| |
|
|
Post-Conviction Sex Offender Testing
In recent years the polygraph has been brought to bear on the challenge of monitoring convicted sex offenders. The principal goal of sex offender management is to prevent future offenses. Because sex offenders cannot be cured, treatment programs concentrate instead on deterrence, and holding offenders responsible for their behaviors. This accountability requires an end to the use of deception to secure victims and avoid detection, and it is for this purpose that the polygraph is often added to the treatment program. Post-conviction sex offender testing (PCSOT) is divided into four primary types: instant offense, sexual history testing, maintenance testing, and monitoring. Instant offense testing is used when the sex offender has denied committing his crime of conviction, or has retracted an earlier confession. So that treatment can progress, it is important to secure an acknowledgement from the offender that he is guilty of the offense. Sexual history testing is used to uncover past criminal sexual behaviors. Virtually all convicted sex offenders have an extensive history of sexual deviance, and the sexual history examination provides the treatment provider with information that can be used in formulating the offender's treatment and assessing future risk. Maintenance testing is generally requested by the treatment provider to help verify that the offender has complied with his treatment requirements. Monitoring examinations are requested by probation and parole officers to determine whether the offender has complied with the conditions of his release from prison. All forms of PCSOT give emphasis toward the offender fully disclosing his transgressions, to further the treatment and to discourage future offenses.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
