HI- Grant Money To Help Treat Sex offenders

12-9-2008 Hawaii:

Money Will Also Help Create Center For Training

HONOLULU -- The state officially received a federal grant Monday that'll create a first-of-its-kind training center to help teach staff members how to better manage and treat sex offenders.

Much like the rest of the United States, sexual predators are common in Hawaii.

In December, one convicted rapist was captured in Mexico. Another jumped bailed last week and reportedly fled to El Salvador.

The $250,000 in federal money will help create a center that will provide ongoing training for everyone involved in managing the local sex offender population.

"You will have staff from all disciplines and all agencies who work with sex offenders and work with victims, having the most up to date most contemporary information about what works with this population and what works to increase public safety. I think that impact on public safety would be obvious. We are going to have safer communities if our staff is well-trained," said Dr. Kurt Bumby, with the Center for Sex Offender Management.

The announcement was made at the state capitol at a forum on sex offender strategies, management and legislative trends.

The most important message is there is no one size fits all strategy.

"Prioritize treatment for those who pose the greatest risk to public safety, because by addressing that population, we have a much more enhance possibility of creating safer communities," Bumby said.

For those of the front lines of the fight, like deputy prosecutor Leilani Tan, it was important for the forum to be at the state capitol so lawmakers and their staff could easily attend. "I think that when it starts with the laws and educating the legislators on what the problem is, I think that can then affect the laws and then for us carrying those out and enforcing those laws," Tan said.

The forum was sponsored Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Justice Department. ..News Source.. by KITV.com