Most sex offenders
reoffend
REALITY:
This is the most common
and most commonly exploited
myth - and the easiest
one to dispel with governmental
research and reports.
For example:
During September 1998,
the Research Unit of
the Arizona Department
of Corrections. (ADC)
completed an analysis
of sex offenders released
from ADC custody over
the ten-year period
from July 1988 through
June 1998.
2,444 sex offenders
were released from ADC
custody over the ten-year
period. The average
period of follow-up
(to June 30, 1998) for
all sex offenders was
54.5 months. Among the
2,444, 509 or 20.8 %
returned at least once
to the custody of the
Department, including
346 or 14.2% with new
felony convictions.
While sex offenders
returned to prison for
a variety of new crimes,
78 or 3.2% returned
for a new felony sex
offense.
Among the 2,444 released
sex offenders, 1,087
(44.5%) were released
to the supervision of
ADC parole officers.
Among this group,
eight (8) or 0.7%
were found to have committed
a new sex offense during
the period of parole
supervision. Among
the eight (8), one (1)
or 0.1% returned to
custody with a new sex
offense conviction while
still under supervision.
The remaining seven
(7) were returned to
custody after termination
of the period of supervision.
The most serious new
sex offense committed
by the 78 sex offense
recidivists was:
Child molestation or
sexual conduct with
a minor 34(44% of 78)
Rape or sexual assault
22(28%)
Sexual indecency (exposing)
14(18%)
Sexual abuse 8(10%)
FROM ANOTHER STUDY
- A META-ANALYSIS:
The 61 studies provided
information on 28,972
sexual offenders, although
sample sizes were smaller
for any particular analysis.
On average, the sex
offense recidivism rate
was 13.4% ( n = 23,393;
18.9% for 1,839 rapists
and 12.7% for 9,603
child molesters). The
average follow-up period
was 4 to 5 years. The
recidivism rate for
nonsexual violence was
12.2% ( n = 7,155),
but there was a substantial
difference in the nonsexual
violent recidivism rates
for the child molesters
(9.9%; n = 1,774) and
the rapists (22.1%;
n = 782). When recidivism
was defined as any reoffense,
the rates were predictably
higher: 36.3% overall
( n = 19,374), 36.9%
for the child molesters
( n = 3,363), and 46.2%
for rapists ( n = 4,017).
These averages should
be considered cautiously
because they are based
on diverse methods and
follow-up periods, and
many sexual offenses
remain undetected (
Bonta & Hanson,
1994 ).
Predicting
Relapse -A Meta-Analysis
of Sexual Offender Recidivism
Studies
BY R. Karl Hanson, Corrections
Research Department
of the Solicitor General
of Canada
Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology
© 1998 by the American
Psychological Association
April 1998 Vol. 66,
No. 2, 348-362
Most former sex offenders
were intra-familial
cases. These are the
individuals with the
lowest risk of re-offence.
The only categories
of sex offender with
a high risk of re-offence
are: Rapists or true
predatory pedophiles,
which make up such a
small fraction of cases.
It
is noteworthy that recidivism
rates for sex offenders
are lower than for the
general criminal population.
For example,
one study of 108,580
non-sex criminals released
from prisons in 11 states
in 1983 found that nearly
63% were rearrested
for a nonsexual felony
or serious misdemeanor
within three years of
their release from incarceration;
47% were reconvicted;
and 41% were ultimately
returned to prison or
jail (Bureau of Justice
Statistics).
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