Protecting Society From Sexually Dangerous Offenders: Law, Justice, And Therapy (law And Public Policy: Psychology And The Social Sciences)
by Bruce J. Winick /
2003 / English / PDF
20.4 MB Download
In Protecting Society From Sexually Dangerous Offenders, legal and
mental health experts explore the ramifications of the
controversial sexual predator commitment laws, registration and
community notification laws, and chemical castration laws that have
come into existence in the past dozen years. The increasing number
of sex crimes, especially those committed by released sex offenders
against young victims, has struck a public nerve. Understandably,
citizens are angry, vengeful, and fearful, and they demand both
retribution and harsh measures to prevent these kinds of crimes
from recurring. These intense public demands for retaliation and
protection have shaped recent law and public policy, resulting in
involuntary commitment programs, notification laws, and chemical
castration laws for sex offenders in many states. These new legal
strategies raise serious constitutional questions regarding the
rights of those who have served their punishment. Perhaps more
important is the question of whether these programs are actually
effective in preventing sexual recidivism. In this volume,
contributing authors discuss the issues surrounding these new legal
strategies and the alternatives to such programs. They examine the
wisdom and constitutionality of post-incarceration commitment and
the difficulty of determining who is most likely to offend again.
Contributors propose alternatives to involuntary commitment,
including community containment and programs for treating sexually
abused children so as to reduce the chances of them growing up to
continue the cycle of sexual abuse. They also propose ways in which
these new legal approaches can be applied to increase their
therapeutic potential. Psychologists and other mental health
experts working with sexually dangerous offenders as well as
lawyers, policy makers, and students in these fields will find this
to be an indispensable sourcebook on this topic.
In Protecting Society From Sexually Dangerous Offenders, legal and
mental health experts explore the ramifications of the
controversial sexual predator commitment laws, registration and
community notification laws, and chemical castration laws that have
come into existence in the past dozen years. The increasing number
of sex crimes, especially those committed by released sex offenders
against young victims, has struck a public nerve. Understandably,
citizens are angry, vengeful, and fearful, and they demand both
retribution and harsh measures to prevent these kinds of crimes
from recurring. These intense public demands for retaliation and
protection have shaped recent law and public policy, resulting in
involuntary commitment programs, notification laws, and chemical
castration laws for sex offenders in many states. These new legal
strategies raise serious constitutional questions regarding the
rights of those who have served their punishment. Perhaps more
important is the question of whether these programs are actually
effective in preventing sexual recidivism. In this volume,
contributing authors discuss the issues surrounding these new legal
strategies and the alternatives to such programs. They examine the
wisdom and constitutionality of post-incarceration commitment and
the difficulty of determining who is most likely to offend again.
Contributors propose alternatives to involuntary commitment,
including community containment and programs for treating sexually
abused children so as to reduce the chances of them growing up to
continue the cycle of sexual abuse. They also propose ways in which
these new legal approaches can be applied to increase their
therapeutic potential. Psychologists and other mental health
experts working with sexually dangerous offenders as well as
lawyers, policy makers, and students in these fields will find this
to be an indispensable sourcebook on this topic.
