Releasing Sex Offenders into the Community Through “Circles of Support”-A Means of Reintegrating the “Worst of the Worst”

Cesaroni, Carla

doi:10.1300/j076v34n02_06

Cited by 35 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…To remove the caring, community aspect of COSA and subject sex offenders only to a regimented, surveillance-type intervention would likely be counterproductive in many instances- Cesaroni's (2001) research emphasised the importance of keeping COSA separate from more formal legal structures (such as parole). In addition, there is a sense in which COSA volunteers' commitment to the underlying restorative philosophy creates the conditions of possibility for core members to trust their circle members when they encounter difficulties; surveillance and accountability measures, then, are tempered with caring support.…”

Section: Balancing Risk Management and Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences in Reconciling Risk Management and Restorative Justice

Hannem

2011

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) is a restorative justice-based model that originated in Canada in the mid-1990s for the postincarceration reintegration of those who have offended sexually. Although the roots of COSA are in restorative justice philosophy, the program has also found favour, to some degree, with organisations such as police services and corrections that are traditionally concerned more with protecting community safety than with the ideals of restorative justice. Informed by the author's research and personal experience as a COSA volunteer, and analysis of recent and historical representations of COSA, this article explores theoretically how the development of the COSA initiative has been influenced by the seemingly disparate concerns of both the restorative justice and community protection movements, and examines the importance of balancing these paradigms in the everyday practices of circles.

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Section: Balancing Risk Management and Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences in Reconciling Risk Management and Restorative Justice

Hannem

2011

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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“…The expression of apology and forgiveness are desired outcomes in sexual assault [82,88], envisioned in program design as possible with self-reflection, while responsible persons complete reparative activities, receive therapy and regularly meet with staff and board members, and for survivor victims after psychotherapy and a reasonable passage of time [48,49,89,90]. To determine what generates successful program outcomes, all the core elements require scrutiny, especially the designated procedures most effective for facilitated conferencing between participants [28, 38 45, 91] and professionally responsive interactions, while working with survivor victims [38,48,49,56,[79][80][81][82][83][84] and responsible persons [33,67,81,90].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies of facilitated conferencing have reported small but significant reductions in re-offending across a range of crimes for legal jurisdictions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States [25,[33][34][35]. Sexual assault cases in these programs are few or non-existent.…”

Section: Introduction To Restorative Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

Restorative Justice and Sexual Assault: Outcome Appraisal Through Textual Analysis

Bletzer

Koss

2013

TOARSJ

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Abstract:Restorative Justice is a community alternative to criminal justice. Its principles and practices are grounded in harm reduction, consensually-determined reparation, and in many applications, a facilitated conference between an offender and respective victim, and family members and/or community persons impacted by the crime. Projects based on Restorative Justice are rare for sex offenders. In this article, we review one such program funded as a demonstration project. Based on the rubric that we adapted from a template developed by Stephen Webster, we assessed the veracity of apology letters written by adult sex offenders, who earned the right to apologize to their victim, following participation in a 12-month program based on principles and practices of Restorative Justice. Content of the apology letters demonstrated anticipated changes in classic features of sexual assault as a harm-causing, ego-centered, trauma-producing, controlseeking, relationship-imposing act. Despite individualized formulation by each responsible person, the letters from misdemeanor and felony cases were similar in acknowledgment of harm and in the articulation of gratitude, but varied in responsibility acceptance and trauma discontinuation.

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“…Many fear it may belittle the magnitude of sex crimes, particularly against children, and may fail to properly hold offenders accountable [119]. Yet a few restorative justice programs for sex offenders do exist in the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S. One example is “Circles of Support and Accountability,” a program that targets high risk sex offenders being released from prison and establishes a dialogue of treatment and support between the offender and the community in which the offender is being released [133-136]. Available research has suggested that these programs have been shown to many times reduce the recidivism of its high-risk sex offender participants [136].…”

Section: Implications For the Objectives Of Criminal Lawmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Implications of Research on Genetic or Heritable Contributions to Pedophilia for the Objectives of Criminal Law

Berryessa¹

2015

RADNAG

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In recent years, there has been increasing scientific research on possible genetic or heritable influences to the etiology of pedophilia, driven by national and public concerns about better understanding the disorder in order to reduce children's vulnerabilities to pedophilic and child sex offenders. This research has corresponded to growing academic dialogue on how advances in genetic research, especially concerning the causes and development of particular mental disorders or behaviors, may affect traditional practices of criminal law and how the justice system views, manages, and adjudicates different types of criminal behavior and offenders. This paper strives to supplement this dialogue by exploring several of the many possible effects and implications of research surrounding genetic or heritable contributions to pedophilia for the five widely accepted objectives that enforce and regulate the punishment of criminal law. These include retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and restoration. Although still currently in early stages, genetic and heritability research on the etiology of pedophilia may have the potential moving forward to influence the current and established punitive methods and strategies of how the justice system perceives, adjudicates, regulates, and punishes pedophilic and sex offenders, as well as how to best prevent sexual offending against children by pedophilic offenders in the future.

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Releasing Sex Offenders into the Community Through “Circles of Support”-A Means of Reintegrating the “Worst of the Worst”

Cited by 35 publications

References 7 publications

Experiences in Reconciling Risk Management and Restorative Justice

Experiences in Reconciling Risk Management and Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice and Sexual Assault: Outcome Appraisal Through Textual Analysis

Potential Implications of Research on Genetic or Heritable Contributions to Pedophilia for the Objectives of Criminal Law

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