Special Issues in the Assessment, Treatment and Management of Sexually Abusive Behaviors

This examination of nearly half a million criminal offenders concludes that prisons and intermediate sanctions should not be used on their own with the expectation that they will reduce criminal behavior.

This resource summarizes research on the re-offense rates of sex offenders and explores issues in defining recidivism. It focuses primarily on adult male offenders, describing factors and conditions that appear to be associated with reduced sexual offending.

To achieve this purpose, a systematic review of available information on female sexual offenders was conducted. There were two goals to this study: 1) to provide an estimate of the proportion of sexual offenders who are women; and 2) to establish the known sexual recidivism rates among female sexual offenders.

This study examines sexual recidivism, as expressed by new charges or convictions for sexual offenses, using the data from 10 follow-up studies of adult male sexual offenders (combined sample of 4,724). Results indicated that most sexual offenders do not re-offend sexually, that first-time sexual offenders are significantly less likely to sexually re-offend than those with previous sexual convictions, and that offenders over the age of 50 are less likely to re-offend than younger offenders.

There has been substantial public scrutiny over the release of sex offenders to the community, predominantly for individuals who have assaulted young children. The vast majority of sex offenders, however, will be returned to the community following incarceration. Understanding the recidivism patterns of sex offenders and successful community corrections options are one step in developing effective sentencing and correctional policies.

These results suggest that it is possible to conduct psychologically informed risk assessments that have the dual advantages of high predictive accuracy and clinically useful understanding of specific cases.

The Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration contracted with the Institute to determine whether a valid risk assessment for sexual reoffending could be developed using data from the sex offender domain of the Intensive Parole Supervision Assessment (IPSA).This report summarizes the findings.

This study analyzed 997 sexual offenders in sixteen Canadian jurisdictions and 2 American states (Iowa and Alaska) for risk assessment methodologies.

It is designed for all stakeholders who have a role in sex offender management, whether as gatherers or consumers of assessment data. These stakeholders include judges, release decision makers, evaluators, treatment providers, personnel within correctional facilities, probation and parole officers, and administrators at all levels.

While there are many different methods of risk assessment, they tend to fall into two broad categories: clinical and actuarial (Milner & Campbell, 1995; Grubin, 1999). Clinical prediction requires the observation of an offender by a psychiatrists or a psychologist; clinicians assess risk based on their professional training, theoretical knowledge and experience with offenders.

The purpose of this bulletin is to summarize the research on sex offender recidivism rates, and to provide an overview of the availability, validity and usefulness of actuarial risk assessment instruments specific to sex offenders.

This paper reviews policies and practices regarding assessment of sex offenders for risk of re-offense among public agencies and private treatment providers in Washington State. The authors found that a diverse set of instruments are employed by public and private entities in making decisions about sex offenders.

The Center for Sex Offender Management has created this glossary as a reference document and training aid for professionals in the field.

This Sex Offense-Specific Progress Scale is designed to facilitate the clinical assessment of dynamic risk factors that have been associated with the risk of sexual and criminal offending among youths who have committed sexual offenses.

This set of differences makes program-to-program comparisons not 'apples-to-apples.' Nonetheless, below we present a summary of some of the FY 2006 program results. Please keep in mind that these comparisons are not direct and that final interpretation and meaning must occur within the context of each individual program. Detailed data for each program is reported in subsequent sections of this report.

This document can be used to provide a synthesis of the key principles of sex offender management to a wide variety of audiences seeking basic information about this topic.

This brief article reviews an important examination into treatment of adolescents who have sexually abused.

A review of the literature on sex offender treatments was carried out for the High Security Psychiatric Commissioning Board (HSPSCB). The available research is varied in focus, methodology and quality, nevertheless there appears to be grounds for cautious optimism regarding the efficacy of treatment programs aimed at sex offenders. One conclusion of the review is that greater emphasis will need to be given to the idiographic and dynamic features presented by individual offenders in the provision and evaluation of treatment.

This paper is intended to dispel the myth of the untreatable sex offender, and provide conclusive evidence that sex offender treatment is not only possible but to a large extent is successful in reducing the recidivism of sex offenders.

It argues that it is not enough to simply administer a program and that treatment is most effective when it is meaningful to the abuser.

The purpose of this brief is to provide a broad overview of current research, professional literature, and practice trends relative to treatment for sexually abusive individuals, in an attempt to better illuminate this rather complex topic for those who have a stake in sex offender management.

It also describes how jurisdictions can promote shared responsibility among key policymakers and practitioners for decision-making on offender management issues.

This document offers a promising and well-grounded framework that jurisdictions can consider using to build an informed, integrated set of policies and practices to promote the shared goal of ensuring victim and community safety.

Jurisdictions across the country recognize clearly that the effective management of sex offenders requires more than supervision and treatment. Indeed, the effective management of sex offenders demands the thoughtful integration of these and other management components and, perhaps as importantly, ongoing collaboration among those who are responsible for carrying out these activities.

Originally developed for jurisdictions awarded grants through the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, this handbook has been adapted to describe a planning and implementation process that is applicable to all jurisdictions, regardless of size, available resources, or expertise level of those involved in the process.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the roles and leadership opportunities for law enforcement in increasing public safety and reducing the likelihood of further sexual victimization.

Topics under the juvenile sex offender management include assessment, treatment, aftercare and effectiveness of treatment.

This document can be used to provide a synthesis of the key principles of sex offender management to a wide variety of audiences seeking basic information about this topic.

It will address three areas of interest: why the public's perspective is important; how leadership in different states has benefited from studies of public opinion about crime and criminal justice issues; and why it is essential that the criminal justice system view the public as a partner rather than an adversary or simply a group of consumers.

These standards are offered as benchmarks for programs to work toward as they strive to best serve the youth, their families, and the community.

The purpose of this brief is to provide information, ideas, and resources that will encourage agencies managing sex offenders in the community to consider the benefits and feasibility of involving victim advocates and other victim service providers in their work.

This booklet introduces a new approach to helping victims of sexual violence. This approach, called the victim-centered 'Sex Offender Containment Model', may be a significant change in the way many do advocacy work.

Offers practical suggestions regarding how reentry partners can become involved in assisting victims whose offenders are released, or preparing to be released, to the community.