Sex Offender Treatment Programs (1994)

Office of the Legislative Auditor
1994

This may give some insight to therapy programs
in the pre-1980's era

Executive Summary:
In response to public concern about sex crimes, the Legislature has toughened penalties for sex offenders, increased funding for programs that treat sex offenders, and taken steps to ensure that more offenders receive treatment. However, basic descriptive information about the number of treatment programs in operation and the number of sex offenders who receive treatment is lacking. Also, legislators have asked whether sex offender treatment programs are effective in reducing the rate at which sex offenders commit additional crimes.

We issued a report on Minnesota's psychopathic personality commitment law in February 1994. (Office of the Legislative Auditor, Psychopathic Personality Commitment Law (St. Paul, 1994). In this second report on sex offender treatment programs we address the following questions:

How has the number of reported sex crimes changed in recent years? What are the characteristics of these crimes and the offenders who commit them? What sanctions do sex offenders typically receive?

How many sex offender treatment programs are there in Minnesota and what do they consist of? How much treatment do offenders typically receive and how much does it cost?

How do programs assess amenability to treatment? How many sex offenders receive treatment?

To what extent are Minnesota's programs consistent with national treatment standards? Are treatment programs adequately overseen and coordinated by the Departments of Corrections and Human Services?

What data do programs keep to judge whether treatment works? What is known about the effectiveness of sex offender treatment?

To answer these questions, we analyzed reported crime and conviction data provided by the Department of Public Safety, Minnesota Supreme Court, Sentencing Guidelines Commission, and Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning. We interviewed officials and staff from the Departments of Corrections and Human Services, community corrections administrators, probation officers, and other criminal justice professionals. We also interviewed officials from sex offender treatment programs operating in the fall of 1993 and asked them to complete a short data form about each offender they treated in 1992. Finally, we reviewed Minnesota and national studies of treatment effectiveness. ..more.. by Office of the Legislative Auditor