Sex crimes » More prisoners, longer sentences but funding for treatment stays flat, triggering concerns.
A dramatic increase in the number of sex offenders incarcerated in Utah over nearly two decades is raising questions about how the state deals with such crimes and concerns about whether all inmates are able to get needed treatment before they return to their communities.
The number of sex offenders in state custody has more than doubled — to 2,194 or 31 percent of the prison population — since 1996, the last year Utah lawmakers approved an increase in treatment funding. Although Utah’s incarceration rate is significantly lower than that of other Western states and the U.S., it leads surrounding states when it comes to the percentage of prison inmates who are sex offenders.
One reason for that: Lawmakers have taken a tough stance on sex offenses, setting stiff penalties, such as a law passed in 2008 that set a 25-years-to-life penalty for child rape.
"Our culture has a very strict credo, a moral sense, of what is appropriate sexually and what is not appropriate sexually," said Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns and a member of the Criminal Justice Appropriations subcommittee. "That may be why we incarcerate a little bit more."
The state’s approach also has historically been shaded by the view that "once a predator, always a predator" — a misconception that may finally be poised to shift with the accumulation of evidence that shows treatment works, Hutchings said.
"The discussion is not over, but it’s happening in earnest," Hutchings said. "The mind-set for a long time has been what are we going to get by putting this money into treatment. Why not focus instead on mandatory minimum sentences and keeping these people locked away."
The numbers reflect that philosophy of warehousing inmates.
Today, more sex offenders in Utah are sent to prison rather than placed on probation, and they serve longer sentences. In 2012, for example, 92 percent of first-degree felony sex offenders went to prison, up from 72 percent in 1988. During that period, the length of time served has doubled.
Sex offenders "are going to have longer length of stays, go to prison at a higher rate and thus make up a greater portion of our prison population," said Jacey Skinner, director of the Utah Sentencing Commission.
Utah inmates convicted of first-degree felony sex offenses who were released from prison during the past five years had, on average, served 7½ years. But some serve far longer. Michael Deporto, a child sex offender, is scheduled to be released this fall after spending nearly 20 years in prison. There are 71 first-degree felony sex offenders who have received natural life sentences from the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole — a number that will likely increase since some inmates in that category have not yet had rehearings, according to Steve Gehrke, Corrections spokesman. ..Source.. by Brooke Adams
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