MINISTER FOR Justice Dermot Ahern has announced a new policy on the management of sex offenders in prison, including a national centre at Arbour Hill prison with a full range of therapeutic interventions.
He said the policy was aimed at bringing about changes in offenders’ lives that reduced the risk of reoffending.
It follows the publication of a report on the management of sex offenders in January, and a forum based on the report last month.
The report was drawn up by representatives of the Department of Justice, the Garda, the Prison Service, the Probation Service and Cosc, the body dealing with domestic and gender-based violence.
It recommended standardised, evidence-based, risk assessments designed for sex offenders which would be put to the court at sentencing.
There would be further risk assessments in prison to identify the type of rehabilitation programme suitable for the individual, and a post-release package aimed at ensuring, as far as possible, no reoffending.
The main innovations announced by the Minister yesterday are initiatives to increase the range and availability of therapeutic interventions in prison, and incentives to encourage participation in them, including the prospect of early, supervised release.
It is intended that all offenders serving at least one year and willing to participate in a therapeutic programme will be able to do so when the scheme is fully operational.
A national centre for sex offenders will be set up in Arbour Hill, with an increase in the number of offenders accommodated there. There will be two satellite centres in Midlands and Wheatfield prisons, where a narrower range of interventions will be available.
Offenders will be transferred to the national centre in accordance with sentence planning and the demand for interventions.
A sex offender unit will be set up in the Prison Service headquarters to monitor sentence planning and liaise with other criminal justice agencies.
A key part of the new policy will be a greater emphasis on the transition from prison to community as stability in employment and accommodation has been found to be crucial in preventing reoffending.
For suitable prisoners in the latter stages of their sentence, there could be transfers to open prisons and possibly periods of supervised early release, which could be combined with electronic monitoring.
Mr Ahern said these measures constituted strong incentives to participate in interventions but, equally important, they could play a vital role in helping offenders reintegrate into their communities after imprisonment.