Sex Offender Civil Commitment
Civil Rights or Societal Rights

Civil commitment is a legal process typically introduced into society for the mentally ill, or those individuals whom the Court or other professionals believe are a danger to themselves or others. Society realizes that, at times, an individual may pose a danger to themselves or to society and be unable to make rational decisions. In fact, in most jurisdictions in the modern world, involuntary commitment procedures are specifically applied to individuals who have manifested some form of serious mental illness that acts to impair their reasoning to such extent that they are unable to make cogent and logical decisions. herefore, at these times the state (the Court system) must intercede to find ways to make the appropriate decisions under a legal template. Involuntary commitment may have, in the past, been used in certain situations, inappropriately, but the statutory criteria that indicates one is….

The website explained that the law's necessities turned on a person's finding of guilt alone a fact that a person had already had a procedurally protected occasion to challenge. Even if the person could show that he was not liable to be presently harmful, Connecticut had determined that the registry knowledge of all sex offenders had to be openly revealed. The offender had relied only on procedural due process, not on the substantive part of the Fourteenth Amendment's safeguards.
In a 9-0 decision the judgment was reversed. In an opinion by ehnquist, Ch. J., joined by O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, and Breyer, JJ., it was held that: (1) The Connecticut law did not infringe procedural due process, under the Fourteenth Amendment, by failing to permit affected people, prior to their registry information being revealed to the public, an investigation to establish whether the offenders were probable to be….

Mental health workers offered mixed support for the treatment program. A rape crises advocate and support counselor suggested that diverting offenders out of the criminal justice system denied the victims the closure that they needed to move on with their lives. However, two psychiatrists indicated that they believe that treatment programs can be effective, and that treatment is the appropriate course for mentally ill offenders, rather than incarceration. In addition, because they work with mental commitments, they indicated that both of them have already participated in civil commitments for pedophilic child molesters who offended within the family group, and indicated their belief that the civil commitment process actually made it easier for the victim to begin the work to repair his or her life.

Finally, it is important to consider the criminals. More than in almost any other area, the idea of possibly indefinite civil commitment for those who sexually offend….

habitual sex offender has become a major issue in American society today. Media reports on the number of children killed in recent years fuel this concern, including reports where a sex offender who has been released from prison at the end of his sentence takes and kills another victim. Various states have passed new laws and added restrictions on sex offenders as a result, and one of the issues now concerns notification, meaning whether the neighbors of a released sex offender should be told that the offender is living among them. Traditionally, parole or release from prison has been a matter kept between the offender and the state, and the people in the community are not told where released sex offenders are living. Because of the notoriety accompanying some recent cases, the public now demands to be told when a sex offender is living in the community. hile these….

When one looks at the occurrence of recidivism in offenders who have partaken in treatment programs varying from organic programs to those geared to more social and emotional support programs, it becomes clear that recidivism of sexual re-offense is relatively low, compared to those who undergo no treatment program. However, there is still an issue with non-sexual re-offense. In addition, there is evidence that the contributing factors for adult and juvenile offenders are different.
As such, it is suggested that not all offenders should receive the same treatment. Correctional literature indicates that high-risk offender require the greatest use of resource, while lower risk offenders require the lowest level of resources (Andrews & Bonta, 2003).

As such, blanket policies that deem all offenders as 'high risk' are neither effective nor efficient. In addition, it may take away resources from those who truly need it, such as juvenile offenders who require longterm treatment.

eferences

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Offender Reentry Program Proposal
The concept of offender "reentry" is beginning to take the corrections world by storm -- a much overdue storm. Reentry is the process of prisoners reentering society after a period of incarceration in a prison, jail, or detention facility. But it doesn't signify just "letting them go." It connotes that offenders are "prepared" to be released. It means that they are much better off at the time of release than at the time of their admission. (Anderson, S)

It suggests that their period of community supervision will contribute to their crime-free lifestyle. An estimated 100,000 youth are released from secure and residential facilities every year and because the length of incarceration for juveniles is shorter than for adults, a relatively greater percentage of juveniles return to the community each year. In addition, research indicates that a small percentage of juvenile offenders commit the overwhelming majority of juvenile crime.

The….

(2009, Oct. 4). 25,000 Nepli girls involved in sex trde in Indin cities.
Commercil sex brothels in the towns of Delhi, Mumbi, Pune nd Kolkt feture young girls believed to hve been kidnpped from Nepl, ccording to the rticle. There re n estimted fifty brothels in Pune, nd mny of them re reportedly owned by dult women from Nepl. In those 50 brothels there re bout 500 Neplese girls working in sexul slvery, the rticle sserts. This informtion comes through report tht ws intended to get the medi interested in reporting these terrible crimes. Retrieved Feb. 13,

2010, from http://www.expressindi, com/fullstory.php?newsid=55901.

Hwii News Now. (2010, Februry 10). Hwii mn chrged with sex trfficking t Super Bowl. A mn who is lleged to be pimp from Hwii is being chrged with bringing teenge Hwiin girl to the Super Bowl in Mimi -- nd llegedly used her to mke money. Fred….

Treatment Programs for Sex Offenders
esults of studies are inconclusive as to how often convicted sex offenders re-offend once released from prison. A Canadian study suggested the number is as high as 88%. (Bialik, 2008) However, Wisconsin psychologist Dennis Doren states, "There is no research support for that view, period." (Bialik, 2008) Another widely publicized report indicates the rate of re-offense to be 52%. (Bialik, 2008) If even half of the convicted sex offenders are likely to commit a similar crime once released, the number is too high.

One way to reduce the number of repeat offenders is to mandate participation in a treatment program. Once an offender is convicted of a crime, their Constitutional rights should be suspended. They should lose the free will that they enjoyed as a free member of society. As such, they should be required to undergo treatment for sexual assault. It should not even be a….

Despite these constraints, GPS-enabled tracking systems stand to promote public safety. In this regard, Schwabe and his associates report, "etter technology for offender tracking has the potential to increase public safety by making information on offenders easier to share and utilize" (2001, p. 23). These types of surveillance systems, though, introduce new privacy concerns, even for offenders, given the fundamental constitutional rights that are involved. As Schwabe et al. emphasize, "It should be noted, however, that such systems raise many of the same civil liberties issues discussed above vis-a-vis video surveillance. As a result, they represent another case where the use of a technology by law enforcement must be balanced against individual rights and the resulting (potentially conflicting) public perceptions of the activity" (Schwabe et al., 2001, p. 23). While the debate over civil liberties vs. public safety continues, the use of GPS-enabled tracking devices continues to increase in….

(Harris, 2002, p. 8)
Terrorist acts are both crimes and forms of warfare, and in both respects are unlike what we are used to." 2 Understanding the larger possibilities, such as warfare, law enforcement will be able to make informed decisions on matters concerning data collection. When gathering information it is important to document and standardize every step of the process. This will alleviate any complications when categorizing behaviors or activities and will ensure that all participants in the process are on the same playing field. (onczkowski, 2004, p. 72)

Following the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. which is an example of foreign terrorism, though domestic terrorism has been present in the U.S. For decades, many individuals accepted new standards of security that might infringe upon their rights as citizens to freely travel, assemble and speak, yet more recent protests have been leveled against law enforcement and security measures as time….

These strategies should focus on parolees' risks and need and conducted in a way that would motivate change. Aware of these realities, States continue to innovate and evolve reentry strategies towards this end (Yahner et al.).
The RI was a particularly ambitious correctional program in that it targeted the most difficult offenders for rehabilitation and incorporation into the community. These are young offenders with violent criminal histories, who are likeliest to be excluded from reentry assistance. The RI develops and implements individual plans to reintegrate chosen offenders back into society. This was the Controlling Violent Offenders Program.

Efforts begin during their incarceration and continue when they are released into the community through a focused approach by a mentor. Case workers and mentors conduct varied programs to support their transition. These include social services in substance abuse and mental health disorders and vocational services for training, education and resume development for employment….

Offenders
The career criminal

A career criminal is a person who repeatedly participates in criminal acts for both a constant and central source of income DeLisi, 2005.

A career criminal uses crime as their only source of income, and they will commit offenses on a regular basis even after they have been released from prison. No form of rehabilitation can help a career criminal because they have antisocial behaviors and they refuse any form of rehabilitation. The career criminal continuously commits offenses and even with the best criminal justice system, they are never rehabilitated. This causes a major problem to the correctional facilities because career criminals lead to overcrowding of prisons.

Since these criminals have amassed many sentences, the judicial system is forced to sentence them to life imprisonment. The main reason been the short prison terms the offenders have been given before have had no effect, and giving them a short sentence….

Unfairness of Sex Offending Laws.
Current laws that govern sex offences are placed under scrutiny for their potential unfairness towards those convicted. Often, these laws are excessively harsh against those who do not pose a current danger to public safety.

There are few things as dire to the public mind as sex offences. Hence, current laws are as harsh as possible to protect what is perceived as the safety of the public and its most vulnerable members, children. For this reason, the Internet sex offender databases were created. At the basis of these is Megan's Law, which specifically requires a state to make neighbors aware when violent sex offenders move into their community (Sheeres, 2002). The law has been enacted in honor of Megan Kanka. She was a 7-year-old girl from New Jersey who was raped and murdered in 1994. The perpetrator was a twice-convicted child molester. He moved into a house….

But there is ample evidence, as documented in our recent report that unfettered access to registries can and does lead to extensive harassment and sometimes violence against former offenders (Fellner, 2007).
Highly publicized cases that deal with the abduction, rape, abuse, and murder of young children have led federal and state governments to introduce new laws that require stricter punishments, requirements, and prohibitions for sex offenders. Increasingly rigorous and over-inclusive necessities for sex offenders are almost unanimously accepted and easy for legislators and politicians to support because they are popular among the general public. As Congress passes law after law cracking down on sex offenders, experts and officials question whether the requirements of those acts even work to achieve the goals of legislators (Farley, 2008).

The most recent act, the Adam Walsh Act (AWA), raises many questions as Congress again expands punishments and requirements of sex offenders. The AWA contains over-inclusive….

Treatment of Criminal Offenders
As a clinician, how can you apply the knowledge you gained from this course to more effectively serve your clients?

A connection has been established by researchers between brutal and violent susceptibility to impair a particular area of the brain. Till date, several evidence, have assisted to bring into limelight the shady aspect of human attitude and might pave the way for important interference. For instance, several types of spontaneous aggression might be a result of defective balancing of emotion within the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the centre of superior intellectual activities like judgment, analysis and substantial control of impulses. The degree of malfunctions in the core circuits of the brain related to aggressive behavior and if these circuits are capable of being repaired is of course debatable. esearchers have mentioned that individuals inclined to violence have structured blueprints in the brain that can be reported….