NCJ Number
226612
Journal
Social Work in Mental Health Volume: 7 Issue: 4 Dated: January 2009 Pages: 372-384
Date Published
January 2009
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This second of a two-part article on sex offenders discusses what social workers should know about sex offenders and public policy regarding society’s response to sex offenders.
Abstract
The article first defines the following terms: “sexual offense,” “sex offender registration,” “notification laws,” and “sexually violent predator.” This is followed by brief explanations of Petrunik’s (2003) three major approaches in creating policies that attempt to manage sex offenders in U.S. society: the forensic-clinical approach, the justice model, and the community protection model. Separate sections of the article discuss the incarceration of sex offenders; laws that allow the civil confinement of convicted sex offenders beyond their prison terms; and registration and notification laws, which are designed to enable criminal justice agencies and the community to monitor where sex offenders are living and working after their release from prison. The article’s concluding section draws implications of the article’s review for social workers. One recommendation for social workers is that sex-offender treatment and prevention programs be based on research findings regarding what causes deviant sexual behaviors. A second recommendation is that research be conducted on the distinctions among sex offenders, in order to design treatment programs tailored to individual characteristics. A third recommendations is that social work agencies develop better measures of treatment outcomes as a basis for both designing new programs and modifying existing programs. Other recommendations pertain to the development and implementation of prevention programs; the establishment of standards of knowledge about sex offenders for community clinicians; evaluation of the effectiveness of public policy laws that target sex offenders; and analysis of the balance between victim, offender, and community rights in the management of sex offenders. 18 references