WK3SNPRedue
jholer1
team_c.pptSPECIAL NEEDS POPULATIONS
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Special Needs Populations
August 28th, 2017
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SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATIONS
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In human service work case managers play many roles and deal with a variety of special needs populations. These populations include sex offenders, the mentally ill, women, juveniles, substance abusers, and domestic violence. In this presentation we will focus on and identify the characteristics and specific needs of sex offenders. We will also describe how problems with sex offenders can be resolved. Finally we will discuss what would happen if sex offenders were to be left unattended and not managed properly.
Characteristics of a Sex Offender
- The is no typical or average sex offender
- Sex offending is often a observed, learned and repeated behavior
- Sex offenders may lack impulse control but sexual assault is rarely impulsive
- Sex offender recognize and take the opportunity to offend
- Children
- Women
- The physically, mentally or emotionally impaired or dependent
- Sex offenders usually
- Know their victims
- Are in a position of trust or authority
- Deny, rationalize or minimize their behavior is suspected or caught
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Characteristics of a Sex Offender
One of the biggest mistakes people make when characterizing sex offender is grouping them all into one category. There are some similarities of sex offenders but sex offending is a broad term which sometimes provides for an ambiguous definition. Classifying the sex offender based on his or her background, age, and specific offense(s) is an effective way to describe more specific characteristics of a sex offender. (Harborview Center for Sexual Assault & Traumatic Stress, 2013)
In many cases, sex offenders have a tumultuous relationship with their parent, care provider or a person of trust or authority. The behaviors of sex offending are learned through observation or victimization of their own. Sex offenders also lack impulse control but the actual sexual assault is rarely impulsive and is usually planned and is a preoccupation or fantasy of the perpetrator prior to the sexual assault taking place. The offender is highly astute at recognizing the opportunity to offend and the offense is usually perpetrated against someone smaller and weaker than the perpetrator.
Sex offenders usually know their victims and have manipulated a situation to be put in a position of trust or authority. When the sex offender is suspected, accused, or caught they will initially deny the accusation followed up minimizing the incident of sexual assault. Finally the sex offender will go to great lengths to justify their behavior.
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Specific Needs of a Sex Offender
- Varies greatly from one offender to the next
- Dependent upon
- Age of the offender
- Background of the offender
- Initial sex crime or act perpetrated
- Current location of the sex offender
- Incarcerated
- After care facility
- Probation or Parole
- Therapeutic environment
- Extenuating circumstances
- Mentally ill
- Chemically dependent
- Uncooperative
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Specific Needs of a Sex Offender
Consistent with the characteristics of a sex offender the various needs of the sex offender are going to change as well. The biggest factors in determining the needs of the specific sex offender are going to be based on the age of the sex offender and the offense(s) alleged, charged, and any subsequent convictions. In a high number of cases the sex offender will have been victimized sexually in his or her past as well. Individual psychoanalysis and eventually group therapy may ne required to help the sex offender through their own experiences of victimization.
Determining if the sex offender is incarcerated, in after care in the form of probation, parole, institution or half-way house will be important in determining the sex offender’s level of security or risk. This will also help the case manager determine which resources are available and most valuable based on the sex offenders needs and risk assessments. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2014)
Lastly, special care will need to be taken by the case manager as it relates to the sex offenders health including personal health, possible communicable diseases and confidentiality. Whether the sex offender is also suffering from mental illness or requires prescription medication and whether the sex offender is addicted to alcohol or drugs of any kind.
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Introduction to the Challenges of Sexual Offenses
- Sexual offenses are some of the most complicated challenges facing the society.
- Indeed, this is a challenge that needs a multifaceted and complex intervention (Phenix & Hoberman, 2015).
- This is in regard to taking into account the interests of the various parties affected and involved.
- These include the perpetrators (and their families), the victims (and their families and friends), the stakeholders in the criminal justice system, and the society in general (Phenix & Hoberman, 2015).
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The criminal justice system is broad and consists of three primary categories of stakeholders. These include the legislature which create the laws, the courts which are tasks with adjudication, and the correction parties. These include the prisons, jails, parole, and probation (Williams, Cassella, & Maskell, 2017).
When these parties are engaging in their various obligations, they have to appreciate that the victims need justice, the society ought to be protected, and the offending parties need to be penalized. Nonetheless, penalization is not enough. They should also be assisted to reform and rejoin the society as individuals willing and able to live normally and have respectable relationships with the rest of the members (Phenix & Hoberman, 2015).
Since there are various parties involved, there is the need to balance the aspirations of several interested groups. Everyone has a legitimate interest in having the problem addressed. In fact, even the authorities require of the legislators to come-up with an effective legal framework that lessen the task of dealing with the challenge. There are various activities involved, and this presentation addresses the main ones (Phenix & Hoberman, 2015).
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Investigation and Prosecution
- Of course, the society expects of the government to prosecute offenders as soon as possible (Williams et al., 2017).
- The government is also expected to be non-partisan, and hence the term justice (derived from the word just). “Just” means being impartial (Brownmiller, 2013).
- This is why the government maintains a police-force and the courts.
- Having these avenues is way better than allowing mob justice and public shaming.
- It is also noteworthy that in a normally functioning society, the offending parties have a little chance of ganging up to fight for their turf (Postmus, 2012).
- Gangs may emerge in case mob justice is allowed and encouraged.
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Even the observers who argue in favor of a small government still insist that the roles of the police force and the courts should remain with the government. These are so central to be left in private hands. Of course, private parties would have their own interests, and impartiality could be lost in the process (Postmus, 2012). All parties, including the offending parties, are in need of timely justice; and it is only a police force and the judiciary in free societies which are able to facilitate this in an effective manner. In case the elements of the crime are proved, the offending individuals are sentenced (Williams et al., 2017).
The various statutes have set ranges of punishment with an imposition of minimum as well as maximum number of years one may serve in prison. There are cases where fines and other penalties are imposed. The judges are expected to assess the aggravating and the mitigating factors whenever they are deciding on the exactness of the prison terms. Aggravating factors include someone’s criminal history and the severity of the crime. The mitigating factors mostly tend to reduce the prison sentences, and they include proving that the offender is mentally sick or they could have been seduced or even drugged (Brownmiller, 2013; Postmus, 2012).
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The Prison and Community-Based Intervention Strategies
- Prison facilities are both meant to punish and correct.
- In fact, correction is more important. The offender is supposed to soul-search and possible show remorse (Williams et al., 2017).
- By the time the offenders are completing their sentences, they should have reformed and be ready to live normally.
- Nonetheless, since sexual offenses are so serious, the US Department of Justice provides a platform where sex-offenders are registered.
- This is a deterrence measure meant to forewarn the members of the community.
- However, the members of the community are encouraged to show a human face even as they remain cautious (Postmus, 2012).
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While tracking, supervision, and monitoring are important; it is always important to appreciate the fact that many people reform and stop their offending behaviors. There are instances where the communities themselves have helped offenders improve by simply understanding and supporting them (Williams et al., 2017). The portrayal in the media as well as the popular culture is harmful, and this is why some authorities and non-profit groups have taken it upon themselves to discourage the stereotyping. In any case, almost a third of all offenders happen to be under the age of 18 years. These individuals deserve a second chance, and encouraging the people to be cautious does not mean that they should be shunned forever. Therefore, education is important to both the offending parties as well as to the members of the rest of the community (Postmus, 2012).
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A World Without Help for Sex Offenders
- A world in terror
- Having guns in our homes
- Noting being able to go any wear alone
- fearing for your life and or children when alone
When looking at a world that has not help for sex offenders verses today we would be living in a world of fear for being a lone that anything could happen. Also keeping a very close eye on our loved ones espelly when our children are done with school. There are may pros and cons to being able to give them help giving them someone to talk to as well as being able to not live in fear that someone is going to live next door and stake you. There are many things in this world that would be different they wouldn’t be giving any chance to have jobs and or a family
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Pros and Cons
- Pros
- To be able to help those who seek to do bad things.
- For them to want to better there live and have family's and jobs themselves
- To be able to say they go help and no longer want to hard children or adults
- Cons
- They will still seek out people to harm
- They will do what ever it takes to get what they want
- They will never hold a job or be able to have children yet be around them if they do
When looking at the many things that sex offenders are able to do with there life but choose to keep making the bad choices we tend to look at them through different eyes. For an example we tend to look at them as they are criminals and they will never get better. They will not be able to have family's due to they will fear for there life or being sexually abused. There are also those people that will come out of being impressions and still want to hard those around them because they crave it. Allowing them to get help is a plus but still makes you wonder what it would be life if we didn’t have any systems in place. The world would be a mess and the people would fear for even just walking out the door each day alone.
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A World Without Justice
When looking at the world we live in today 2017 we have secured places for sex offenders to go to and to be able to live in piece with those who have been relapsed. When looking at a the world in a different set of eyes were we didn’t have programs and such to stop them and get them help. We would live in fear to even just walk out side the door alone. There are many people that just walk by and are sex offenders if this was a different world and those individuals would do anything and everything they wanted because they would know they can get away with it.
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References
Brownmiller, S. (2013). Against our will: Men, women, and rape. New York City, New York:
Open Road Media
Harborview Center for Sexual Assault & Traumatic Stress. (2013).
Information About Sexual Offenders. Retrieved from http://www.hcsats.org
Phenix, A., & Hoberman, H.M. (2015). Sexual offending: Predisposing antecedents,
assessments, and management. Berlin, Germany: Springer
Postmus, J.L. (2012). Sexual violence and abuse: An encyclopedia of prevention, impacts, and
recovery [2 volumes]: An encyclopedia of prevention, impacts, and recovery.
Santa Barbara,California: ABC-CLIO
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References
U.S. Department of Justice. (2014). SMART Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring,
Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Retrieved from
http://Https://smart.gov/SOMPAI/pdfs/SOMPAI_full%20Report.pdf
Williams, A., Cassella, J.P., & Maskell, P.D. (2017). Forensic science
education and training. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons
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