Recidivism of Sex Offenders - CSOM

1 Center For Sex offender ManagementRecidivism of Sex OffendersMay 2001 IntroductionThe criminal justice system manages mostconvicted sex Offenders with somecombination of incarceration, communitysupervision, and specialized treatment(Knopp, Freeman-Longo, and Stevenson,1992). While the likelihood and length ofincarceration for sex Offenders has increasedin recent years,1 the majority are released atsome point on probation or parole (eitherimmediately following sentencing or after aperiod of incarceration in prison or jail).About 60 percent of all sex offendersmanaged by the correctional systemare under some form of conditionalsupervision in the community (Greenfeld,1997).While any offender s subsequent reoffendingis of public concern, the prevention ofsexual violence is particularly important,given the irrefutable harm that theseoffenses cause victims and the fear theygenerate in the community.

2 With this inmind, practitioners making decisions abouthow to manage sex Offenders must askthemselves the following questions: What is the likelihood that a specificoffender will commit subsequent sexcrimes? Under what circumstances is thisoffender least likely to reoffend? What can be done to reduce thelikelihood of reoffense? 1 Since 1980, the number of imprisoned sex Offenders hasgrown by more than 7 percent per year (Greenfeld, 1997). In1994, nearly one in ten state prisoners were incarcerated forcommitting a sex offense (Greenfeld, 1997).The study of Recidivism the commission ofa subsequent offense is important to thecriminal justice response to sexual sex Offenders commit a wide variety ofoffenses, responses from both a publicpolicy and treatment perspective may be nodifferent than is appropriate for the generalcriminal population (Quinsey, 1984).

3 However, a more specialized response isappropriate if sex Offenders tend to commitprincipally sex purpose of this paper is to examine thecritical issues in defining Recidivism andprovide a synthesis of the current researchon the reoffense rates of sex Offenders . Thefollowing sections summarize and discussresearch findings on sex Offenders , factorsand conditions that appear to be associatedwith reduced sexual offending, and theimplications that these findings have for sexoffender management. Although studies onjuvenile sex offender response to treatmentexist, the vast majority of research hasconcentrated on adult males. Thus, thispaper focuses primarily on adult male in the Measurement of SexOffender RecidivismResearch on Recidivism can be used toinform intervention strategies with sexoffenders. However, the way in whichrecidivism is measured can have a markeddifference in study results and applicabilityto the day-to-day management of thiscriminal population.

4 The following sectionexplores variables such as the population(s)of sex Offenders studied, the criteria used toEstablished in June 1997, CSOM s goal is to enhance public safety by preventing further victimization through improving the management ofadult and juvenile sex Offenders who are in the community. A collaborative effort of the Office of justice Programs, the National Institute ofCorrections, and the State justice Institute, CSOM is administered by the Center for Effective Public Policy and the American Probation andParole Recidivism , the types of offensesstudied, and the length of time a studyfollows a sample. Practitioners mustunderstand how these and other studyvariables can affect conclusions about sexoffender Recidivism , as well as decisionsregarding individual the Sex offender PopulationStudiedSex Offenders are a highly heterogeneousmixture of individuals who have committedviolent sexual assaults on strangers, Offenders who have had inappropriate sexualcontact with family members, individualswho have molested children, and those whohave engaged in a wide range of otherinappropriate and criminal sexual we group various types of Offenders andoffenses into an ostensibly homogenouscategory of sex Offenders , distinctions inthe factors related to Recidivism will bemasked and differential results obtainedfrom studies of reoffense patterns.

5 Thus,one of the first issues to consider inreviewing any study of sex offenderrecidivism is how sex offender is defined;who is included in this category, and, asimportant, who is RecidivismAlthough there is common acceptance thatrecidivism is the commission of asubsequent offense, there are manyoperational definitions for this term. Forexample, Recidivism may occur when thereis a new arrest, new conviction, or newcommitment to custody. Each of thesecriteria is a valid measure of Recidivism , buteach measures something different. Whilethe differences may appear minor, they willlead to widely varied outcomes. Subsequent Arrest Using new chargesor arrests as the determining criteria for Recidivism will result in a higherrecidivism rate, because many individualsare arrested but for a variety of reasons,are not convicted. Subsequent Conviction Measuring newconvictions is a more restrictive criterionthan new arrests, resulting in a lowerrecidivism rate.

6 Generally, moreconfidence is placed in reconviction,since this involves a process throughwhich the individual has been foundguilty. However, given the processinvolved in reporting, prosecution, andconviction in sex offense cases, anumber of researchers favor the use ofmore inclusive criteria ( , arrests orcharges). Subsequent Incarceration Some studiesutilize return to prison as the criterion fordetermining Recidivism . There are twoways in which individuals may bereturned to a correctional is through the commission of a newoffense and return to prison on a newsentence and the other is through atechnical violation of parole. The formeris by far the more restrictive criterion,since an offender has to have been foundguilty and sentenced to violations typically involveviolations of conditions of release, suchas being alone with minor children orconsuming alcohol. Thus, the use of thisdefinition will result in the inclusion ofindividuals who may not have committeda subsequent criminal offense asrecidivists.

7 When one encounters theuse of return to prison as the criterion forrecidivism, it is imperative to determine ifthis includes those with new convictions,technical violations, or Offenders are a highly heterogeneous mixtureof individuals who have committed violent sexualassaults on strangers, Offenders who have hadinappropriate sexual contact with familymembers, individuals who have molestedchildren, and those who have engaged in a widerange of other inappropriate and criminal RecidivismReliance on measures of Recidivism asreflected through official criminal justicesystem data obviously omit offenses thatare not cleared through an arrest or thosethat are never reported to the police. Thisdistinction is critical in the measurement ofrecidivism of sex Offenders . For a variety ofreasons, sexual assault is a vastlyunderreportedcrime. TheNational CrimeVictimizationSurveys (Bureau ofJustice Statistics)conducted in1994, 1995, and 1998 indicate that only 32percent (one out of three) of sexual assaultsagainst persons 12 or older are reported tolaw enforcement.

8 A three-year longitudinalstudy (Kilpatrick, Edmunds, and Seymour,1992) of 4,008 adult women found that 84percent of respondents who identifiedthemselves as rape victims did not reportthe crime to authorities. (No current studiesindicate the rate of reporting for child sexualassault, although it is generally assumedthat these assaults are equallyunderreported.) Many victims are afraid toreport sexual assault to the police. Theymay fear that reporting will lead to thefollowing: further victimization by the offender ; other forms of retribution by the offenderor by the offender 's friends or family; arrest, prosecution, and incarceration ofan offender who may be a familymember or friend and on whom thevictim or others may depend; others finding out about the sexualassault (including friends, familymembers, media, and the public); not being believed; and being traumatized by the criminal justicesystem factors are compounded by theshame and guilt experienced by sexualassault victims, and, for many, a desire toput a tragic experience behind them.

9 Incestvictims who have experienced criminaljustice involvement are particularly reluctantto report new incest crimes because of thedisruption caused to their family. Thiscomplex of reasons makes it unlikely thatreporting figures will change dramatically inthe near future and bring Recidivism ratescloser to actual reoffense studies support the hypothesis thatsexual offense Recidivism rates areunderreported. Marshall and Barbaree(1990) compared official records of a sampleof sex Offenders with unofficial sources ofdata. They found that the number ofsubsequent sex offenses revealed throughunofficial sources was times higher thanthe number that was recorded in officialreports. In addition, research usinginformation generated through polygraphexaminations on a sample of imprisoned sexoffenders with fewer than two knownvictims (on average), found that theseoffenders actually had an average of 110victims and 318 offenses (Ahlmeyer, Heil,McKee, and English, 2000).

10 Anotherpolygraph study found a sample ofimprisoned sex Offenders to have extensivecriminal histories, committing sex crimes foran average of 16 years before being caught(Ahlmeyer, English, and Simons, 1999).Offense TypeFor the purpose of their studies, researchersmust determine what specific behaviorsqualify sex Offenders as recidivists. Theymust decide if only sex offenses will beconsidered, or if the commission of anycrime is sufficient to be classified as arecidivating offense. If Recidivism isdetermined only through the commission ofa subsequent sex offense, researchers mustconsider if this includes felonies andmisdemeanors. Answers to thesefundamental questions will influence thelevel of observed Recidivism in each studies supportthe hypothesis thatsexual offense recidivismrates are of Follow-UpStudies often vary in the length of time they follow-up on a group of sex Offenders inthe community.