New sex offender research could help reduce community risk

A group of researchers say their latest study could reduce people’s fears when high-risk sex offenders are released into their communities.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia Okanagan have studied and categorized sex offenders. They hope the research can be used to construct treatment and supervision programs.

“We break it down [into groups to understand] some of the things behind those offences to help us to better inform community safety,”  explained researcher Michael Woodworth.

Woodworth’s team divided sex offenders into three categories: coercive child molesters, sadistic rapists, and stranger-focused offenders.

For example, he explained, coercive child molestors — which made up half of all offenders they studied — have a strong link to being a victim of past sexual abuse themselves.

“What that tells us is that that is something we can focus on more in this treatment group,” he said. “This would lead to reducing risk for future offences and that keeps our streets safer.”

Another finding is that fewer than a quarter of offenders fell into the ‘stranger-focused offenders’ group.

Woodworth said this could have implications on how much supervision such offenders would require and how they should be released into communities.

Do categories oversimplify?

As to whether this research oversimplifies the issue by dividing offenders into categories, Woodworth said it’s a valid concern.

“It’s always sort of cost-benefit around trying to categorize or lump people into these groups when there are such nuances behind them,” he said. “[But] what the data suggested to us is that these three mutually exclusive subtypes best describe the group.”

Woodworth worked closely with the RCMP to complete the study, and he will present the findings at an RCMP conference later this year.

“There’s been a lot of interest … we’ve already handed out the paper to a number of individuals within the organization.”

The study was published in the Journal of Criminal Justice.

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