Sex offenders serving prison sentences may be able to avail of early release in return for participating in therapy programmes, it was announced today.
The Government is also to establish a new centre at Arbour Hill Prison to accommodate sex offenders, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said.
The measures are included a new policy aimed at reducing the likelihood of sex offenders offending once they have completed prison sentences.
Announcing the policy today, Mr Ahern said that it had been designed to ensure that high risk sex offenders “will not simply serve out their sentences without engaging with relevant services.”
Among the measures included in the policy are new initiatives to increase the range and availability of therapeutic interventions and the establishment of a new Sex Offender Unit in the Prison Service to monitor sentence planning and liaise with other relevant agencies.
In addition to the new Arbour Hill centre, two satellite centres to accommodate sex offenders are also to be established at the Midlands and Wheatfield Prisons.
While individual therapy will continue to be offered to offenders, a new group-wide rehabilitation programme, entitled ‘Building Better Lives’, is also to be introduced at Arbour Hill to replaces the Sex Offender Programme which was initiated in 1994 and concluded last year.
About 60 prisoners are expected to take part in the programme each year with the hope that the majority of sex offenders who are serving sentences of at least 12 months will participate.
Under the new programme, offenders who are close to ending their sentences may be transferred to open prisons and even get early release under supervision. Mr Ahern said such measures would not only encourage offenders to participate in the programme would also help them such individuals reintegrate in their communities after imprisonment.
Such temporary release would be subject to strict conditions, including participation in appropriate community-based interventions and, potentially, electronic monitoring, Minister Ahern said. He added that decisions in individual cases will take full account of the concerns of victims where known.
A phased approach to implementation of the new programme is envisaged with the initial transfer of prisoners in and out of Arbour Hill Prison taking place over several months.
