Heroux: Facts, myths and sex offenders

10-17-2011 Massachusetts:

The best time to address an atrocity is before one happens. Sensational media events often bring out the fear factor and lead to over reaction and ineffective solutions. But I'm not talking about natural disasters; I am referring to sex offenders.

First let's work with facts. 1) According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, 75 percent of sex offenders' victims are people that they know. 2) According to recidivism reports available on the Massachusetts Department of Correction website, contrary to conventional wisdom, sex offenders have a less than 1 percent for a 'new sex offense.' And 3) there are 75 Level 2 and 25 Level 3 registered sex offenders in Framingham.

Crime policy should be based on "evidence" of what is effective. But numerous laws are based on what people think might be effective, and when measured for effectiveness, the laws are found to produce no effect on public safety. The most common form of post incarceration sex offender prevention is community notification laws. However, recent research published in the journal "Criminology and Public Policy" states that: "The data presented here do not support the claim that the public is safer from sex offenders due to community notification laws. The data do, however, provide modest support for a key assumption of notification laws: that children receive more protection against victimization when their families know about a high-risk sex offender residing nearby. What is unclear is the quality and relevance of this increased protection."

This is not to suggest we should not have sex offender registries. What it suggests is that sex offender registries may provide a false sense of security, and so other strategies are necessary.

Civil confinement is one option to protect the public but it is important to know that civil confinement is about four times more expensive than regular incarceration.

In-prison sex offender treatment programs can reduce recidivism up to 15 percent, and post-release supervision can further reduce recidivism up to about 30 percent. Housing, job placement and drug treatment/medical care are perhaps the most important elements to successful re-entry for any ex-offender. These things are what the government can do to help protect citizens. While I am a strong proponent of in-prison and post-release programs, more needs to be done.

Concerning children, we should not worry about sex offenders as a broad category; we need to worry specifically about pedophiles.

Pedophiles are a certain type of sex offender. Pedophilia is a specific mental disorder classified in the DSM, and to be clear, acting on impulses is also a crime. Research shows that only about 1 in 20 sex offenses on a child are reported by the child. The reason for this is because child victims often don't know they have been victimized, and other times they are too embarrassed to address it. Today, the best place for a pedophile to find a child to build a relationship to exploit is online. Pedophiles don't wait in the book stacks at the local public library to surprise attack a child - 60 to 70 percent of victims of a pedophile knew the offender. Pedophiles patiently build a rapport and a trusting relationship with a child. They use their adult status and exploit trust.

The most important thing that can be done is for parents to educate their children about what constitutes inappropriate contact (i.e., "Good Touch, Bad Touch"); to say no when boundaries are crossed; and to report inappropriate contact to a parent or another trusted person.

It should also be made clear to the child that inappropriate contact can come from strangers and someone known and trusted by the child, and that child-adult secrets should be reported to the child's parents.

It is extremely important to let the child know that anything that happens to them is not their fault; that they have done nothing wrong; and they are not going to get in trouble for reporting any and all inappropriate contact.

And unfortunately, teachers and other child care givers need to be trained in looking for indications of a child being abused by a parent. As rare as it is, it does happen.

Kids don't come with instruction manuals. Parent education on important points to address with their children about pedophiles is something that the city should offer. I am sure there are qualified professionals who can offer workshops or draft brochures pro bono.

We have not heard of any sensational atrocities in the media as of recent. Now is the time to take appropriate preventive steps to make sure we don't hear of any such stories. ..Opinion of.. Paul Heroux is a Massachusetts native. He is a former director of research and planning of the Massachusetts Department of Correction and holds a master's in criminology from the University of Pennsylvania.