Moving Forward Making Changes: evaluation of a group-based treatment for sex offenders

Footnotes

1. 'Stable 2007' is part of the 'Stable and Acute 2007' ( SA07) assessment tool for measuring dynamic risk factors for sexual offending recidivism – that is, factors which may be amenable to change (as distinct from 'static risk factors', which are relatively immune to change). 'Stable' factors are personal skills deficits or behaviours that may be addressed through treatment and supervision (see RMA, 2013).

2. Including one partial interview, which could not be rearranged within the fieldwork period.

3. All sites were invited to send attendees, but 3 were unable to do so on the day.

4. While research indicates that acknowledging the offence is not a pre-requisite for successful treatment of sex offenders (e.g. Marshall et al, 2001), we were unable to find definitive evidence on the specific question of whether or not the offence should be discussed or avoided during treatment. Private communication with the research team from a Canadian academic expert on the treatment of sex offenders outlined similar arguments to those discussed above as to why it might be viewed as helpful to discuss the offence - particularly in terms of helping offenders to understand the cognitive distortions and other risk factors that led up to the crime. On the other hand, he highlighted the need to mitigate against the possibility of discussion of the offence leading to arousal, bragging or bravado, as well as noting links to the wider debate about the potential for mixing risk groups to lead to unintended negative consequences (that exposure to the experiences and language of more anti-social peers can undermine the scope for programmes to have a positive impact on lower-risk individuals) (see for example Lloyd et al, 2013).

5. Criminal Justice Social Work staff allocated to supervise sex offenders while they are on license or on CPO/Probation Orders.

6. Although the MF:MC manual states that staff should have completed their own organisation's Group Work skills package prior to attending MF:MC training, there was nonetheless a perception that staff who were less familiar with delivering group-based programmes would benefit from additional training on this.

7. RM2K is a measure of 'static' risk factors for re-offending. These are factors that are relatively immune to change but which analysis of group data suggests are often associated with recidivism.

8. The four sites who were delivering MF:MC before the IT system was in place indicated to the evaluation team that, across their sites, at least 50 men had started and completed the programme but were not accounted for in the data.

9. For example, because of delays in arranging the post-programme SA07 assessment with the Case Manager (of 2-3 months in some cases); because men have refused to complete the post-programme psychometrics, or because it has not been possible to obtain a significant other interview.

10. Based on having a start date for group work recorded in the data and being recorded as 'suitable' for the programme

11. Men recorded as 'unsuitable', plus any men recorded as removed at risk assessment and programme suitability stage

12. They have a programme start date, but their programme suitability is not specified.

13. 230 have a post-programme Stable 2007 score; 242 have either a post-programme Stable 2007 score, AND/OR the verbatim 'reason for removal' recorded in the data indicates that they completed the programme; 266 appear to have completed the Managing the Future module, which is intended to be the final module completed by all MF:MC participants.

14. Based on all men who have a date of removal from the programme, excluding any whose 'reason for removal' was due to 'successful completion', who were removed at the risk assessment stage, or who had another 'reason for removal' that indicated they never started MF:MC group work (e.g. MF:MC was not a condition of their sentence).

15. Defined in Schema Therapy as "broad, pervasive themes regarding oneself and one's relationship with others, developed during childhood and elaborated throughout one's lifetime, and dysfunctional to a significant degree." http://www.schematherapy.com/id63.htm