Mentally Ill Offenders and Sex Offenders

1. Mentally Ill Offenders and Sex Offenders

2. The Problem • Mental illness and the lack of sufficient mental health care have driven offenders into the CJ system for control.

3. History • Why has society relied on the CJ system rather than the health care system to control so many mental health cases?

4. History • 1970s Economic Recession • Business Closings $$$$ Strained States • States Sought Budget Cuts • Targeted Unpopular Programs • Targeted Programs With Low Voter Backlash • Saved Money • Eliminated Potential Political Liabilities

5. Reality • Programs that cost the most and have the least impact on voting members of society usually deal with:

6. What Happened? • There was a major initiative to close state mental hospitals or greatly reduce the number of patients. • How could this be done?

7. What Happened • If medication worked, why was there a problem?

8. How Prevalent Is The Problem? • More than a half million probationers and 180,000 state inmates are believed to be mentally ill.

9. Who Are These Cases? • Mentally ill probation cases most generally fit the following description.

10. Corrections Problems • Correctional staff typically have little training in identifying and dealing with mental health cases.

11. Corrections Problems • The problem is exacerbated with the serious psychotic offender who typically poses the greatest risk to society.

12. Mentally Ill Offender Problems • Understanding and Remembering Directions • Behavioral Requirements May Difficult or Impossible to Satisfy • Inaccessible or Overtaxed Community Mental Health Resources • Service Integration Is Lacking

13. Implication • Effective supervision of the mentally ill correctional client population is critical.

14. Some Successful Strategies • Some successful strategies and programs have been developed to deal with these cases.

15. Specialized Mental Health Programs • Fully Utilize Existing MH Services • Locate and Use Existing MH Professionals • Develop Alternative Funding Sources

16. Specialized Training For Correctional Staff • Identification and Assessment • Effective TX Modalities • Location of TX Providers • Confidentiality Laws RE: Mental Illness • Reasonable Expectations • Cross Training With MH Staff

17. Specialized Supervision Policies and Procedures • Specialized Caseloads • Consider Likelihood of Relapse • Develop Progressive Sanctions • Realizing This Is A Different Client Population

18. Overall Goal • Deal with mental health criminal cases in the most effective manner.

19. Sex Offenders

20. Public Perception • Even murderers are accepted by communities with less resistance than the average sex offender. • Why?

21. Public Resistance • Nature of the Criminal Offenses • Trauma the Offenses Cause Victims • Long Term Psychological Effects • Especially On Young Victims

22. Why Use Community Corrections? • Most sex offenders will eventually be released from prison.

23. Keeping Track Of Sex Offenders • Notification Laws were established to create and maintain a central registry, which would serve as a community resource, so sex offenders would not be able to hide from citizens interested in knowing if their neighborhoods were at risk.

24. Sex Offender Supervision Strategies • Offender Containment Programs • Specialized Caseloads • Interagency Cooperation Programs • Community Education Programs

25. Offender Containment Programs • The goal has less to do with offender rehabilitation than with public safety.

26. Offender Containment Programs • Program Beliefs

27. Offender Containment Programs • Program Beliefs • Most sex-related crime is done in secret and planned in advance. • Most sex offenders are high functioning persons with well-developed social and cognitive skills.

28. Offender Containment Programs • Program Beliefs • Sex offenders typically have serious and deep-rooted psychological problems, and they are able to create convincing facades to hide the truth about their actions. • Sex offenders are likely to be repeat offenders and typically commit many and varied acts of sexual deviancy over the course of their lives.

29. Offender Containment Programs • What do offender containment programs regard as highest priority?

30. Offender Containment Program Structure • Five Key Points • Public safety is paramount. • Sex offender POs require specialized training. • All facets of offenders life must be involved. • Maintain consistent public policy. • Ongoing program evaluation is essential.

31. Specialized Caseloads • Can specialized caseloads be utilized without an offender containment program approach to supervision?

32. Interagency Cooperation Programs • How can interagency cooperation programs enhance offender supervision and reduce the risk of recidivism?

33. Community Education Programs • What is the major focus of community education programs in relation to sex offenders?

34. Ethical Questions • Do sex offender notification laws and community education programs infringe of sex offender rights?

35. Ethical Questions • Do sex offender notification laws and community education programs actually serve to increase the likelihood of sex offender recidivism (Labeling Theory)?

36. What Works • The Supervision Triangle