Written Answers. - Sex Offenders.
Seán Power
Question:
202
Mr. S. Power
asked the
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
the number of prisoners who are currently in prison for sex offences; the number of these who have or will take part in the sex offenders treatment programme; his plans to increase the number of places on the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23963/02]
As of yesterday there were 319 prisoners in custody for sexual offences. As has been outlined to the House on a number of occasions, there are four forms of direct therapeutic intervention available to sex offenders within the Irish prison system at present. These are as follows: individual counselling from the Irish Prisons Service's psychology service and from the probation and welfare service; the multidisciplinary thinking skills group work programme in Cork Prison, Arbour Hill Prison and the Curragh place of detention; the sex offender treatment programme which has been in operation in Arbour Hill Prison since 1994 and was introduced in the Curragh place of detention in 2000; and the psychiatric service which provides extensive support to prisoners in this category.
Every effort is made to assist sex offenders in custody who are willing to participate at any level in their personal rehabilitation and relapse prevention. While it is not possible to quantify with absolute accuracy participation in all forms of rehabilitation, many of those in custody for sex offences have availed of one or more of the forms of intervention referred to above.
Sixteen offenders are recruited to the sex offender programme annually – eight in Arbour Hill Prison and eight in the Curragh place of detention. As many as 94 prisoners have participated in the programme to date, of whom 84 have successfully completed it. In addition, an average of 48 offenders are recruited annually to the thinking skills course – 16 in Arbour Hill Prison, 16 in Cork Prison and 16 in the Curragh place of detention. As many as 194 offenders have completed the thinking skills course to date.
The number of offenders undergoing one to one counselling is difficult to define because of the varied nature of individual counselling provided to sex offenders in prison. This counselling can vary from one session addressing a particular problem to intensive ongoing counselling. One of the main aims of individual counselling of sex offenders is to motivate them to address their offending behaviour. In response to such counselling, many offenders, who initially might deny responsibility for their crime or deny any need for treatment, are motivated towards some process of change. For some offenders this results in their undertaking the sex offender treatment programme at Arbour Hill Prison or the Curragh place of detention. For others it results in sustained individual therapy around their offending or engagement in some other programme available in the prison system, for example, the thinking skills course group skills programme.
The sex offender treatment programme takes about nine months to complete. When pre-programme and post-programme assessment is included, the timeframe for completing the programme is about 11 months. On average 10% to 20% of offenders eligible to apply for the sex offender programmes apply for them each year. Priority is given to those offenders who are closest to their release dates but who still have sufficient time left to complete the programme.
It is not possible to quantify the number of current prisoners who will ultimately participate in the sex offender programme as participation is voluntary. As I have already stated there are 16 places available on an annual basis at present. I can indicate the position in regard to the applicants for the two programmes run this year. Out of a total of 45 applicants, 16 were offered places. Of the remaining 29 the vast majority have sufficient time left in their sentence to complete the programme at a future date.
In March the Irish Prisons Service published a major document in this area, an expert report on sex offender rehabilitation in Irish prisons. This report, entitled The Development of a New Multidisciplinary Sex Offender Rehabilitation Programme for the Irish Prison Service, was commissioned under the aegis of a multi-disciplinary steering group, chaired by a senior prison governor. The report's author is Dr. Francesca Lundstrom PhD, a distinguished research psychologist.
The particular emphasis in this report is on laying the foundation for multi-disciplinary sex offender treatment in Irish prisons. The key word here is "multi-disciplinary". This means it is intended to involve specially selected front-line prison officers in delivering such programmes in tandem with other specialist disciplines who work in our prisons, including the education service, the psychology service and the probation and welfare service.
The report is a key document which sets out the foundation for multi-disciplinary sex offender rehabilitation in Irish prisons in the coming years. It is an earnest account of the service's ongoing activity and its future intentions. It is the basis of the service's proposals for increasing access to intensive group therapy for sex offenders from about 16 spaces every 12 months at present to more than twice that number. The report sets forth the rationale for the involvement of the full spectrum of prison staff in the work of delivery of these sex offender programmes.
On reviewing the report the Irish Prisons Service has prioritised the further development and preparation of guidance materials for the implementation, delivery and management of the new multi-disciplinary sex offender programme. This entails reviewing and researching programme materials in other jurisdictions where high quality sex offender programmes are delivered and accredited to an approved standard. The intention is to design, collate and produce a full set of manuals for the delivery of a new Irish prison service multi-disciplinary sex offender treatment programme which will be firmly based on best international practice. These manuals, which are also being produced by Dr. Lundstrom, include theory manuals, as well as manuals on staff training, offender selection and sex offender programme management and evaluation. These manuals will contain the detailed requirements for delivering and supporting such programmes and the requirements needed to obtain accreditation.
Following the delivery of these manuals, the Irish Prisons Service intends to commence with the special selection of prison officers and their training in the delivery of the new programme. The target for the introduction of this programme is September 2003. Initially, the new programme will be integrated into the existing programmes running in Arbour Hill and Curragh prisons before being extended to other prisons.
