Today's tasks

[zotz]

Today, I think that you should all :

1) Read this article from the Daily PinkoGuardian. Any thoughts? NB: it's about paedophiles.

2) Download the mp3 of NoFX's version of Hotel California. It is the finest thing in the history of fine things (if you're as easily amused as I am, at least). Thanks to avalon_bliss for inadvertently pointing me at that one.

3) Boggle for a few minutes at this humungous sheep.

Comments

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

1) I think it'll piss a lot of people off. There is an attitude prevalent amongst readers of the daily mail that what one should do with criminals is punish them, regardless of whether it actually improves their, or our, conditions or not. The idea of treating criminals like human beings, or even of saying "Never mind revenge, how do we stop this happening again?" is utterly abhorrent to such people. But thats because they're stupid. *shrug*
So yeah, I'm all in favour of doing whatever _works_.

2) That's top, thanks!

3) Mmeeeeehhh.

[venta.livejournal.com]

So yeah, I'm all in favour of doing whatever _works_.

I'm curious, though, since it didn't seem to be made clear in the article - are the people who are relased from jail and join these Circles people who have been instructed to, or have chosen to ? To what extent is the 70% success rate attributable to those electing to join the scheme being a self-selecting sample of people who were keen not to offend again.

I could well believe that a ready-made community would help some offenders (particularly those who choose to have one set up for them). I'm not sure it'd be such a success with everyone - though, of course, if it made any difference at all, it'd still be worth doing.

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

That's a good point, and one that isn't covered in that report. however, a reduction of 70%, compared to the British system reduction of 10-15% does seem pretty significant; assuming that approximately the same proportion in each country _want_ to stop offending (I can't think of any reason why there should be a difference between the two countries?), obviously what they're doing does work better than what we're (not) doing!

[venta.livejournal.com]

OK, long and boring waffling about statistics :)

I'm assuming that:
There is a certain percentage of people (the same in the UK and Canada) who want to stop reoffending, and who would benefit from being part of a community.

Not everyone who leaves jail in Canada after a jail term for a paedophile offence joins this Circle program. Those who do join it volunteer.

So... In Canada, of the people who would benefit from a community, some get to join a Circle and 70% of them don't reoffend.

In UK, of the people who would benefit from a community, no one gets to join such a circle, and the statistics are calculated in with all jail-leavers some of whom had every intention of re-offending.

We don't know what the stats are like for the people who leave jail in Canada and are put onto more standard/traditional programs - maybe it's much lower than 10-15%, because all the people who are likely not to re-offend have joine the Circle thingy.

I mean, I suspect the Circle program is still significantly better. It just annoys me that papers chuck around stats without giving you the background properly.

</witter>

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

Well, it says specifically that the 10-15% figure is for the British sex offender treatment program, rather than just flat recidivism rates after prison. Of course, I don't know whether the treatment program applies to all sex offenders, or just those with whom it's likely to be effective, or just those who chose to partake, so that doesn't actually help much!

[zotz]

A bibliography would be nice. The author's a professor, so presumably when he says something has been shown, he means it.

Ah.

Try here

[venta.livejournal.com]

Oooh. Funky.
I wasn't aware of the Google scholar thing, thanks.

[zotz]

green_amber pointed it out earlier today. I hadn't had a chance to look at it yet.

[zotz]

what one should do with criminals is punish them, regardless of whether it actually improves their, or our, conditions or not.

Indeed. It might slip past as being something that happens after prison, though. Or, of course, it might not.