Section 1: Lecture Content & Teaching Notes
Supervision of Sex Offenders in the Community: An Overview
1 hour, 15 minutes
TOPIC: THE NEED FOR A TRAINING CURRICULUM ON THE MANAGEMENT OF SEX OFFENDERS IN THE COMMUNITY
(5 minutes)
 | THE PRESENCE OF SEX OFFENDERS IN THE COMMUNITY |
Despite legislative changes and sentencing practices that increase the likelihood and length of incarceration for those convicted of sex offenses, many offenders are supervised in the community. A recent U.S. Department of Justice study reports that approximately 265,000 sex offenders are under the care, custody, or control of correctional agencies in the United States. Of those, almost 60 percent were under some form of community supervision.1 In fact, most sex offenders will be released into the community at some point—either directly following sentencing or after a term of incarceration in jail or prison. These offenders present myriad unique challenges to probation/parole agencies that are primarily responsible for supervising them on a daily basis.
| CONSEQUENCES TO THE VICTIM AND THE COMMUNITY OF RE-OFFENSE |
Because of the often volatile community response to sex offenses and the irrefutable harm that a re-offense would cause potential victims, the many issues surrounding the community supervision of sex offenders and how best to ensure public safety are of critical importance to both criminal justice agencies and the public.
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Refer to handout: Cite or draw participants' attention to NIJ Research in Brief entitled