Managing Adult Sex Offenders in the Community: A Containment Approach, Research in Brief

• NCJ Number: 163387
• Author(s): K English; S Pullen; L Jones
• Date Published: January 1997
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Series: NIJ Research in Brief
• Grant Number(s): 92-IJ-CX-K021
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

This report presents the results of a national telephone survey that identified how probation and parole agencies manage adult sex offenders, and it describes a model management process for containing sex offenders who are serving community sentences.

Abstract

Encompassing 49 States (South Dakota not included) and the District of Columbia, the telephone survey sample was stratified by population density and geography. The survey obtained basic information about policies and procedures related to sex offender case management, treatment, and other court orders; staff training; and interagency collaboration. The survey found that the most frequently reported special conditions for sex offenders on probation or parole were court-ordered or officer-ordered treatment requirements and no-contact-with-victim provisions. Probation and parole agencies with specialized caseloads were more likely to report the use of such community-safety approaches as after-hours monitoring and an orientation that focused on victim protection. More than 80 percent of respondents reported that mental health treatment is mandated for sex offenders under community supervision. The proposed model process evolved from insights gleaned from field research in six States. The model process aims to contain offenders in a triangle of supervision: treatment to teach sex offenders to develop internal control over deviant thoughts; supervision and surveillance to control offenders' external behaviors; and polygraph examinations to help design and monitor compliance with treatment plans and supervision conditions. Incremental improvement in the model process and in underlying case management practices will flow from new research findings and feedback from the field. 26 notes and a list of five annotated related readings