SEX crime statistics tend to make depressing reading, but now there is some good news from the most populous state in the US. Just 3.2 per cent of more than 4000 sex offenders released on parole in 2002 were re-imprisoned for another sex offence in the subsequent 5 years, according to new figures from California.
While experts know that sex offenders are less likely to reoffend than most other criminals (New 杏吧原创, 24 February 2007, p 3), the very low rate of re-imprisonment in the new study will challenge public perceptions about the risks these criminals pose.
The figures are broadly consistent with a , which found that 3.2 per cent of sex offenders released from 1990 to 2002 had been re-imprisoned for a further sex crime within 3 years of their release.
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What鈥檚 more, sex offenders in Minnesota are even less likely to reoffend than they used to be: about 5 per cent of offenders released in 1990 were locked up for another sex crime within 3 years but of those released in 2002, the figure was just 1 per cent. Over the same period, re-conviction rates 鈥� which were higher than jailing rates since not all reoffenders were locked up 鈥� had fallen even further, from almost 17 per cent to less than 3 per cent.
Some speculate that such declines reflect , but evidence from other forms of crime indicates that tough sentences do little to reduce offending. Instead, an analysis of the Minnesota statistics suggests that the main factor in reducing sexual reoffending is supervision after release 鈥� which has become more intensive in many states.
鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to say why the numbers are dropping,鈥� says Suzanne Brown-McBride, who chairs the . 鈥淚 would like to believe that it is related to improvements we鈥檝e made with supervision.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to say why the numbers are dropping. It may be due to better supervision鈥�
