CRIMINAL LAW

Sexual Offences Prevention Orders

Abstract

The last ten years has witnessed an increased use of the civil law in the UK to contain and incapacitate the sex offender. These measures have been introduced to improve community safety and public protection, as the criminal law seeks to punish and condemn. This paper explores the contention that the civil and criminal law is in danger of becoming confused and the line between the two becoming blurred. At worst the civil law is in danger of becoming a form of criminal punishment in its own right and those charged with implementing it, in danger of getting their roles confused. What starts out as a civil regulatory or administrative arrangement for public safety becomes increasingly obstructive, has 'gate-ways' to criminal proceedings and is implemented in a punitive fashion.



Table of Contents



Introduction4

Literature Review4

The UK Sex Offender Register5

Evolution5

The Sex Offenders Act 19976

Strengthening the Sex Offender Register6

Evaluation of the Register7

Reviewing the Sex Offender Register and the White Paper11

Problem of Sexual Offending12

Sexual Violence14

Introduction to Risk Assessment and the Prediction of Recidivism19

Risk Assessment with Adult Offenders:20

A Review of Instruments and Assessment Practices20

Research findings23

Research question26

Method26

Participants27

Measures28

Results29

Pro-offending attitudes30

Predisposing personality factors34

Discussion36

Conclusion37

Sexual Offences Prevention Orders

Introduction

In the UK a series of civil measures have been constructed in the last six years to improve public protection:

1997 the sex offender register (Sex Offenders Act 1997 Part 1);

1998 Sex Offender Orders (Crime and Disorder Act 1998 ss2-4);

2000 Restraining Orders (Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000);

Notification Orders (Sexual Offences Act 2003 ss97-103);

Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (Sexual Offences Act 2003 ss104-113; this Order combines the earlier Sex Offender Order and Restraining Order);

Foreign Travel Orders (Sexual Offences Act 2003 ss114-122);

Risk of Sexual Harm Orders (Sexual Offences Act 2003 ss123-129).

Non-compliance with any of these Orders leads to prosecution in the criminal courts. This paper takes the UK sex offender register (as applied in England and Wales) as a case study of a civil measure developed and refined (strengthened) without reference to any substantive evaluations or research; it tries to elaborate on the Home Office comment that there could come a point at which the Act could no longer be seen as an administrative requirement.

Literature Review

Studies of adult sexual offenders show, that approximately 50 % of them already start with their sexual offending behavior in childhood or adolescence (Davis & Leitenberg, 1987; Abel, Mittelman, & Becker, 1985). The American Academy of Child and Adolescence Psychiatry stated in 1999 that in the USA "approximately 20 % of all rapes and 30 % to 50 % of child molestations are carried out by youths younger than 18 years of age" (p. 55). The 'Rape in American Study' revealed that 44 % of the victims, who were raped as children, reported that their offender was younger than 21 years. Juvenile sexual offenders are also more likely to sexually re-offend than other adolescent delinquents (Hagan, Gust-Brey, Cho, & Dow, 2001) and are at a higher risk of sexual re-offending than adult sexual offenders (Elz, 2001a, b; Rehder, 2001).

The UK Sex Offender Register

Evolution

The proposal for a UK ...