Sex offenders reoffending

27 replies

SardineQueen · 16/07/2012 10:23

in the mail today

"More than 400 sex offenders freed to rape: Soft justice anger over the sexual predators who strike again
New figures show one in seven convicted rapists had a previous conviction for a sex crime"

It has long been the understanding amongst govt, charities, from studies and so on that sex offenders

a. usually start with more "minor" crimes and escalate
b. are frequently serial offenders

Also we know that sex offenders are are hard to catch and convict - due to low reporting levels and low conviction rates.

Looking at all of this, it confirms the view that I have come to, that people who are convicted of this type of violence should be treated as a danger to the public (which they are) and imprisoned until such time as the authorities (doctors etc) believe beyond reasonable doubt that they no longer are a risk to the public. Whether they are held in prison, or hospital, or some other kind of secure place - i don't mind. I don't want them treated badly, I don't care if they have a DS and SKY or whatever. I just want them held until they are no longer dangerous and if that is a long time / forever then so be it.

What do you think?

OP posts:

Original poster

SardineQueen · 16/07/2012 13:07

Well I guess the article is about sex offenders.

And from what I understand they have higher reoffending rates than other crimes and many people who know say that mostly they cannot be "treated".

For me anyway it is different to people who commit crime due to eg addiction. For them often the crime is a means to an end. For violent criminals - who are not getting anything out of it except their own gratification - I think the scope for treatment is rather slim. So your sex offenders / DV people / that sort of thing.

Having said that, yes I do think that as a general point the protection of the public aspect of imprisonment is not being applied too well - plus the fact that there appears to be little attempt at rehabilitation / a lot of people who are in prison have mental health problems and really should be treated properly and carefully rather than just banged up / and of course addiction is a huge cause of crime and a huge issue.

OP posts:

namechangeguy · 16/07/2012 12:27

I would wonder why we would just restrict this to sex offenders. Recidivist rates for most crimes involving prison sentences are way too high across the board. Prisons are a dumping ground for some of the most problematic people in our society, and the rehabilitation aspect of a sentence is too often overlooked. Either keep them in, or help to fix the problems whilst they are incarcerated.

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