Sex Offenders and the Punishment in Australia - Report Example

Running head: Sex Offenders and the Punishment in Australia Sex Offenders and the Punishment in Australia [Writer’s Name] [Institution’s Name] How Can Sex Offenders Including Repeat Offenders against Children Be Managed in Prisons and Released into the Society in Order to Promote a Safe Society and ease Community Anxiety? Introduction In all societies, sexual offenses are counted among the most dangerous types of offenses. This is due to both the impact of such offenses on the victims’ lives and also because of the societies’ concern for the risk of a repeat offense. In order to protect the people in the community countries throughout the world have formed laws and introduced new criminal sanctions for such dangerous offenders in the past twenty years. They do so through mechanisms like indefinite detention or continued detention (of an offender) or a constant and thorough supervision of these offenders. (Gelb, K. 2007) The research paper studies recent evidence about the extent of the threat sexual offenders pose in a society and whether they are in fact as threatening and dangerous as the society believes them to be. Statistics that are presented indicate the occurrence and frequency of the various offenses in Victoria, along with the costs as well as the nature of these sexual offenses. The paper examines the literature to determine what we know about sexual offenders and the crime itself and to illuminate the accurate levels of recidivism (repeat offending) among sexual predators. A brief outline is given on the treatment programs and their effectiveness, and finally the implication of the research and the facts for the current policy and prevention programs. (Gelb, K. 2007) This research paper is not meant to be a lengthy critical analysis of the past research done on this subject but is intended to provide substantial and accurate evidence regarding the nature of sexual offenses and the risk such offenders pose to the society and its members. Around the world media reports of sexual offenses grasp the public’s attention. This paper’s idea is to shed some on light on the amount of research done around this subject along with exposing the variability in the sexual offenses and the offenders as well (Gelb, K. 2007) Managing the Threat and Protecting the Society Research shows that the most serious crimes against people are committed by offenders who have never been convicted of a crime before and they will not go on to be convicted of further offenses (Walker, 1996, pp. 7-8). However, in every society there are a small number of convicted criminals who are capable of inflicting serious harm to the people and may even be people who have committed repeat crimes of a similar nature. However small their numbers are these offenders present a huge challenge to the system of justice. In a society people value the possibility of innocence and believe in giving punishments only when proven guilty. (Gelb, K. 2007, Walker, 1996, pp. 7-8) However, at the same time we feel the need to protect ourselves and others from dangerous criminal acts, especially from those who we know to be or believe to be criminal. These concerns especially come into focus when known criminals or sex offenders convicted of serious crimes come to the end of their sentences and are legally allowed to take their place in the community. (Gelb, K. 2007, Walker, 1996, pp. 7-8) One of the biggest challenges is balancing between the societies’ right of protection against potential repeat offenses and the potential risk of being victimized by such offenders, and the rights of the offenders to resume their lives after they have fully served their sentences and have been cleared of any possible future offending, which may not be true. (Gelb, K. 2007, Walker, 1996, pp. 7-8) Protecting both communities’ rights of protection and the offenders’ rights is the core issue which makes the management of sexual offenders such a sensitive issue for the justice system of any country. (Gelb, K. 2007) A lot of people actually keep a very stereotypical judgement on sexual offenders and sexual offenses. They are seen as sick sexual predators preying on children and innocent people who will never stop repeating this behaviour and can’t help but commit such sickening crimes. However our evidence suggests a more varied and complex view of the sex offenders and the risk of future offenses after the completion of their sentences. Moreover, there are several researches that have conducted showing how sex offenders can actually be treated and subsequently released into the society to lead a healthier life. (Gelb, K. 2007) Sexual Offenders – How big is the threat to the society? When compared with other types of offenses, sexual offenses and related crimes are treated quite differently in courts. Due to lower rates of guilty plea i.e. 58% compared to 81% of other offenses, most of the sexual assault offense cases go to trial. Once they reach the trial, a large proportion (24%) of the offenders are acquitted of all charges compared to other offenders (9%). The statistics greatly differ for sexual assault cases since securing a conviction in sexual assault cases is difficult in most cases. (Gelb, K. 2007) This is largely due to the fact that the offenders are unwilling to plead guilty due to the implications and legal consequences of being convicted and classified as a sexual offender. In some cases sexual assault charges are brought down to a lesser charge through pleas. However, once proven guilty, sexual offenders are almost never given suspended sentences or non-custodial sentences (community service etc.). Custody rates for sexual offense charges and other criminal charges are quite similar: 56% of sexual assault case defendants and 58% of defendants of other charges are given a custodial sentence. (Gelb, K. 2007) In the Magistrates’ court, out of the 493297 defendants on trial in Australia, 853 i.e. 0.2% were adjudicated for sexual assault offense and related offenses. Out of these 853, 77% (660) were proven guilty while 23% (193) were acquitted. 288 (44%) of those proven guilty were given a custodial order, 149 (23%) were given a monetary order and 213 (32%) were given a non-custodial order such as community service, or supervision. 841 of these 853 convicted offenders were men (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006, p.25). In June 2005, 2,716 convicted sexual assault offenders and related offenders were present in the Australian Prisons. These made about 10% of all the approximate 25,000 prisoners. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006, p.16). Victoria showed a similar pattern where a total of 58,100 people of the adult population were victims of sexual violence in one year. 1% of male adult population (17,200 people) and 2.1% (40,900 people) of female adult population i.e. a total of 1.5% of adult population (58,100 people) experienced sexual violence. Rates of victimization are higher for sexual offenses since the age of 15. In Victoria 5.7% of men (102,200 people) and 18.6% of women (362,900 people) have been sexual assault victims since the age of 15 (Australia bureau of statistics, 2006, state tables – Victoria). Victorian Police recorded 2,686 victims of sexual assault in 2005. This was 1.3% of all the victims reported by the police that year i.e. 212,337 victims. These 343 made up 15% of all the defendants on trial. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006, state tables - Victoria). In the Victorian Magistrates’ court, in 2004-05, 229 of all the 83,114 defendants on trial were being prosecuted for the principal offense of sexual assault and related charges. These 229 were 0.3% of all the 83,114 defendants on trial all of which were men, with 21% of all defendants in the age range of 20-24. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006, state tables - Victoria). In June 2005 there were a total of 405 sentenced prisoners with the serious offense of sexual assault in Victorian Prisons. These 405 represented 13.3% of all 3,043 prisoners. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005, state tables - Victoria). A review of the sexual assault cases in the New South Wales system of criminal justice, showed similar results. Most of the sexual assault and related incidents reported to the police only go as far as the investigation stage. Only about one in ten of sexual assault cases reported to the police results in a conviction and a sentence given by a court. Criminal proceedings are initiated in 15% of sexual assault cases against children and 19% of those against adults. 8% of the sexual offenses against children and 10% of such offenses against adults result in the offenders being proven guilty by courts. (Fitzgerald, 2006, p.4, Gelb, K. 2007). The statistics suggest that the criminal proceedings are less likely to go forward if the sexual assault victim is a child, the case is more than 10 years old, and the offender is unknown to the victim and where there are no aggravating circumstances. Such factors affect the quality of the evidence and consequently the strength of the case for the prosecution for a successful outcome. They also suggest that the cases should be made stronger at the very beginning of the investigation to improve the outcomes in courts (Fitzgerald, 2006, p.4, Gelb, K. 2007). A substantial number of sexual assault cases are filtered out of the justice system of many other countries. After examining the attrition of rape cases in the United Kingdom, Kelly et al identified four key stages at which the rape cases are filtered out of the justice system: the decision to report, the police investigation, the prosecutor’s decision to discontinue and the trial. (Gelb, K. 2007) Victims can withdraw from the case at any of the above stages, however it was most commonly found in the first two stages. Withdrawal rates were higher for rapes cases than cases involving child victims. Sexual assault cases where the victims had some sort of mental health problem or a learning disability were almost never prosecuted (Kelly et al., 2005, pp.30-31). The authors also recommended that the criminal justice system should focus more towards building a case and gathering the evidence instead of making attempts to discredit the victims. Research shows that there are a number of misconceptions and myths in the public’s mind regarding crime and justice issues These misconceptions exist in relation to all kinds of crimes but somehow are more pronounced for sex offenders. (Gelb, K. 2007) Large-scale Surveys of the public opinion were taken in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and showed that the public has very little correct knowledge about the criminal justice system. (Gelb, K. 2007) Rape and other types of sexual assault crimes have been on the rise and percentage of cases, particularly children has risen over the years in Australia. In cases of self reported victims, surveys have shown that ages of children have been age 12 and older while teenagers have been reported to have the highest exposure to rape and other types of sexual assault. (Gelb, K. 2007) Data suggests that sex crimes are mostly against females while female criminals are in a lesser percentage compared to male criminals. On the other hand, data portrays that male victims are in a lesser number while offenders are higher in number compared to females. Victims and offenders for sexual assaults of the same sex are lesser than the other two categories. Intensity of crime however, cannot be judged on the basis that the criminal is a heterosexual male or female or a homosexual one. (Gelb, K. 2007) There are various forms of sexual assaults prevalent in the country such as sexual coercion, exposure and even voyeurism. However, sexual assault in Australia under legal terms and conditions is actually defined as physical and assaultive offenses not including the categories mentioned earlier. Because of such a narrow definition of sexual assault in the country there are various legal complications involved and very little number of cases actually lead to a conviction. A large number of people who are actually reported as sexual assaulters do not get charged for the reason that the definition of sexual assault in Australia is very narrow. There are several implications to this problem. . (Daws, Brannock, Brooker, Patton, Patton & Mannison, 1995, Byers, 1996; 995; Russo, 2000, Smeal, & Warren, 1995; Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006).Ways Sex Offenders can be released into the Society – Treatment Methodologies Available People consider that females are lying and they are simply reporting people who they do not like, as sexual assaulters. Therefore, several myths have come into being like that women like to make false allegations and they actually say no when they were really meaning to say yes. People therefore tend to blame women for considering themselves victims and thus men consider assault or coercion to be normal in a heterosexual relationship. (Daws, Brannock, Brooker, Patton, Patton & Mannison, 1995, Byers, 1996; 995; Russo, 2000, Smeal, & Warren, 1995; Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). People consider that sexual crimes are committed by people who actually know the victims rather than people who are strangers and who are sexual deviants. (Lievore, 2005, p. 293). There are various sources that state how data on sexual violence and crimes is unreported leading to underestimation of the sexual abuse and assaults. (ABS, 1996, 2002a; Mouzos & Makkai, 2004, Daws, Brannock, Brooker, Patton, Patton & Mannison, 1995, Byers, 1996; 995; Russo, 2000, Smeal, & Warren, 1995; Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006) Treatment of Sexual Offenders – Literature Review There are various developments in the arena on how sexual offenders can be treated to prevent further criminal and sexual offenses. (Wortley & Smallbone, 2006). Wortley and Smallbone state that environment has to be modified in order to effectively monitor child abuse and sexual assaults and the recurrence of these crimes. They argue that there are various factors that cause such issues in people including individual personality traits as well as the environment they have lived in. (Wortley & Smallbone, 2006, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). Moreover, they state that the examination of the environment of such people can help reduce the occurrence and recurrence of assaults. They suggest examination of “settings where the crime is committed—domestic, institutional and public spaces—and how potential offenders can be deterred in such environments. They proposed other modifications to the environment, such as the monitoring of offenders in the community, and primary prevention through increasing children’s protective strategies.” (Wortley & Smallbone, 2006, Gelb, K, 2007, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). A survey was conducted by Malamuth in 1989 whereby it was concluded that there were about fifteen percent of participants, who were male university students, studying in Australia as well as the United Kingdom, who had self reported that there was a likelihood of sexually assaulting a child or a toddler if they felt they would not be at a risk of being caught. (Malamuth, 1989, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). Lievore (2004) notes that data on offenders has to be studied in significant detail, for multivariate reasons. First and foremost, he believes that apprehension of the criminal, conviction and subsequent incarceration of the offenders is just the crux of the problem, which has to be solved in deeper detail. He states that it is important to actually understand the profile of one of the groups of the sexual offenders, as it will help understand the reasons why they have committed the crime in the first place. Moreover, it will help in finding out a solution whether such perpetrators should be set back into the society or should be kept in prison because of their risk profile. The data can also help us in providing information regarding the various trends in the responses made by the state for sexual violence and evaluating of potential areas that can be reformed. (Lievore, 2004, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). It is found that during the decade of 1988 to 1998, there was a four percent increase from 10% to 14% in sexual offense perpetrators, and according to the statistics of the Australian Bureau, the people who were sentenced in 2001 was actually lower compared to 1996. This implies that due to the problems associated with the definition of the sexual crimes, there was a decrease in the conviction rate in prisoners. (Smallbone, Ransley 2005, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). There have been various researches conducted to evaluate how corrective actions can be taken to avoid and reduce sexual crimes and violence in the country. In the very early response stage, it was believed that “the prevention of sexual violence emphasized women taking responsibility for their own victimization; women were advised to modify their own behavior to avoid sexual assault. Women were encouraged to avoid wearing ‘suggestive’ clothing, not to go into the community alone and to avoid ‘risky situations’” (Neame, 2003, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). Moreover, women as an individual were responsible for the perpetration of men, as well as for the violence as they called for violence and sexual assault on themselves. The implication was that women were the catalysts to such behavior from men. Additionally, all those women who had partners or were married were considered to be at very low risk of sexual assault from strangers. (Neame, 2003, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). Feminists have taken a strong action against this kind of thinking and have stated that social attitudes and values that promote women to be at blame rather than men for sexual assault are wrong and should be eliminated from the cultural norms of the society. “Such approaches are also regarded as more concerned with women adopting techniques of risk management than with preventing sexual violence. As such, they do not challenge the underlying reasons or community attitudes that are fundamentally linked to sexual violence.” (Neame, 2003, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006, Carmody & Carrington, 2000). During the 1970’s feminist movement the problems associated with sexual assault and violence were actually reduced on the basis that violence was identified in the mainstream industry and women were more aware of their rights. In such a case, liberation groups worked hard to liberate women from the problems of sexual violence and abuse. (Neame, 2003, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006, Carmody & Carrington, 2000). Treatment of Sexual Offenders – Methods and Techniques There are various models proposed by the researchers in order to reduce sexual violence within the country on the basis of the above. Spurred by the various movements that were in action to liberate women and save them from issues like sexual violence and assault, several researches were conducted in both psychology and criminal justice that define how perpetrators should be handled in order to reduce the probability of sexual crimes and violence in such people. “In relation to sex offender treatment approaches, the majority of published work in the area has been from the discipline of psychology, but treatment programs for sex offenders have evolved within criminal justice settings, as the majority of programs have been developed for convicted offenders. In this respect, the development of programs has tended to be influenced by trends in offender programs more generally.” (Neame, 2003, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006, Carmody & Carrington, 2000). The very initial treatment approach was called the aversion theory, which started out in 1960’s. This theory paved way for other cognitive techniques, which became prevalent during the times of the 1970’s. These techniques focused on understanding and then changing the behavior and thinking pattern of the perpetrators. Other techniques like cognitive behavioral techniques came into being which have been practiced so far, and is a technique that works as a group program, to instill the ideology of “a good life” into the people involved in the program. (Neame, 2003, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006, Carmody & Carrington, 2000). One of the theories that have helped in reducing sexual violence among sexual criminals is called biological intervention. This is a theory that bases rectification of the human behaviors through medical understanding of the sexual violence in the criminal. Becker and Johnson (2001) have argued that this theory should be put into practice in order to treat the sexual offenders. (Becker & Johnson, 2001; James, 1996, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). Researchers also suggest surgeries like castration and stereotaxic neurosurgery for sex offenders but these treatments are not in practice in Australia. Medical and biological intervention theories are not in practice in Australia due to the invasive nature of such treatments. (Bradford, 1990; James, 1996, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). Other techniques to help solve the problem and let the perpetrators back into the society include aversion therapy. This therapy is generally considered as a treatment for problems, which are unusual in terms of sexual behavior like child sex, homosexuality, fetishism and transvestism. There are various techniques that are included in aversion therapy. Such techniques include stimulus like pavlovian conditioning in the target, or other forms of punishment in line with what the offender had done to the victim. Electric shocks and nausea inducing injections may also be used in order to improve the person’s behavior and making him or her deviate from the sexually offensive behavior. (Laws and Marshall, 2003, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). Yet another way that can be utilized to treat sexual offenders is through the systemic approach. “Systemic approaches to sex offender treatment are based on the early systemic family therapy model. When used with a family, the model directs the focus towards how the individual family member’s ‘presenting problem’ is a ‘symptom’ of what is wrong with the family as a system. Therefore, in order to address the problems of the individual family member, there must be intervention with the whole family.” (Laws and Marshall, 2003, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). Vivian-Byrne (2004) believe that it is not the attitude and behavior of the individual that is changed in this case through the systemic approach. Rather, the feedback process and the relational patterns of the individual’s behavior are managed in order to treat the sex offenders. The approach assumes that there are certain triggers, both environmental and person that need to be modified in order to treat the sex offenders. (Vivian-Byrne, 2004, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006, Hoffman, 1993; Jones, 1993). There are a range of influences, which are considered that lead to sexual assaults and crimes. Such influences lead to abuse and need to be reformed in order to develop a healthy relationship of that individual with his or her environment. Intervention can be done if the experiences and offending patterns are identified in the person’s behavior and then are reformed rather than focusing on the sexual offenses. In such a case, behavior of the individual can be modified. (Vivian-Byrne, 2004, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006, Hoffman, 1993; Jones, 1993). There is another approach called the cognitive behavioral therapy that is based on the modification of behavior directly and involves cognitive processes along with training of social skills. In such a case, two elements of behavioral therapy are involved, including “identifying and changing cognitive distortions, and offering alternative, pro-social behaviors which, in combination, aim to stop offending (Marshall & Barbaree, 1990; Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006). Various researches indicate that this treatment was considered to modify the deviations in cognition of the offender rather than the behavior of the deviant, which comes after the cognition of the person. The researchers indicate that the ideology and beliefs of the offenders have to be modified in this case, as they are the unconscious elements of behavior. These distortions in the cognition are the primary focus of treatment in such behavioral therapy. (Mandeville, Norden & Beech, 2004, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006) Researchers indicate that the focus of treatment has to be the cognitive distortions and thus the therapist will have to focus on a confrontation with the sex offender as that the cognition has to be modified and the alteration takes place primarily through the offender taking responsibility of his or her actions that they have undertaken on sexual offense. (Mandeville, Norden & Beech, 2004, Chung, Leary, and Hand, 2006) Conclusion The paper discussed various elements of sexual offenses and how treatment of sexual offenses can be done in order to allow sexual offenders to be let out in the society without any harm or threat to the public. 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