Sex offender program encounters recidivism problem

1-24-2011 New York:

Almost a third of New York's dangerous sex offenders released into a community-based program have been accused of a new sexual offense.

Some committed new sex-related crimes, including one now accused of rape. Others violated terms of their release: Officials allege that two called telephone sex lines, three watched pornography and one created a business card advertising himself for sexual services.

That recidivism rate shows the difficulty of finding an effective solution to dealing with the most serious sexual offenders after they have served prison sentences.

The parole-supervised and community-based program known as SIST, for Strict and Intensive Supervision and Treatment, was created in 2007 as part of the state's civil commitment initiative.

New York is the only state with a two-pronged program in which a sex offender eligible for civil commitment — a criminal determined to have a mental defect making him more likely to reoffend — can either be sent to a secure psychiatric facility or community-based treatment. Nineteen other states have civil commitment programs for dangerous sex offenders.

State records show 57 percent — 54 of 94 offenders released to parole supervision — breached their release terms.

A quarter of them did so in their first month of freedom.

Fifty offenders are still free but under supervision. Many are on the state's sex-offender registry. The rest of the 94 who were once in SIST are either jailed or have been placed in a state psychiatric facility.

State officials say the significant number of violations isn't a sign that the decision to release the offenders — a choice ultimately made by a judge — was a dangerous misstep. Instead, they say, the high rate of violations is an indication of the program's tight oversight.

Offenders are placed on GPS monitoring and regularly subjected to polygraphs. Some with drinking problems wear bracelets that measure their sweat for signs of alcohol, said Mary Osborne, assistant deputy director of the Division of Parole's sex-offender management unit.

According to state data, 94 offenders were ordered into SIST from 2007 through Nov. 30, 2010. Of those, eight are now charged with new sex crimes and 21 were accused of noncriminal but sex-related violations of their release terms.

Parole officers assigned to SIST offenders have smaller caseloads, so they can provide more intense oversight, Parole Division spokesman John Caher said.

SIST's annual supervision costs are $10,000 to $12,000 per offender. That's about twice the standard parole price tag. For a sex offender in a secure facility, treatment costs are about $175,000. ..Source.. Gary Craig