Most Irish sex offenders are freed without therapy

Monday, December 09, 2013

Fewer than half of all sex offenders released from prison this year underwent any form of rehabilitative therapy while in prison.

By Noel Baker

Statistics provided to the Irish Examiner by the Irish Prison Service also show that, of prisoners currently serving sentences for sex crimes and scheduled for release in 2014, just a third are currently undertaking therapy programmes.

The primary programme aimed at treating sex offending behaviour is the Building Better Lives programme, based in Arbour Hill Prison in Dublin.

According to the prison service, of the 179 sex offenders released this year, 22 had engaged with the BBL programme in Arbour Hill.

Another 29 prisoners in other prisons for sex crimes engaged with the psychology service in those jails.

Next year, 142 convicted sex offenders are due to be released and, according to the prison service, 24 individuals have engaged or are currently engaged with the BBL programme in Arbour Hill, with a further 21 individuals either having engaged or currently engaging with the psychology service in other prisons.

A prison service spokes-man said: “It is not possible to force an individual to engage in psychological intervention against their will.

“While offenders can be supported and encouraged in their efforts to address their offending behaviour, ultimately successful completion of an intervention programme depends on the willing participation and commitment of appropriately motivated individuals.”

The BBL programme involves prisoners forming groups of eight to meet twice weekly to address their offending behaviour.

According to the prison service, the BBL programme involves open rolling groups with members moving in and out of groups at different times as they complete their work.

After completing the first phase, titled Exploring Better Lives Group and which lasts two months, offenders can then move onto the second phase in a Practicing Better Lives Group, which lasts six months.

The final phase, Maintaining Better Lives, sees a group meet once a week for four months, but a prisoner must have completed the second phase at least a year earlier before entering the final group.

While many prisoners have testified to the positive impact of the group therapy, the prison service said that not all sex offenders are suited to group programmes and so other prison-based therapeutic interventions, including one-to-one interventions, are offered.

A spokesman said sex offenders also engage with other services in order to address other related needs, such as mental health needs.

Central Statistics Office data published last year, based on Probation Service research from 2007, found that the overall recidivism rate across all types of released prisoners was 37.2%. For the admittedly smaller number of sex offenders included in the data, the rate of reoffending was 15.6%.

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