The overarching goal of the current work was to explore sanctions experienced by sex offenders prior to incarceration, during incarceration, and after their release using three separate but interrelated studies. The first study analyzed how the media framed sex offenders, and how this compared to the media’s portrayal of murderers. The study used a content analysis of newspaper articles published in 2007, the year after the Adam Walsh Safety and Protection Act was passed, and 2017. Open coding (the identification of categories and concepts) and axial coding (the process of relating categories and concepts) strategies were used. Findings showed that the media relied on specific categories to describe offenders, victims, and offenses, with an emphasis on sensationalized stories. The second study was an exploratory effort to understand how sex offenders were treated in prison, whether they were subject to greater maltreatment and/or distrust than other inmates, and if certain segments of the inmate population were more accepting of sex offenders than others. The study used labeling theory to guide these efforts, with an emphasis on stigma and stigmatic shaming. The data were from 5 years of letters written by a convicted sex offender during his incarceration. A content analysis using open coding and axial coding were used. Findings suggested that public perceptions of prison life as dangerous and violent were not consistent with the offender’s lived experience. The last study examined which areas offenders were most likely to reside and characteristics of these communities. The study drew from social disorganization theory and focused on the concept of concentrated disadvantage. The study used ArcGIS, a mapping software program, to demonstrate the areas in which sex offenders reside and the locations in which they were in violation of current housing restrictions. The study found that a proportion of sex offenders in Mississippi were in violation of housing restrictions that prevented them from living close to areas where children were most likely to be present (e.g., parks and schools).

The purpose of this study was to consider to what degree each of two sexual offender programs offered by Manitoba Justice adhere to the research based practice principles of risk, need, and responsivity and to assess the degree of therapeutic alliance that is created in each group. In-person interviews were conducted with employees and past participants who are connected to each of the programs. Current participants of the two programs were asked to complete a questionnaire about therapeutic alliance. The findings indicated that neither of the programs adhere to the risk principle, both adhere to the responsivity principle, and only one adheres to the need principle. There was no difference on the clients’ perception of therapeutic alliance within the groups. Recommendations provided with regards to the sexual offender programming offered by Manitoba Justice include consistent programming, education/mentorship, utilizing a secondary risk assessment, and evaluation and research.

The purpose of this study was to consider to what degree each of two sexual offender programs offered by Manitoba Justice adhere to the research based practice principles of risk, need, and responsivity and to assess the degree of therapeutic alliance that is created in each group. In-person interviews were conducted with employees and past participants who are connected to each of the programs. Current participants of the two programs were asked to complete a questionnaire about therapeutic alliance. The findings indicated that neither of the programs adhere to the risk principle, both adhere to the responsivity principle, and only one adheres to the need principle. There was no difference on the clients’ perception of therapeutic alliance within the groups. Recommendations provided with regards to the sexual offender programming offered by Manitoba Justice include consistent programming, education/mentorship, utilizing a secondary risk assessment, and evaluation and research.

No description available.

Currently, it is estimated that there are over 45 million child pornographic images and videos on the internet. The purpose of the current study is to record the characteristics of those convicted of accessing, distributing, and/or producing child pornography in the State of North Dakota. To examine this phenomenon, the District of North Dakota Federal Probation and Pretrial Supervision Service records have been disseminated. Overall, the results indicate that child pornographers in North Dakota mirror those around the globe. In addition, the sample of child pornographers was compared to other sexual offenders and general offenders through bivariate analyses. There were statistically significant differences found between both groups.

Correctional education research strongly suggests that an increase in inmates’ education will reduce recidivism rates. This study utilized logistic regression techniques to investigate the effects of prison education program participation on recidivism and employment rates. Using this method made it possible to conclude that inmates who participated in prison intervention/educational programs were significantly less likely to recidivate. The purpose of this study was to identify to what extent the Mississippi Department of Corrections’ (MDOC’s) intervention/educational programs reduce recidivism. The pre-existing data used were historical information collected as part of a longitudinal study on Mississippi inmates since 2000. The data were transferred every quarter to the National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (nSPARC) for management and analysis. Initial tests found that several variables had a relationship with recidivism. The findings in this study suggest that ex-offenders who completed an education/vocational program or completed a counseling program were 87% (p < 0.001), 9.9% (p < 0.005), respectively, less likely to recidivate than those ex-offenders who did not participate in any type of education or intervention program. The results also suggest that ex-offenders who enrolled in but did not complete an education/vocational program were l0% (p<0.005) less likely to recidivate than those ex-offenders who did not participate in any type of education or intervention program. Recommendations that result from these findings include an increase in the number and quality of intervention/educational programs in Mississippi prisons. Policies could be suggested and/or implemented that would reduce the number of people who violate the law upon their re-entry into society.

No / The health needs of released offenders are significantly greater than those of the general population with a lack of equity existing between need and supply. Offender health indicates that they re-enter their communities with limited pre-release preparation for the continuity of access to healthcare once outside prison. This report relates the findings of a three year study commissioned by Burdett Trust to map the released offender health pathway towards identifying ‘touch points’ in the community for the delivery of a nurse led intervention. / Burdett Trust for Nursing

<p><p><p><p>The purpose of this study was to gain more knowledge of which discourses dominate the courts’ decisions concerning sentences for young sexual offenders. The issues touched upon were which circumstances the courts find important and which discourses reflect those circumstances when deciding on sentences for young sexual offenders as well as how children that commit crimes are constructed by the court. The study looked at cases of sexual offence where the offender was between 15 and 17 years old, and was based on judgements established at the Stockholm district courts in 2007 and 2008. The method used was content analysis, both manifesto and latent. By using content analysis the information was structured into a manageable basis for the following discourse analysis, which was implemented according to the theory for this study described in King and Piper’s (1995) book How the Law Thinks About Children. Discourse analysis gave an insight into which discourses are most prominent in verdicts against young sexual offenders. The results show that the social services’ recommendations are not given much importance in the courts’ decisions of suitable sentences for young sexual offenders. A majority of the youths were sentenced to criminal punishment such as a youth community order service and a youth detention order. Factors of particular importance in the verdicts are the specifics of the crime, whether or not the offenders understood or should have understood that they were committing a crime, responsibility, age, consent, suitable sentences as well as the credibility and reliability of given statements. The young defendants were constructed by the courts as criminals with regard to the criminal act and the youths’ responsibility for the action. The offenders’ personal and social situation was not given particular importance.</p></p></p></p>

Adolescent offenders commit a significant number of physical and sexual assaults every year. A critical task for researchers and clinicians is to understand the distinct pathways that lead to these serious types of offending. The current study attempts to test the importance of these different pathways by comparing violent, violent sex, non-violent sex, and non-violent offenders based on SAVRY risk items, reoffending, and effects of treatment. A sample of 517 adolescents on probation was assessed for several risk factors (i.e., anger management, ADHD, low empathy/remorse) by probation officers. Recidivism over 12 months was assessed from official records. Results indicated that after controlling for race, groups differed on several risk factors, with significant differences noted between violent and non-violent sex offenders for anger management and attention deficit/hyperactivity problems, as well as violent sex offenders and all other offenders for low empathy/remorse. In comparison to non-violent offenders, violent offenders had more any re-offense and violent re-offense. While risk factors partially predicted the relationship between offender and recidivism, treatment did not moderate this relationship.

The purpose of this study was to gain more knowledge of which discourses dominate the courts’ decisions concerning sentences for young sexual offenders. The issues touched upon were which circumstances the courts find important and which discourses reflect those circumstances when deciding on sentences for young sexual offenders as well as how children that commit crimes are constructed by the court. The study looked at cases of sexual offence where the offender was between 15 and 17 years old, and was based on judgements established at the Stockholm district courts in 2007 and 2008. The method used was content analysis, both manifesto and latent. By using content analysis the information was structured into a manageable basis for the following discourse analysis, which was implemented according to the theory for this study described in King and Piper’s (1995) book How the Law Thinks About Children. Discourse analysis gave an insight into which discourses are most prominent in verdicts against young sexual offenders. The results show that the social services’ recommendations are not given much importance in the courts’ decisions of suitable sentences for young sexual offenders. A majority of the youths were sentenced to criminal punishment such as a youth community order service and a youth detention order. Factors of particular importance in the verdicts are the specifics of the crime, whether or not the offenders understood or should have understood that they were committing a crime, responsibility, age, consent, suitable sentences as well as the credibility and reliability of given statements. The young defendants were constructed by the courts as criminals with regard to the criminal act and the youths’ responsibility for the action. The offenders’ personal and social situation was not given particular importance.