Evaluability Assessments of the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Model, Cross - Site Report

October 2013:

Abstract:
The assessment of COSA across five sites concludes that there is no methodological or ethical reason why a randomized control trial of COSA could not be conducted in the United States; however, there are five potential obstacles that must be addressed in order to conduct a successful experimental evaluation of COSA: choice of outcomes; significant differences in program implementation; core member selection issues; sample size, site capacity, and low baselines of recidivism; and ownership of data.

These potential obstacles can be addressed with a combination of realistic precision in program implementation, rigorous experimental control, and an increase in real-world resources. Three recommendations for action are proposed. First, conduct an experimental evaluation of the Vermont COSA program alone.

Second, conduct an experimental evaluation that combines the Vermont COSA and COSA Fresno programs. A third possibility is to allow the fledgling sites to develop and conduct a multi-site evaluation of COSA in the future.

Under the general COSA structure, participants commit to 1 year of participation in COSA meetings, through which they develop new social bonds with other members and staff, receive assistance in assessing the types of services they need, engage in recognition of their risky behaviors, and develop problem solving skills.

To date, there has been no widely accepted evaluation of any COSA program. The current study assessed the viability of a rigorous evaluation of COSA based on site visits to five locations where COSA is operating in the United States: Fresno, CA; Denver, CO; Durham, NC; Lancaster, PA; and Burlington, VT. Extensive data tables, 51 references, and appended supplementary data and information. ..Source.. by Ian A. Elliott, Ph.D. ; Gary Zajac, Ph.D. ; Courtney A. Meyer, M.A.

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Links to Individual COSA Study Results

• Evaluability Assessments of the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Model, Cross-Site Report (PDF, 94 pages)
• Evaluability Assessments of the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Model, Site Report: Colorado COSA (PDF, 27 pages)
• Evaluability Assessments of the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Model, Site Report: COSA Durham (PDF, 27 pages)
• Evaluability Assessments of the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Model, Site Report: COSA Fresno (PDF, 30 pages)
• Evaluability Assessments of the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Model, Site Report: COSA Lancaster (PDF, 26 pages)
• Evaluability Assessments of the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Model, Site Report: Vermont COSA (PDF, 30 pages)

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COSA Fresno CA
COSA Denver CO ..FAQ..
COSA Durham NC ..Brochure.. ..Calling a sex offender "Friend"..
COSA Lancaster PA
COSA Burlington VT (One of 2 sites)

COSA Wisconsin (Not part of this study)

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Nebraska Sex Offender Registry Study

July 2013 Nebraska:

Excerpt:
Sex offense recidivism. In comparing the old risk - based system of classification to the new offense-based system of classification, the former risk-based system resulted in less overall recidivism.

Specifically, the pre-LB 285 classification system resulted in a 2-year recidivism rate of 1.7% and a 1-year recidivism rate of 0.6%. In comparison, the post-LB 285 classification system resulted in a 2-year recidivism rate of 2.6% and a 1-year recidivism rate of 1.7%. We also examined the effectiveness of each classification system in identifying offenders at the highest risk to reoffend. In general, the former system that utilized a psychological risk assessment tool consistently distinguished offenders who were at a high, medium, and low risk to reoffend.

In comparison, the AWA system was very effective in distinguishing those at a high risk to reoffend from medium and low risk offenders. However, the AWA classification system consistently failed to distinguish offenders 3 at medium risk to recidivate from those at low risk to recidivate. Our findings suggest that, as an overall tool for identifying anuanced risk to reoffend, the old risk-based system appears more effective. However, if the goal is simply to distinguish the highest risk offenders from everyone else, the Adam Walsh Act Tier system appears most effective.

One caveat, however, is that this latter finding is in sharp contrast to published research on sex offenders in other states (Zgoba et al. 2012).

For the purpose of this study, “recidivism” is defined as a criminal conviction for a new sex offense that requires the offender to register with the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry. A list of crimes that require a person to register may be found in the FAQ section of the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry website. ..Source.. Prepared by: Consortium for Crime and Justice Research, University of Nebraska - Omaha, Ryan Spohn, PhD., Director

The Experiences of Registered Sex Offenders With Internet Offender Registries in Three States

January 2013:

Abstract:

For over two decades, U.S. state and federal governments have enacted broad legislation in an effort to keep communities aware about and safe from sex offenders living nearby. The current study qualitatively analyzes unsolicited responses from sex offenders regarding their feelings, attitudes, and experiences living under the auspices of such legislation.

A total of 60 survey responses from offenders in three states were reviewed. Several key themes emerged, including legal issues, hopelessness and despair, collateral consequences, and lack of effectiveness of registration and notification. Policy and research implications are discussed. ..Source.. by Alissa R. Ackerman, Meghan Sacks & Lindsay N. Osierc

Kids, Cops, and Sex Offenders: Pushing the Limits of the Interest-Convergence Thesis

2013:

Abstract:
Sex offenders are today’s pariahs – despised by all, embraced by none. During the past twenty years, society’s dislike and fear of sex offenders has resulted in a flood of legislation designed to protect communities from them. These laws include residency restrictions, which bar convicted sex offenders from living near places where children are expected to be found. Given this climate, do lawyers who for sex offenders have any hope of winning justice for their clients?

In 2005, the Ohio Justice & Policy Center (“OJPC”) began a three year-advocacy campaign against Ohio’s residency restrictions. At first OJPC lost badly – in both the courts of law and public opinion. But after losing the initial legal challenge, OJPC transformed its seemingly lost cause into a winning effort. It did so by borrowing an idea from Professor Derrick A. Bell.

Professor Bell is famous, among other things, for his interest-convergence thesis. According to Bell, blacks achieve racial equality only when such progress it is in the interests of whites. The classic example of Bell’s theory is his explanation of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education. According to Bell, the Court desegregated public schools not for moral reasons but because doing so would improve America’s credibility on racial issues during the Cold War.

OJPC eventually prevailed in its challenges to residency restrictions because it aligned the interests of sex offenders with society’s interests in protecting children from sexual abuse. Not only did OJPC win two important legal challenges but it also transformed the local media narrative about residency restrictions.

Kids, Cops and Sex Offenders: Pushing the Limits of the Interest-Convergence Thesis begins by telling the story of OJPC’s advocacy – both before and after employing an interest-convergence strategy. The article then poses and answers three questions: (1) whether it is appropriate to attach the “interest-convergence” label to OJPC’s sex offender advocacy given that Bell’s thesis is “historically descriptive rather than a recommendation for future-oriented strategies,” according to Professor Stephen Feldman, a leading scholar; (2) whether interest-convergence theory explains the victories OJPC won for its clients; and (3) assuming that interest convergence has value as an advocacy tool, whether it potentially presents a downside for the marginalized clients the lawyer seeks to serve. I conclude the article with a discussion of a course I developed called Complex Problem Solving for Lawyers, which teaches law students to incorporate Bell’s interest-convergence theory into advocacy on behalf of despised groups like sex offenders. ..Source.. by David A. Singleton, Northern Kentucky University - Salmon P. Chase College of Law

Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Serve No Purpose

10-29-2013 California, National:

Under Jessica’s Law, sex offenders in San Francisco are barred from residing within two thousand feet of any school or park where children regularly gather. Due to San Francisco’s limited size and dense population, it is nearly impossible to find housing outside of this restricted zone. Consequently, the number of homeless sex offenders living in San Francisco has surged since the implementation of the restriction. This unintended consequence has led to multiple challenges to the restriction’s constitutionality and effectiveness.

The residency restriction is just one of many sex offender management strategies. Electronic monitoring, public registration, and community notification provisions have also been implemented through Jessica’s Law and Megan’s Law. In addition to residency restrictions, Jessica’s Law requires sexual offenders to wear Global Positioning System (GPS) electronic monitoring devices. Under Megan’s Law, sex offenders’ pictures, names, and addresses are made available to the public through a searchable website. The general purpose of both of these laws is to protect society from the threat of further victimization posed by sex offenders.

Transient Sex Offenders and Residence Restrictions in Florida

July 2013 Florida:

Executive Summary:
The purpose of this study was to better understand the phenomenon of transient sex offenders in the context of residence restriction laws in Florida. The entire population of registered sex offenders living in the community in Florida was studied (n = 23,523). Higher proportions of transient (homeless) sex offenders were found in counties with a larger number of restrictions, vast territory covered by local laws, wide-distance buffer zones, bus stop restrictions, higher population density, and expensive housing costs.

Together, these factors create a perfect storm for elevated levels of sex offender transience. Broward and Miami-Dade Counties together are home to 13.2% of the state's community sex offenders, but 37% of the state's transients. Sex offenders are more likely than the general population to become homeless.

Transients were more likely than non-transients to have a history of failing to register. Few transients abscond, but when they do, they are more likely to abscond from registration than probation. Because housing instability is a risk factor for recidivism and undermines effective monitoring of sex offenders, lawmakers should recognize that transience is an unintended negative consequence of these laws and reconsider residence restrictions as a sex offender management policy.

Introduction:
Sex offender residence restrictions (SORR) laws prohibit registered sex offenders (RSO) from living within close proximity (usually 1,000 to 2,500 feet) of places where children congregate. Despite their popularity, there is no evidence that sex offenders who live closer to schools or daycare centers reoffend more frequently than those who live farther away (Zandbergen, Levenson, & Hart, 2010), or that residential restrictions serve to reduce sexual recidivism (Blood, Watson, & Stageberg, 2008; Duwe, Donnay, & Tewksbury, 2008; Nobles, Levenson, & Youstin, 2009; Socia, 2012).

These well-intended laws result in limited housing options for sex offenders in many metropolitan areas, and their unintended consequences include transience, homelessness, and housing instability. This exploratory study is the first to specifically identify and examine factors associated with sex offender transience. ..See Press Release.. by Levenson, Ackerman, Socia & Harris

The Role and Reliability of the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised in U.S. Sexually Violent Predator Evaluations: A Case Law Survey.

December 2013:

Abstract
The civil commitment of offenders as sexually violent predators (SVPs) is a highly contentious area of U.S. mental health law. The Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (PCL–R) is frequently used in mental health evaluations in these cases to aid legal decision making.

Although generally perceived to be a useful assessment tool in applied settings, recent research has raised questions about the reliability of PCL–R scores in SVP cases. In this report, we review the use of the PCL–R in SVP trials identified as part of a larger project investigating its role in U.S. case law.

After presenting data on how the PCL–R is used in SVP cases, we examine the reliability of scores reported in these cases. We located 214 cases involving the PCL–R, 88 of which included an actual score and 29 of which included multiple scores. In the 29 cases with multiple scores, the intraclass correlation coefficient for a single evaluator for the PCL–R scores was only .58, and only 41.4% of the difference scores were within 1 standard error of measurement unit.

The average score reported by prosecution experts was significantly higher than the average score reported by defense-retained experts, and prosecution experts reported PCL–R scores of 30 or above in nearly 50% of the cases, compared with less than 10% of the cases for defense witnesses (κ = .29).

In conjunction with other recently published findings demonstrating the unreliability of PCL–R scores in applied settings, our results raise questions as to whether this instrument should be admitted into SVP proceedings. ..Source.. by DeMatteo, David; Edens, John F.; Galloway, Meghann; Cox, Jennifer; Toney Smith, Shannon; Formon, Dana
Law and Human Behavior, Oct 14 , 2013.

Rape victims heal by reliving attack, Philly study finds

December 2013

It almost sounds sadistic — making rape victims as young as 13 relive their harrowing assault over and over again. But a new study shows it works surprisingly well at eliminating their psychological distress.

The results are the first evidence that the same kind of “exposure” therapy that helps combat veterans haunted by flashbacks and nightmares also works for traumatized sexually abused teens with similar symptoms, the study authors and other experts said.

After exposure therapy, 83 percent no longer had a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. They fared much better than girls who got only supportive counseling — 54 percent in that group no longer had PTSD after treatment.

Girls who got exposure therapy had much better scores on measures of depression and daily functioning than girls who got conventional counseling.

It's common to think that offering just comforting words and encouraging traumatized youngsters to forget their ordeals is protecting them, but that's “not doing them any favors,” said University of Pennsylvania psychologist Edna Foa, the lead author. She said that approach can be harmful because it lets symptoms fester.

Foa developed a two-part treatment known as prolonged exposure therapy and has studied its use in treating post-traumatic stress disorder. It involves having patients repeatedly tell their awful stories, and then visit safe places that remind them of the trauma, or take part in safe activities they'd avoided because of painful reminders.

“Many are actually relieved that somebody wants to hear their story,” Foa said.

The Veterans Affairs health system uses the treatment for vets with PTSD.

Foa's previous research has shown this approach works for adult rape victims, and it is used in some rape crisis centers.

Her new study was published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Sixty-one girls ages 13-18 were recruited at a rape crisis center in Philadelphia. They had been raped or sexually abused, sometimes repeatedly, often by a relative. All had been diagnosed with PTSD. The researchers provided four days of prolonged exposure training for counselors at the center and two days of supportive counseling training.

The teens were randomly assigned to 14 weeks of counseling or prolonged exposure therapy from the counselors. Sessions lasted an hour or 90 minutes.

At first, most were very upset talking about what had happened. But by telling and re-telling their trauma, “they get a new perspective of what happened,” Foa said. ..Source.. by Edna Foa

Sex offender residency requirements: an effective crime prevention strategy or a false sense of security?

December 2013

Abstract:
Several high-profile cases have emerged in recent years generating public and political concern for effective sex offender management. The general response has been to implement a series of legislative crime prevention measures designed to restrict the movement of sex offenders with public safety in mind.

One of the more recent prevention strategies includes sex offender residency restrictions. The problem with the approach to sex offender management is that methodologically strong empirical evaluations of crime prevention strategies pertaining to this group of offenders are relatively non-existent.

Given the changing composition of contemporary law enforcement and the focus on evidence-based practices, criminal justice officials and policy-makers would certainly benefit from exploring more effective crime prevention strategies in this context.

This paper aims to present the effectiveness of residency requirements through a review of the most current literature and empirical research. Theoretical underpinnings related to sexual violence and the effectiveness of residency requirements are also discussed and empirical evaluations are assigned a score that is based on the Scientific Methods Scale. ..Source.. by Michele P. Bratina, PhD is an assistant professor in the criminal justice department at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.

Summary: Bratina reviewed the results of 15 studies on sex offender residence restrictions and concluded that “the effectiveness of residency restrictions as a crime prevention strategy is unknown. As a group, these evaluations suggested that residency restrictions have negative consequences on outcomes, whether collateral consequences, re-offending or proximity to target… some of the findings suggest that residency restriction policies may even be counterproductive” (p.214).

Michele P. Bratina (2013) Sex offender residency requirements: an effective crime prevention strategy or a false sense of security?. International Journal of Police Science & Management: Autumn 2013, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 200-218.

Gangsters to Greyhounds: The Past, Present and Future of Offender Registration

This is by far the most extensive article ever written about registries. Worth reading..

December 2013 National:

Contrary to popular belief, offender registries are not a recent phenomenon. Offender registries are government-controlled systems that track the movements and other activities of certain persons with criminal convictions. While today they are most commonly used for sex offenders, registries have been adopted
since the 1930s to regulate persons convicted of a wide variety of offenses including embezzlement, arson, and drug crimes.

Early registries were widely criticized as ineffective and overly punitive, and many were eliminated through litigation or legislative repeals. Others simply fell into disuse over the course of the 20th century. Now, there is a growing body of research that demonstrates that modern sex offender registries are similarly ineffective at reducing crime. Sex offender registries are costly, vastly overbroad, and error-ridden.

Even worse, the overwhelming stigma of public notification provisions may actually increase recidivism among offenders.2 Despite their repeated history of failure, enthusiasm for publicly available, internet-based registries for every offense imaginable has only grown in recent years. There have been proposals across the country to register those found guilty of animal abuse, arson, drug offenses, domestic violence, and even failure to pay child support.

Existing registries are expanding and becoming increasingly punitive. Without a concerted effort to stop the tide of offender registration, we are at risk of repeating past mistakes on a much larger and more treacherous scale.

Offender registries are backwards, punitive measures that do not make communities safer. Unfortunately, those in favor of more nuanced, data-driven methods of reducing violence and sexual abuse face substantial barriers in overcoming precedent from years when registries were far narrower in scope than they are today.

Advocates must work to distinguish current registries from their predecessors, educate legislators and the public on the ineffectiveness and perverse consequences of offender registries, and continue to conduct research to determine what actually works to prevent harm. While it is an uphill battle, we may take comfort that the facts are on our side. ..Continued.. by Elizabeth Reiner Platt

Symposium: Predators, Porn & the Law: America's Children in the Internet Era: The Disappearing Ex Post Facto Clause: From Substantive Bulwark to Procedural Nuisance

December 2013 National:

Abstract:
The growing enactment of sex offender restrictions has been one of the most notable developments in criminal law in recent decades. Thus far, courts across the country have been relatively complacent in allowing legislatures to test the limits of various civil liberties. The Ex Post Facto Clause has been among the first constitutional victims of these new laws.

Whereas the Clause was once construed as a substantive right protecting citizens against vindictive or arbitrary legislative actions often based upon the hysteria of the moment, it has become a hollow shell of its original form. Because courts have narrowly construed the purpose of the Clause to fair notice, the right underlying the Clause has ceased being substantive and become entirely process based.

The result of this transformation is that the courts have provided a set of sure-fire legislative recipes for extremely punitive criminal statutes to survive challenges based upon the Ex Post Facto Clause. ..Source.. by Corey Rayburn Yung, University of Kansas School of Law

The Moral Vigilante and Her Cousins in the Shadows

November 2013 National:

Abstract:
By definition, vigilantes cannot be legally justified – if they satisfied a justification defense, for example, they would not be law-breakers – but they may well be morally justified, if their aim is to provide the order and justice that the criminal justice system has failed to provide in a breach of the social contract. Yet, even moral vigilantism is detrimental to society and ought to be avoided, ideally not by prosecuting moral vigilantism but by avoiding the creation of situations that would call for it. Unfortunately, the U.S. criminal justice system has adopted a wide range of criminal law rules and procedures that regularly and intentionally produce gross failures of justice.

These doctrines of disillusionment may provoke vigilante acts, but not in numbers that make it a serious practical problem. More damaging is their tendency to provoke what might be called "shadow vigilantism," in which ordinary people manipulate and subvert the criminal justice system to compel it to impose the justice that they see it as reluctant to impose. Unfortunately, shadow vigilantism can be widespread and impossible to effectively prosecute, leaving the system's justness seriously distorted. This, in turn, can provoke a damaging anti-system response, as in the Stop Snitching movement, that further degrades the system's reputation for doing justice, producing a downward spiral of lost credibility and deference. We would all be better off – citizens and offenders alike – if this dirty war had never started.

What is needed is a re-examination of all of the doctrines of disillusionment, with an eye toward reformulating them to promote the interests they protect in ways that avoid gross failures of justice. ..Source.. by Paul H. Robinson, University of Pennsylvania Law School

Where for Art Thou? Transient Sex Offenders and Residence Restrictions

12-4-2013 National:

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to better understand transient (homeless) sex offenders in the context of residence restriction laws. Using the entire population of registered sex offenders (RSOs) living in the community in Florida (n = 23,523), transients were compared with other sex offenders on relevant demographics, risk factors, county characteristics, and residence restriction variables.

Significantly higher proportions of transient sex offenders were found in counties with a larger number of local-level restrictions, vast territory covered by these laws, wide-distance buffer zones, higher population density, and expensive housing costs. Sex offenders were more likely than the general population to become homeless.

Transients were more likely than non-transients to have a history of registry violation. Few transients absconded, but when they did, they were more likely to abscond from registration than probation. When implementing sex offender management policies, lawmakers should consider transience as an unintended negative consequence. ..Source.. by Jill Levenson -AND- Alissa R. Ackerman -AND- Kelly M. Socia -AND- Andrew J. Harris

Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth, 2012

June 6, 2013 NCJ 241708:

Presents data from the 2012 National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC), conducted in 326 juvenile confinement facilities between February and September 2012, with a sample of 8,707 adjudicated youth. The report ranks facilities according to the prevalence of sexual victimization, as required under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-79).

The prevalence of victimization, as reported by youth during a personal interview, is based on sexual activity in the 12 months prior to the interview or since admission to the facility, if less than 12 months. This report provides state- and national-level estimates of juvenile sexual victimization by type of activity, including estimates of youth-on-youth nonconsensual sexual contact, staff sexual misconduct, and level of coercion.

It also explores sexual victimization by the characteristics of both the perpetrator and youth at high risk of victimization, location and time of incidents, and nature of the relationship between youth and facility staff prior to sexual contact.

Highlights:

• An estimated 9.5% of adjudicated youth in state juvenile facilities and state contract facilities (representing 1,720 youth nationwide) reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another youth or staff in the past 12 months or since admission, if less than 12 months.
• About 2.5% of youth (450 nationwide) reported an incident involving another youth, and 7.7% (1,390) reported an incident involving facility staff.
• An estimated 3.5% of youth reported having sex or other sexual contact with facility staff as a result of force or other forms of coercion, while 4.7% of youth reported sexual contact with staff without any force, threat, or explicit form of coercion.
• Thirteen facilities were identified as high-rate based on the prevalence of sexual victimization by youth or staff. Rates in each of these facilities had a 95%-confidence interval with a lower bound that was at least 35% higher than the average rate of sexual victimization among facilities nationwide.
• About 67.7% of youth victimized by another youth reported experiencing physical force or threat of force, 25.2% were offered favors or protection, and 18.1% were given drugs or alcohol to engage in sexual contact.

...Continued.. by Allen Beck, Ph.D., BJS, David Cantor, Ph.D., John Hartge, Tim Smith, Westat

A Consumer Satisfaction Survey of Civilly Committed Sex Offenders in Illinois

2-2-2012 National:

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to obtain feedback from civilly committed sex offenders (N = 113) about the components of treatment that they believed to be most important and helpful in preventing reoffense. Participants were also asked to rate their satisfaction with the treatment process and therapists.

Victim empathy and accountability were rated as the most important elements of treatment, along with skills for preventing relapse and methods for controlling sexual arousal.

There was a fairly robust correlation between client perceptions of importance and satisfaction on most treatment components. Some clients expressed concerns about respect, confidentiality, and judgmental attitudes of some therapists. Because civilly committed sex offenders are considered to be among the most likely to reoffend, strategies are discussed for engagement of this population in a meaningful process of change. ..Source.. by Jill S. Levenson, David S. Prescott, and Shan Jumper

A Second Chance: Charting a New Course for Re-Entry and Criminal Justice Reform

October 2013:

“A Second Chance” examines the impact of four barriers that make re-entry more difficult and recidivism more likely—predatory prison phone rates; inadequate access to education; restrictions on employment; and restrictions on voting. The report discusses the consequences of these practices and makes a series of policy recommendations regarding their reform. 

Full Report (PDF)

Table of Contents

Foreword by Michelle Alexander
Chapter I: Introduction
Chapter II: The Problem of Mass Incarceration
Chapter III: Navigating Life after Re-Entry
Chapter IV: The Dirty Little Secret of Exorbitant Prison Phone Rates
Chapter V: Education Works, So Why Isn’t There More of It?
Chapter VI: Out of Prison, Out of Work
Chapter VII: When Millions of Americans Aren’t Allowed to Vote, It’s Bad for the Citizen and Bad for the Community
Conclusion and Recommendations

..Source.. by Civil Rights .org

Forensic use of the Static 99R: Part 3. Choosing a comparison group.

September 2012:

Abstract:
Although the developers of the Static 99R describe the “Selected for High Risk/Needs” comparison group as including offenders “referred for services at forensic psychiatric facilities, such as offenders referred as Mentally Disordered Sex Offenders, Sexually Violent Predators,” no persons involved in SVP proceedings are included in any of the 23 research samples that comprise the four Static 99R comparison groups. We compiled sexual recidivism base rate data from recent USA samples at various stages of the civil commitment process. Available data do not consistently support the use of the “Selected for High Risk/Needs” comparison group for persons involved in the civil commitment process. ..Continued.. by Gregory DeClue & Denis L. Zavodny

Sex offender risk plummets over time in community, new study reports

11-11-2013 National:

Criminals reform. Violent criminals reform.

And now -- drum roll -- the authors of the most widely used actuarial tool for assessing sex offender recidivism are conceding that even sex offenders cross a "redemption threshold" over time, such that their risk of committing a new sexual crime may become "indistinguishable from the risk presented by non-sexual offenders."

Tracking a large group of 7,740 sexual offenders drawn from 21 different samples around the world, the researchers found that those who remain free in the community for five years or more after their release are at drastically reduced risk of committing a new sex offense.

The offenders identified as at the highest risk on the Static-99R saw their rates of reoffending fall the most, from 22 percent at the time of release to 8.6 percent after five years and only 4.2 percent after 10 years in the community. Based on their findings, the researchers say that risk factors such as number of prior offenses are time-dependent rather than truly static or never-changing.

"If high risk sexual offenders do not reoffend when given the opportunity to do so, then there is clear evidence that they are not as high risk as initially perceived," note authors R. Karl Hanson, Andrew J. R. Harris, Leslie Helmus and David Thornton in the article scheduled for publication in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Quoting two of my favorite scholars -- criminologist Shadd Maruna and law professor/forensic psychologist Charles Ewing -- the authors challenge the notion that sex offenders represent a special case of perpetual danger. They question the need for lifelong monitoring and supervision.

Sex offender investigation: Treatment programs

11-1-2013 Vermont:

Studies have shown the therapy can help lower recidivism rates but not everyone gets help.

COLCHESTER, Vt. —It’s a rare glimpse into a treatment program for sex offenders.

Studies have shown the therapy can help lower recidivism rates but not everyone gets help.

Sex offender treatment is only an option for Vermont inmates, and those who enroll end up being less than a quarter of the population.

But for those who choose, there is help. There are meetings and groups all over the state where convicted sex offenders can find support.

“It was like losing my child cause we were so close living together, you know,” Lucinda Milne said.

Not a day goes by for Milne without remembering her granddaughter, Brooke Bennett.

“Terrible. It's like a nightmare. A terrible, terrible nightmare that I haven't woke up to yet,” Milne said.

Milne's son-in-law is awaiting his final sentencing after being convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing his 12-year-old niece, Brooke, five years ago.

“I just couldn't believe that he did those things. You know? Tore my family apart,” Milne said.

Michael Jacques was a convicted sex offender when he killed Brooke, and like many others in Vermont he'd been through treatment, both while he was in prison and when he was released on probation.

When we asked Milne if she thought treatment could help someone like Jacques, she said, “I'm not sure. I'm not sure.”

According to a Vermont Department of Corrections study, those who go through treatment are less likely to reoffend. But convicted sex offenders cannot be forced into a program while they're incarcerated. Prison officials say that's because the program works best when offenders are committed to it similar to AA or drug rehab programs.

”If I’m in a situation where I may be tempted, I have the skills to think my way through it and get out of it. That's what we can offer in a treatment program,” Corrections commissioner Andy Pallito said.

That study is now more than 10 years old.

And according to more current information obtained by Newschannel Five, the number of sex offenders in Vermont prisons was between 450 and 550 each year from 2008 to 2012 but because of limited space only 78 of those can be in treatment at any given time. In an email to WPTZ the DOC noted there has not been a waitlist for quote "quite some time."

And because Vermont has no civil confinement law, which can keep high risk offenders in prison past their sentence, those without treatment are simply released when their sentence is up.

“Some people, I think, tend to judge people when they hear the word or when they find out you've come out of prison they tend to judge you on what you did and that's who they think you are.”

Two years after his release, this convicted sex offender still worries about the repercussions of identifying himself as a sex offender. He asked us to conceal his identity.

He went through treatment in prison and says he's continuing to make progress now that he's on the outside.

“It's accepting responsibility for what you've done, what you're capable of, that you did what you did, acknowledging it and not making any excuses.”

He attends a weekly faith-based meeting in Burlington for ex-cons. It's hosted by Pastor Pete Fiske from the Church at Prison.

“Nobody is born wanting to be a sex offender. It happens in their lives. They get messed up. And it's despicable and they know it,” Fiske said.

Fiske helps provide support to those he says society often rejects.

“If you have that you have to learn how to manage that, like in AA alcoholics learn how to manage their addictions,” Fiske said.

Still, some will never find faith in treatment. There's simply too much to overcome.

“I don't want somebody to buy the house that right over there and move in that's a sex offender. I don't care if he's married, got kids or not. I don't want him in my neighborhood. It would bring back too much. Too much,” Milne said. ..Source.. by Bridget Shanahan

Are These Symptoms of Sex Addiction? No.

10-30-2013 Global:

Maybe you think about sex a lot, maybe even all the time. Perhaps you masturbate every day. And maybe you do it with lots of pornography.

Maybe you want sex more than your partner, maybe a lot more. Perhaps you wish your partner were more sexually adventurous.

Maybe you make terrible decisions about sex. Maybe you take risks, and in the process maybe you’ve acquired a disease, lost a precious relationship, even been arrested.

Maybe you desperately want to change your sexual behavior, have tried, and have failed. Perhaps more than once.

None of these makes you a sex addict.

“Sex addiction” is a newfangled category that was invented in 1986 by prison addictionologist Patrick Carnes. The criteria for this disease are either hopelessly vague, moralistically specific, or subjectively applied—typically by anguished spouses, decency crusaders, or “addicts” themselves who are in genuine pain.

As a psychotherapist and sex therapist for over thirty years, I just don’t see the value of the “sex addiction” diagnosis. It assumes that people who FEEL out of control ARE out of control. It assumes that the only kind of healthy sex is wholesome and intimate sex. It assumes that any self-destructive use of sexuality is pathological—while ignoring the fact that most of us periodically abuse every activity we really value, whether it’s working, eating, playing golf, reading romance novels, surfing the web, or volunteering at our Church.

And the sex addiction “treatment” can be a nightmare. Again, like the diagnosis, the standards and rationale are all over the map. Some programs insist that “sobriety” means no casual sex, while others ban pornography or even masturbation. Some sex addiction counselors are ignorant or judgmental about non-traditional activities like S/M, non-monogamy, internet role-play, swing clubs, even sex toys. Most sex addiction programs and counselors see no legitimate value whatsoever in massage parlors, escorts, or other commercial venues. ..Continued..w/Sex Addiction Screening Test by Sexual Intelligence Blog