Project Manager and Senior Research Adviser Dr Nick Wilson.
A pilot treatment programme for high-risk prisoners with a history of repeat adult rape is likely to reduce their risk of re-offending by an average of 17 per cent.
A sophisticated assessment tool was used to calculate changes in the participants’ risk factors - such as sexual deviancy, emotional control, and their insight into when and why they offend.
Project Manager Dr Nick Wilson says the estimated 17 per cent reduction of risk factors should translate to a lower rate of sexual re-offending for participants in the pilot and shows the worth of the experimental programme.
“Recent research shows that a reduction in risk lets us accurately predict that these men will commit fewer sexual offences.”
He says he believes the programme was successful because it was specifically tailored for high-risk adult rapists.
Nine out of 10 long-term prisoners graduated from the programme at Auckland Prison in November 2006, and another intensive eight-month programme is currently being run for a further 10 high-risk rapists. A third programme is also scheduled for next year.
While the re-offending rate for those committing sex offences against adults has traditionally been relatively low at 14-15 per cent - compared to 21 per cent for child sex offenders - high-risk rape offenders have a sexual re-offending rate of 50-60 per cent.
Treatment encompassed 275 therapy hours over eight months, delivered by experienced Department psychologists, and involved participants in role play, sharing ideas and information, learning new coping and other skills, and finishing with individual presentations to the group for each of the three programme phases. The phases involved looking at barriers to treatment and beliefs associated with rape; examining individual participant rape offences; and focussing on the development of pro-social goals and values and ‘safety plans’.
Nick says the evaluation results showed some similar trends to a programme run at Clearwater Prison in Canada - which had a two-thirds reduction in sexual re-offending.
As in the Canadian programme, the New Zealand evaluation showed participants were more ready to change, and less likely to blame others for their offending or to justify their actions.
Methods to assess behaviour and belief change among participants included selfreport, interviews, and comparing observed behaviour in therapy and other environments with the self-report responses.
Nick says all participants have on-going treatment needs, and are likely to have further assessments with Psychological Services staff. While the participants returned to other prison environments, they were encouraged to continue to address risk issues and engage in other therapy, such as prison employment, alcohol and drug treatment, and other rehabilitation programmes. In addition, the placement of participants in other prison settings following treatment allowed the reliability of the positive changes noted in therapy to be reassessed over time before consideration of release into the community.
”One offender is doing a Sycamore Tree programme* to address victims’ issues, and has arranged to take part in the nine-month programme at the Violence Prevention Unit to address his non-sexual violence,” Nick says.
In his evaluation report, Nick advises that it’s necessary to prepare for high levels of paranoia and hostility among participants in such programmes. To manage these barriers to change, he recommends ‘time out’ (programme breaks), and transparency in communication (written where appropriate). Other core needs for such programmes include the continued involvement of a cultural consultant, and an increased focus on treatment for sexual deviance.
* The Sycamore Tree Programme is a victim awareness programme run by Prison Fellowship. It helps offenders understand the impact of their crime on their victims and accept responsibility for their actions.
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ISSN 1178-8453