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Reconciling Sexual Offender Management Policy, Research, and Practice

  • Chapter
Sexual Offending

Abstract

The past two decades have witnessed a surge in legislative activity ostensibly intended to reduce the societal risk presented by known sexual offenders. Paradox, these policy developments have occurred amidst a robust expansion of the research enterprise related to risk assessment, treatment, and sex offender management. While significant knowledge gaps remain, researchers and practitioners in the field have developed a much better sense of how risk may be effectively assessed and mitigated among sexual offender populations.

In this general context, the present chapter examines contemporary sex offender management policy and its historical, social, and political antecedents, with a particular focus on those factors that have contributed to the current state of affairs. In so doing, the chapter aims to inform more effective efforts by the research and practitioner communities to elevate the role of evidence in the design and implementation of effective public policies to reduce sexual violence in society.

The chapter includes five main sections—the first providing historical background describing the evolution of contemporary sex offender management policy, the second offering an overview of the data regarding the problem of sexual violence in American society, the third identifying and discussing the scope and key trends associated with current sex offender management policies, the fourth examining the major themes and patterns in current sex offender management policy and the challenges associated with bringing evidence into the sex offender management policy process, and the fifth providing a blueprint for action on the part of researchers and practitioners in the sex offender management field, with the goal of translating what is known about evidence-based practice into the realm of evidence-based policy.

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Acknowledgment

The findings and opinions expressed in this chapter reflect solely the views of the authors and are in no way endorsed by the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice or the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board and do not represent government policy or views.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, Sex Offender Management Unit, Denver, CO, USA

    Christopher Lobanov-Rostovsky

  2. School of Criminology and Justice Studies, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA

    Andrew J. Harris

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  1. Christopher Lobanov-Rostovsky
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  2. Andrew J. Harris
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Correspondence to Christopher Lobanov-Rostovsky .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Private Practice, Morro Bay, California, USA

    Amy Phenix

  2. PACIFICA Center, Forensic Psychology Consultations, Wayzata, Minnesota, USA

    Harry M. Hoberman

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Lobanov-Rostovsky, C., Harris, A.J. (2016). Reconciling Sexual Offender Management Policy, Research, and Practice. In: Phenix, A., Hoberman, H. (eds) Sexual Offending. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2416-5_37

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