Social Control of Sex Offenders

Social Control of Sex Offenders

D. Richard Laws Social Control of Sex Offenders A Cultural History

D. Richard Laws Pacific Behavioural Assessment Victoria, British Columbia, Canada ISBN 978-1-137-39125-4 ISBN 978-1-137-39126-1 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-39126-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016940978 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 Th e author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Th e use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Th e publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: Cultura RM / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper Th is Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London

To my colleagues, associates, and friends who have supported, guided, disagreed, and collaborated with me for nearly half a century. Also to those ex-offenders who have pulled up their socks and are trying to live responsible offense-free lives in the face of daunting challenges.

Acknowledgments I am indebted to many people. Thanks are due to the following: Julia Willan, my editor at Palgrave Macmillan, who encouraged me to stick with the project when I considered giving it up; to Dominic Walker at Palgrave Macmillan for excellent editorial assistance; to Shadd Maruna, who shared some of the initial ideas with me; to Tony Ward, who provided strong encouragement for the project throughout; special thanks to Karl Hanson, who provided much information that helped me better understand actuarial assessment; to Brian Abbott and Karen Franklin, for providing Appendix 1; for a little help from my friends, thanks to Maia Christopher, Andrew J.R. Harris, Randal Kropp, Christopher Lobamov Rostovsky, and Caroline Logan; thanks very much to the international perspectives contributors: Lawrence Ellerby, Mark Blandford, Anne-Marie McAlinden, Caoilte Ò Ciardha, Martin Rettenberger, Jules Mulder, Andreas Mokros, Leni Helle Rivedal, Niklas Långström, Aini Laine, Petr Weiss, David Cohen, Andrew Day, Gwenda M. Willis, Chi Meng Chu, and Judy Hui; finally, and not the least, to my wife Cynthia Mills, who kept me going when the going got tough. vii

Contents 1 Introduction: What This Book Is About 1 2 Moral Panic: Threat to the Social Order 11 3 Early Historical Treatment of Social Deviance 23 4 The Medicalization of Deviance: Sex Offender as Mental Patient 37 5 The Sexual Psychopath/Predator Laws: Legal Construction of Deviance 51 6 Assessment of Risk to Reoffend: Historical Background 73 7 Assessment of Risk to Reoffend: Actuarial Versus Risk Formulation 91 8 Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification 121 ix

x Contents 9 Community Restrictions on Sex Offender Behavior 141 10 The International Picture of Social Control 157 11 Psychological Treatment: Risk Reducer or Life Enhancer? 173 12 Conclusions and Future Outlook 201 Appendix 1 217 References 225 Index 229