Group Work with Sex Offenders– the Legal Problems

Abstract

Public awareness as to the treatment of sex offenders within the criminal justice system was heightened in July 1989 by the David Evans case (The Times July 6 1989). E was convicted of the sexually motivated murder of a 15 year old schoolgirl, having previously served terms of imprisonment of five years for attempted rape and indecent assault, and 10 years for rape. The case provides a graphic, if extreme, demonstration of the fact that solutions to the problems of sex offending are not provided necessarily by the sentencing process. Terms of imprisonment may be inevitable in many, though not all, cases, based upon the sentencing principles of public protection, containment and just deserts. There remains for the Probation Service (whether operating within custodial institutions or in the community) the problem as to how such offenders may be helped before, during and after the court process, and irrespective of whether a custodial sentence is imposed. Increasingly probation officers and other professionals are engaging in group work with such offenders. Group work, though, raises legal and professional dilemmas for those engaged in it, in terms of the confidentiality and use of information obtained. These dilemmas are not confined to group work: they arise likewise in individual work, as well as in many other aspects of probation and social work practice. However, the nature of such work, and the public interest in ensuring that those who are a danger to society are identified and dealt with, does mean that these problems arise in particularly acute forms. In this paper we seek to identify these issues, and suggest the need for debate to identify appropriate responses as to where the proper boundaries of confidentiality and access to information lie.