Relations therapy group, which extends group therapy to young sex offenders at Sprucedale Youth Centre. This facility is a ninety bed all male secure custody facility which is run by the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services. The residents, whose average age is 17 3/4 years, serve a fourteen month sentence on average. The primary goal of the Centre is to meet the individual needs of residents and to foster their individual development by providing high quality residential care and treatment, and treating the young offenders with respect and dignity. …

There is widespread concern within at least Western cultures of the potential damage that sex offenders may cause to society. The government statistics highlight a frightening pattern of sexual abuse in Australia, with the trend implicating that sexual assault is on the rise and that children are the predominant victims (ABS, 2003b). Specifically, 17,850 reports of sexual assault were recorded in 2002, a 6% increase since 2001. Further to this, there is still no universal agreement as to the extent to which treatment effectively reduces sexual recidivism. Therefore, there is an urgent need for research into this problem behaviour. Research examining the causes of sexual offending has examined a biological hypothesis that sex offenders have functional brain impairment. However, the results of neuropsychological assessments of various sex offender populations are inconsistent and inconclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the brain function of males convicted and incarcerated for sexual offences against children using neuropsychological assessment. Specifically, it was hypothesised that the sex offenders would show functional impairment in their frontal and temporal lobes. A battery of neuropsychological tests was compiled to assess the functions of these regions including four WAIS-Ill subtests (Arithmetic, Vocabulary, Block Design and Picture Arrangement), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), Rey Complex Figure (RCF), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the FAS Test. These tests were administered to 25 incarcerated male sex offenders, 25 incarcerated male non-sex offenders and 25 men with no criminal history. Although attempts were made to match these groups on age, level of education and level of intelligence, statistical analyses revealed that there were significant differences between the groups on these variables. These differences were statistically controlled using analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) and factorial analyses of variance (ANOVA). The results indicated that the sex offenders performed significantly worse than the controls on all neuropsychological tests. However, statistically significant differences were only found between the sex offenders and control group on the immediate recall trials of the RAVLT and RCF. These observed differences did not change when age, level of education and level of intelligence were statistically controlled. It was concluded that there is insufficient evidence from this study to support the hypothesis that sex offenders have functional impairment in their frontal and temporal lobes. However, given the relevance of potential brain impairment to both the biological and social-cognitive perspectives of sexual offending, future research in this field is warranted.

The treatment of sexual dysfunction in patients with prior sexual offenses poses ethical and legal dilemmas. Sex offenders are not obligated by law to disclose this history to medical professionals. Over 20% of sex offenders experience sexual dysfunction; however, the number of sex offenders seeking evaluation for sexual dysfunction is unknown. The aims of this study were to determine the incidence and characteristics of sex offenders seeking treatment in our clinic; and to review data regarding sex offender recidivism and ethics pertaining to the issue as it relates to treating physicians. Sex offenders were identified via three methods: new patient screening in a dedicated sexual medicine clinic, chart review of those on intracavernosal injection (ICI) therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED), and review of patient's status-post placement of penile prosthesis. Charts were cross-referenced with the U.S. Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website. Patient characteristics and details of offenses were collected. The main outcome measures used were a self-reported sexual offense and national registry data. Eighteen male sex offenders were identified: 13 via new patient screening; 3 by review of ICI patients; 1 by review of penile prosthesis data; and 1 prior to penile prosthesis placement. All were primarily referred for ED. Of those with known offenses, 64% were level 3 offenders (most likely to re-offend). The same number had committed crimes against children. All those with complete data had multiple counts of misconduct (average 3.6). Ninety-four percent (17/18) had publicly funded health care. Twelve (67%) were previously treated for sexual dysfunction. Registered sex offenders are seeking and receiving treatment for sexual dysfunction. It is unknown whether treatment of sexual dysfunction increases the risk of recidivism of sexual offenses. Physicians currently face a difficult choice in deciding whether to treat sexual dysfunction in sex offenders.

'They're Planting Stories in the Press': The Impact of Media Distortions on Sex Offender Law and Policy

ABSTRACTObjectives: Within the literature on sex offending, much attention is paid to the distinction between those sex offenders who offend against adults and those who offend against children. In contrast, there is a paucity of research into sex offenders who offend specifically against elderly or older victims.Method: A detailed interview and psychometric tests were conducted with a sample of 28 sex offenders who had been convicted of a sexually motivated offence against an older female. These data were compared to a sample of 23 child sex offenders.Results: Results indicate that amongst other significant differences between these sub-groups, men who offend against older women are generally younger, are more violent, and are more likely to use a weapon and cause injury and death compared to child sex offenders. The men who offended against children were more likely to think about and plan their offending, spend more time with the victim pre and post offence, admit sexual arousal during the offence, and admit to a sexual motivation for the offence.Conclusions: This study suggests that men who sexually offend against older women and men who sexually offend against children are distinct groups. Treatment and risk management strategies should take this into account. Further exploration of this sub-group of offenders is recommended to help inform treatment and risk management strategies for sex offenders who offend against older people.