Starting a Sex Offender Program: Reports From Three Communities (From Managing Adult Sex Offenders: A Containment Approach, P 7.1-7.13, 1996, Kim English, Suzanne Pullen, and Linda Jones, eds. - See NCJ-162392)

• NCJ Number: 162398
• Author(s): S Olsen; D D L Carter; J Cheney
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): 92-IJ-CX-K021
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance)

Annotation

Probation officers from Jackson County (Ore.) and Boulder and Mesa Counties in Colorado describe the ways in which significant changes for managing sex offenders began in their communities.

Abstract

The information was collected during site visits conducted as part of NIJ-sponsored research on the management of sex offenders in the community. The field research frequently revealed that probation and parole officers were crucial initiators of significant changes in the local approach for managing sex offenders. The analysis revealed that the development of a sex offender supervision and treatment program has its origins in a community's attitudes toward punishment and rehabilitation of the offender and protection of the victim. Each community's response will differ depending on the factors influencing the need for such a program. An effective supervision and treatment program must bring together the therapeutic community and the criminal justice system. The integration is necessary to provide effective control of sex offenders in the community and to allow the victim to resolve the trauma of the offense. A comprehensive community-based program is the most effective way to bring about significant behavioral change in sex offenders while still providing for public safety. Footnotes and 2 references