The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) recently published the blog “What Do We Know About Sex Offenders?” that summarizes a report developed by the Sex Offender Management Assessment and Planning Initiative (SOMAPI). Established by the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART), SOMAPI reviews the current state of sex offender management research and practice, and then recommends steps to strengthen the evidence behind certain strategies used to contain and manage the sex offender population.
In the blog, SMART Office Acting Director Dawn Doran explains that adults and juveniles differ significantly in their decisionmaking skills and ability to weigh consequences, and therefore must be reviewed and researched as two separate sex offender groups. In addition, different types of sex offenders have distinct reoffense rates. Based on the evidence presented in the report, the SMART Office concludes that offender management policies and practices are more likely to be effective when they are tailored to the risks, needs, and offense dynamics of individual sex offenders.
To learn more and read the SOMAPI report, check out the OJP blog.