Balancing Political and Criminogenic Needs: Evaluating the New Zealand Department of Corrections’ Response to Men Assessed With a Below Average Risk for Sexual Recidivism

• Published in: Sexual abuse Vol. 34; no. 4; pp. 456 - 482
• Main Authors: Carr, Angela E., Willis, Gwenda M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Criminology; Men; Organizational effectiveness; Recidivism; Risk; Sex crimes; Sex offenders; Treatment methods; Treatment outcomes; Treatment programs; New Zealand; recidivism; risk; need; responsivity; child sexual abuse; treatment effectiveness
• ISSN: 1079-0632; 1573-286X
• DOI: 10.1177/10790632211042365

Current research provides little evidence for the effectiveness of treatment in reducing sexual offence recidivism amongst low-risk populations. However, in real-world correctional settings, program delivery rarely occurs in a vacuum, treatment may be politically mandated and unidimensional measures of program success may preclude recognition of broader benefits. The current study investigated the effectiveness of a low-intensity treatment program, both in terms of participants’ recidivism outcomes and in terms of broader organizational/systems impacts. The results demonstrated low base rate recidivism across both program participants (n = 311) and a comparison group of men who were assessed as demonstrating similar static sexual offence recidivism risk (n = 391), and little evidence of reduced recidivism following treatment. However, program administration led to many potential participants being identified as demonstrating higher levels of dynamic risk and overridden to more intensive treatment options (n = 101). Given evidence that such options do effectively reduce recidivism in higher risk populations, these findings may suggest an overall positive net effect.