Planning helps: The impact of release planning on subsequent re-entry experiences of child sex offenders

Abstract

Recent research has demonstrated that poor release planning is associated with sex offender recidivism; however, whether release planning correlates with actual re-entry experiences has not been investigated systematically. Accordingly, in the present study release planning was rated for 16 child sex offenders, and semi-structured interviews about re-entry experiences were conducted at one, three and six months following their release from prison. As expected, significant positive correlations were found between release planning and re-entry experiences across the follow-up period, indicating that higher-quality release planning is associated with more positive re-entry experiences. Accordingly, it can be assumed that re-entry experiences differ between recidivists and non-recidivists, and hence positive re-entry experiences contribute to a reduction in sex offender recidivism. The implications for the management of offender release, policy makers and society as a whole are discussed.

Keywords:

• Child molesters
• recidivism
• re-entry
• release planning
• sex offenders
• social support

Notes

1. Different consent rates may reflect different recruitment methods, as outlined in the procedure subsection.

2. Excluded were item 6, any unrelated victim; item 7, any stranger victim; and item 10, single or ever lived with a lover for at least two years, as this information is not recorded.

3. Participants recalled to prison during the follow-up were excluded from these analyses, therefore 13 participants were included.

4. All participants except two were residing in the accommodation specified in their release planning. In both exceptions, participants' plans did not eventuate; however, their probation officers immediately found them alternative accommodation, meaning that they were never without accommodation.