Abstract
The persistence of psychological disorders results in continuous behavior patterns that affect functionality and quality of life. The importance of mental disorders in prosecution of sex offenders is immense as it is directly correlated to the risk factor of the recidivism. Consequently, it points to a certain level of ineffectiveness of the current methods in addressing the sex offenders. Therefore, treatment of psychological disorders needs to be implemented into the conventional practices to mitigate the offenders’ dangerousness for society and reoccurrence of the offense. This essay is focused on addressing the term dangerousness in legislative system and provides recommendations to direct prosecution of sex offenders and their psychological treatment.
Introduction
In criminal justice systems, there are growing rates of severe mental illnesses among offenders. This segment of criminals in prison is overrepresented, and within correctional institutions of North America, the rates of people with mental disorders add up to three times the general population (Moulden & Marshall, 2017). In Canada, a similar trend could be observed as the rates of mental illnesses over a 10-year period from 1998 to 2008 increased from 4.7% to 18.5% (Moulden & Marshall, 2017, p. 1). Some studies suggest that the link between mental disorders and susceptibility to criminal actions is weak. However, subsequent research identified that the impact of psychological disorders on violence, recidivism, and offending, in general, depended on the nature and severity of the disorder (Moulden & Marshall, 2017). Nevertheless, it provides a new perspective on addressing the prosecution of criminals and, more specifically, sex offenders.
The definition of sex offense varies over time as the existing practices are decriminalized while some are vice versa recognized as a crime. However, the focal point of sexual offenses is the concept of consent. The consent in sexual activities addresses the consenting adults and the age of consent when “children are presumed to have achieved the capacity to consent” (Thomas, 2016, p. 9). This study reviews non-consensual sexual activities as a crime and tries to identify to what extent psychological disorders should be considered a major factor in the prosecution of sexual offenders and its implications for Canada. However, it is evident that current approaches towards sex offenders are not effective and need to address psychological factors and their treatment for the benefit of society.
Conventional Methods’ Ineffectiveness
In the prosecution of sex offenders, numerous governments incorporate the registry system for monitoring and preventing possible recidivism of sex crimes, but their effectiveness is questionable. Similarly, in Victoria (Australia), “The Sex Offender Registration Act 2004” was introduced with the aim to reduce the chances of recidivism and assist in the investigations and prosecutions which might continue in the future (Simmons, 2019). However, the assumption inherent to the Act, such as consideration of sexual offenders as more dangerous individuals than non-sexual offenders, was proven to be invalid (Simmons, 2019). Although sexual offenses result in lasting psychological damages to the victims, they are not as prone to recidivism and account for a significantly smaller proportion of the population in comparison to violent offenders (Simmons, 2019). This fact lays the foundation for the questioning of the Registry approach.
Moreover, the registry could be accused of its ineffectiveness as it is highly focused on capturing extra-familial child offenders and intra-familial offenders. Several studies identified that intra-familial offenders represented the lowest risk group in accounts for recidivism. However, due to the nature of the registry, they are repeatedly exposed to the legislative system. This essentially results in unnecessary consumption of numerous resources and possibly, violation of individuals’ rights (Simmons, 2019). In addition, it negatively affected the legislative system as numerous prosecutions were delayed due to the repeated apprehension of lower-risk groups (Simmons, 2019). The registry was arguably unhelpful in prosecution and investigation of sexual offenses as little evidence is found in support of the Sex Offender Registration Act’s positive impact. Consequently, it is essential to allocate the resources to more effective solutions and or treatment of the psychological factors that expose offenders to recidivism.
The Need to Address Psychological Disorders
The risk of offender’s recidivism is often referred to as dangerousness, and it is evident that there is a need to reevaluate this construct in Canada and other countries for the benefit of the local community. Several jurisdictions, predominantly Canada, the USA, the UK, utilize the practice of preventive sentencing (Kemshall, 2017). This practice is significantly different from traditional sentencing and is employed based on the dangerousness along with current offending (Kemshall, 2017). However, there is a need to note that people who commit sex-related crimes do not pose a danger solely on account of historical factors. Temporal factors, such as substance abuse, location with relation to the victims, and response to therapy play a significant role in consideration of the associated risks (Rowlands et al., 2017). Dangerousness is a normative construct that implies that a given individual, or group poses a threat to the community and may commit acts that might harm it. However, the term relies on the assessment made by clinical institutions (Rowlands et al., 2017). Consequently, it is essential to reevaluate the dangerousness construct to better address the mental aspects which might influence the risks.
It is similarly essential to create a clear assessment method to determine the risk of recidivism or dangerousness. No clear assessment methodology of the risks of recidivism is present. Although, clinical experts often utilize actuarial measures and clinical interviews to determine the likelihood of recidivism (Rowlands et al., 2017). Nevertheless, this fact carries significant ethical implications as people could receive a false-positive diagnosis leading to their detention for the crimes they did not commit (Rowlands et al., 2017). Consequently, it is arguable that there should be a great emphasis on the evaluation of the psychological condition and associated psychological disorders of the offenders. Several legislative frameworks already recognize that offenders are dangerous due to the virtue of mental abnormality (Rowlands et al., 2017). Thus, the necessity for the treatment of the offender’s psychological condition and its consideration in the prosecution persist.
Some governments, such as the USA, administer this therapeutic approach to sex-related crimes in their legislation. This practice should be encouraged globally. The US laws in dealing with sexual offenses consider the term sexual psychopath as a person who needs to be detained to successfully heal the disorder, which contributes to uncontrollable impulses. However, the necessity for dangerousness reevaluation and an improved approach for risk assessment is still present within the system of the United States. Nevertheless, this approach addresses major associated psychological factors and should be used in global legislative practices to diminish the community risks and raise the effectiveness of prosecution.
Review of The Treatment Programs
It is similarly necessary to address the approach towards treatment programs for the group of criminals, which represent the risk group at recidivism to sexual offending. The consideration of the treatment program of sexual offenders with psychological disorders, such as intellectual disabilities should follow a contemplative analysis with a focus on increasing risk management capacities and the cultivation of prosocial identities. The modern programs focused on the treatment of sex offenders with disorders that affect cognitive functioning and skills are based upon texts which depict Oregon State Hospital’s Program and community‐based approach at York Central Hospital (Hollomotz & Greenhalgh, 2019). The main aims of such programs are to encourage people towards growth and personal development in order to ensure their strive for a better and essentially offense-free life. This is based upon the assumption that individuals commit associated crimes because they are not able to reach valued outcomes in ways that would be socially acceptable (Hollomotz & Greenhalgh, 2019). Consequently, there is empirical evidence suggesting that these programs are able to improve the psychological condition of the offenders.
However, subsequent research suggests that these programs and associated outcome indicators are not able to provide valid and trustworthy results. Hollomotz & Greenhalgh (2019), in their research, utilized the realist evaluation methodology to analyze the existing programs within developed countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Germany, and Switzerland. Their findings suggest that, although the programs show the effect on the improvement of risk management capacities and the cultivation of prosocial identities, long-lasting effects are not guaranteed (Hollomotz & Greenhalgh, 2019). The main reason is the ineffectiveness of traditional outcomes indicators in monitoring the individual’s progress (Hollomotz & Greenhalgh, 2019). The treatment programs and related resources underwent some changes over time, but mechanisms and outcomes remained consistent. Thus, it is recommended to improve the existing practices to achieve long-lasting or permanent results. In addition, it is evident that treatment programs should include the cultivation of prosocial identities and increase risk management capacities.
Conclusion
Psychological disorders play an essential role in the reoccurrence of sex-related crimes and need to be treated in the most effective way to ensure the community’s safety. A substantial effort is put into the prosecution of sex offenders, but their effectiveness is questionable. Therefore, more careful consideration should be put into factors affecting criminal behavior. In order to avoid recidivism of recorded criminals, treatment of the psychological conditions which result in uncontrollable impulses of the subjects should be in effect. Moreover, the existing methodology needs to be renovated and modified to address the issue at hand more effectively. However, the core values of increasing risk management capacities and cultivating prosocial identities need to be enhanced. The crimes related to sex offenses should be carefully approached with the consideration of mental illnesses, and it is essential to use treatment of the associated disorders as preventive measures.
In Canada, these issues need to be addressed for the improvement of the effectiveness of the local legislative systems. Although Canada adopted a therapeutic approach to the prosecution of sexual offenders, it would be recommended to follow careful consideration of preventing sentencing and develop a proper risk assessment methodology. Moreover, as the country is experiencing growth in the number of mentally ill criminals, it is necessary to reevaluate the outcome monitoring mechanisms and indicators to ensure proper assessment of offenders’ progress towards non-offending life. This will benefit the local community by ensuring the long-lasting effects of the treatment programs.
References
Hollomotz, A., & Greenhalgh, J. (2019). A realist analysis of treatment programmes for sex offenders with intellectual disabilities.Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 33(4), 729–738.
Kemshall, H. (2017). The historical evolution of sex offender risk management.Contemporary Sex Offender Risk Management, Volume I, 1–34.
Moulden, H. M., & Marshall, L. E. (2017). Major mental illness in those who sexually abuse. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(12), 1-7.
Rowlands, M. T., Palk, G., & Young, R. McD. (2017). Psychological and legal aspects of dangerous sex offenders: A review of the literature. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 24(6), 812–824.
Simmons, M. L. (2019). Evaluating the legal assumptions of Victoria’s sex offender Registration Act 2004 from a psychological perspective.Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 26(5), 783–796.
Thomas, T. (2016). Sex crime: Sex offending and society. Routledge.