Sexual Offenders and the Criminal System: Perceptions, Beliefs, and Science

This book demonstrates that the criminal justice system in the United States has allowed the natural emotions surrounding sexuality to allow the minority of sexual offenders who are truly dangerous to be merged with the majority of offenders who pose little, if any, risk to be at large. Such aggregations force the system to exhaust resources while ignoring the burgeoning research into the assessment and treatment of such offenders. Relying on research in the literature combined with his many years of experience, Maletzky details how the system operates at present and offers suggestions for change to re-align what we know about sexual offending with how such offenders might be better managed within the criminal justice system. The work provides an overview of the process from the original apprehension of sexual offenders through the determination of their guilt, their detention in prisons or jails, and their supervision following incarceration. Allowing scientific advances to inform decisions in these matters will not only enhance public safety but will spare unnecessary expense, save taxpayers money, and actually serve to prevent future recidivism among such offenders. This work is thought-provoking for attorneys, prosecutors, legal assistants and law clerks, members of the judiciary, those who teach or are students of the administration of justice, those who assess or treat sexual offenders, and offenders and their families affected by the system.