Assessment of community reintegration planning for sex offenders

Poor planning for reintegrating child molesters from prison to the community is a likely risk factor for sexual recidivism. The quality of reintegration planning was retrospectively measured for groups of recidivist (n = 30) and nonrecidivist (n = 30) child molesters who were individually matched on static risk level and time since release. Recidivists had significantly poorer reintegration planning scores than nonrecidivists, consistent with a previous study by the authors. Data from both studies were combined (total N = 141), and survival analyses showed that poor reintegration planning predicted an increased rate of recidivism. Accommodation, employment, and social support planning combined to predict recidivism, with predictive validity comparable to static risk models (area under the curve = .71). Summing these items yielded a scale of reintegration planning quality that differentiated well between recidivists and nonrecidivists and may have practical utility for risk assessment as an adjunct to static models.<br /

The quality of community reintegration planning for child molesters : effects on sexual recidivism

Research on the causal factors underlying sex offender recidivism has not considered the success or failure of the reintegration process by which the offender rejoins the community after prison. The authors developed a coding protocol to measure the quality and comprehensiveness of reintegration planning for sex offenders. The protocol was retrospectively applied to groups of recidivists and nonrecidivists who were matched on static risk level and follow-up time. The protocol demonstrated adequate reliability. Compared to nonrecidivists, recidivists had significantly lower scores relating to accommodation, employment, and the Good Lives Model secondary goods, as well as lower total reintegration plan scores. ANCOVAs showed that when IQ and level of sexual deviance were controlled for, accommodation (a place to live) was significantly related to sexual recidivism and the Good Lives Model&mdash;secondary goods was significantly related to any recidivism. These results suggest that poor reintegration planning may be a risk factor for recidivism.<br /

The Role of Crime Victims in American Policing: Findings from a National Survey of Police and Victim Organizations

The role of victims in enhancing community policing has received little scholarly attention. This paper adds to the current state of knowledge about the role of victims in policing and the relationship between victim organizations and police departments as part of community policing. Relying upon a national survey of police departments and victim organizations carried out by the Police Foundation and the National Center for Victims of Crime, we present a broad snapshot of community policing partnerships that draw from the experience and knowledge of victims and victim service providers. Our research indicates that while a majority of police executives believe there are benefits to involving victims in community policing, most also report that when it comes to problem solving and crime prevention it is more useful for officers to interact with community members without special attention to who has been a crime victim. Regardless of this view, a large proportion of police agencies report supporting abroad set of practices that focus on crime victims. Finally, our study reinforces the position that the broad approach and policies of a police agency toward victims play a central role in the development of partnerships between police and victim organizations