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Welcome to the EuroPris Knowledge Management System. The table below shows questions and responses from European National Agencies. Select a question for more information or use the filters on the left to narrow down questions based on Agency or Category.
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Introduction: The Hungarian Prison Service has a successful sex offender unit in one of the prisons with a smaller capacity. The Service would like to expand this further, so we would like to ask for the experiences of our partner organisations.
No, they live together with the rest of prison population.
Is there any program designated for sex offenders?Yes, one of the most important and consolidated intervention programme in spanish prisons is aimed at sexual offenders. It is called PCAS (sexual agression control programme).
If the sex offender programs were adopted from abroad, where were they adopted from and what types are they?The spanish one was developed in Spain, in 1996, adopting several theoretical frameworks and inspirations from external authors, but the core, structure and content of the programme is spanish.
At which point of the imprisonment does the inclusion in the program take place (beginning, at the end, when applying etc.)?It is preferable to begin the programme once the 3/4 of the sentence are getting closer, so that most learnings can be implemented in open-regime.
Do you have any risk assessment tool specifically developed for sex offenders?The spanish programme uses the EPAS (spanish instrument), as well as SVR-20, as a way to monitore changes, improvements and re-offending risk.
What are you using the risk assessments for (inclusion into a program, determination of detention risks, assessment of conditional release etc.)?Mainly as a way to make sure that cognitive and behavioural changes are taking place, as well as to determine the risk level before making decisions concerning leaves or progression to the open-regime.
Sex offenders are housed in the departments with other offenders.
Is there any program designated for sex offenders?The care and treatment of sex offenders is individualized according to the offense committed and includes treatment in a psychotherapeutic setting, both in a group and in individual contact. There is no standardized program for sex offenders due to the different characteristics of the offenses (children, adults,...). Rather, the individ-ual need for what it takes to mitigate the risk of new sexual offenses is addressed as part of a multiprofessional approach (involvement of specialized services).
If the sex offender programs were adopted from abroad, where were they adopted from and what types are they?No standardized programs are used (see answer to question 2).
At which point of the imprisonment does the inclusion in the program take place (beginning, at the end, when applying etc.)?No standardized programs are used (see answer to question 2).
Do you have any risk assessment tool specifically developed for sex offenders?Risk assessment for sexual delinquents is done at the beginning of incarceration as part of the assessment at the Assessment and Evaluation Center for Violent and Sexual Offenders (BEST) which is part of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
What are you using the risk assessments for (inclusion into a program, determination of detention risks, assessment of conditional release etc.)?Once the risk assessment is available, the individual correctional and treatment plan is drawn up by involving the specialized services (psychology, social work, social pedagogy, psychotherapy, etc.) and the sex offenders are assigned to these measures.
People convicted of sexual violence are accommodated separately from the general prison population. The Irish Prison Service (IPS) have recently started to transfer of people convicted of sexual violence to a low secure area of the prison estate toward the end of of their sentence, when treatment is complete and if they are deemed as suitable.
Is there any program designated for sex offenders?Yes, the programme in place in the Irish Prison Service is the Building Better Lives (BBL) Programme. The programme has been running for approximately 15 years and is built on the Good Lives Model (Tony Ward) and Rockwood approach (William / Liam Marshall – Canada). The BBL programme has strict inclusion and exclusion criteria for participation, including admission of the offence and harm caused, stability of mental health and personality, sufficient sentence length, moderate to high risk of re-offending, capacity to engage in group programming, as well as lengthy pre and post assessment reports. Treatment typically occurs in the last two years of the sentence and lasts approximately 18 - 24 months. In relation to BBL group programme as it currently operates, breakdown approximates as follows: 25% engage in all or part of the BBL, 25% are not in prison long enough to engage in the BBL, 25% are appealing their sentence and 25% are unsuitable for the BBL due to their mental health, personality instability or denial of the offence (those appealing their offence often deny all or part of their offending also, therefore ‘denial’ as an exclusion criteria constitutes a significant percentage of the population). The programme is currently being reviewed with significant updates expected including: 1. risk assessment at an early stage in sentence to inform sentence management treatment options, 2. working with people who deny and minimise their offence(s), 3. working with people with mental disorders who have been sexually violent, and 4. provision of treatment for people in all risk categories including those with shorter sentences. Critical to this has been the Council of Europe recommendations on the treatment and risk management of people convicted of sexual violence. (b) The sex offender programme delivered by the Irish Prison Service is progressed through potentially three different locations, the initial stage of the BBL programme is the screening, assessment and preparatory group programmes and this is delivered in one locations. On completion the prisoner will be transferred to another location where the main programmes are run. This prison also has an excellent work and education regime to compliment and support people who are engaging in the BBL programme. Prisoners who complete the BBL programme can move to the low secure area of the prison estate if deemed as suitable (d) The programme is voluntary, however all steps are taken to motivate people to engage, including the development of a ‘deniers’ programme from later this year / early 2024.
If the sex offender programs were adopted from abroad, where were they adopted from and what types are they?The BBL programme is based on Canada’s Rockwood model of treatment. As noted, it is currently under significant review.
At which point of the imprisonment does the inclusion in the program take place (beginning, at the end, when applying etc.)?The programme typically takes places in the last two years of sentence however, as a result of the Council of Europe recommendations and engagement on the review of the programme, this will change and people will be engaged with from the beginning of their sentence.
Do you have any risk assessment tool specifically developed for sex offenders?Currently, the Irish Prison Service use the RSVP (Risk of Sexual Violence Protocol). As this is a structured professional judgement assessment and management plan is aligns with our use of the HCR-20v3 (Historical Clinical Risk – 20 v3) and SARAv2 (Spousal Assault Risk Assessment v2) for general violence and intimate partner violence respectively. Owing to the length of time it takes to complete the RSVP, the IPS will move to the Stable and Acute risk assessment in the coming months as part of the broader changes to the programme. The priority is to spend less time in assessment and more time providing treatment.
What are you using the risk assessments for (inclusion into a program, determination of detention risks, assessment of conditional release etc.)?To identify treatment needs for the treatment programme, to support general sentence management and to support supervision by the Probation Service in the community. If the person is serving a life sentence and is engaging with the Parole Board, the risk assessment will be used to inform the Parole Board Report.
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Most commonly separately.
Is there any program designated for sex offenders?Yes, we offer two programs specifically designed for this group. Potential participants are prioritized to programs based on risk level (not victim age). The programs are offered at all prisons for individuals convicted for sexual offending and in the probation service. Inmates are expected to participate in the programs that are planned for them in order to get conditional release after 2/3 of the sentence lenght.
If the sex offender programs were adopted from abroad, where were they adopted from and what types are they?Both programs, Consent and SEIF, were developed within Kriminalvården in Sweden. The programs are based on the risk, need and responsivity framework, applying CBT methods to adress dynamic risk factors for reoffending. The shorter program Consent targets (low to) moderate risk individuals and the more extensive program SEIF moderate to high risk individuals.
At which point of the imprisonment does the inclusion in the program take place (beginning, at the end, when applying etc.)?At the initial phase of the sentence a plan regarding program participations etc is made. The participation can then take place at and time during the sentence.
Do you have any risk assessment tool specifically developed for sex offenders?Yes we do. All convicted individuals are assessed with a tool developed by Kriminalvården, the Risk, Need and Responsivity - Assessment (RNR-A). The tool is validated for general and domestic violence offenders, but not yet for individuals convicted for sexual offending. As specialized instruments imported from other countries, we use the Risk Matrix 2000, Stable, Acute and in some cases the Sexual Violence Risk-20 version 2 (SVR-20).
What are you using the risk assessments for (inclusion into a program, determination of detention risks, assessment of conditional release etc.)?Serveral purposes, but it is primarly done in the beginning of the sentence in order to plan the sentence.
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If, in addition to the prison sentence, the court imposes a protective treatment to offender of sexual violence, such convict shall be placed in a specialised treatment unit. In addition to these persons, convicted persons with mental illness, personality disorder or other serious psychological problems requiring specialised treatment or persons with problems of adaptation to the prison conditions shall also be placed in this unit. There is no segregation of convicts solely based on the nature of the crime (i.e. sexually motivated crime) within our prison service.
Is there any program designated for sex offenders?No.
If the sex offender programs were adopted from abroad, where were they adopted from and what types are they?-
At which point of the imprisonment does the inclusion in the program take place (beginning, at the end, when applying etc.)?As mentioned above, our prison service does not have a resocialization program for this category of inmates. Protective sexological treatment shall be carried out by a convict if it has been imposed in addition to the prison sentence and at least three months remain until the end of the prison sentence.
Do you have any risk assessment tool specifically developed for sex offenders?No.
What are you using the risk assessments for (inclusion into a program, determination of detention risks, assessment of conditional release etc.)?In accordance with Rule 37 of the Recommendation Rec(2003)22 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to member states on conditional release (parole), as of 1 January 2021 our prison service has been using the CRA tool (Crime Risk Assessment) to determine the resocialisation prognosis. The CRA tool is a standardised diagnostic tool belonging to the group of assessment tools referred to as Risk and Needs Assessment Tools worldwide in judicial practice. This tool has undergone extensive pilot validation, expert review, as well as external expert consultation at national and international level and, last but not least, it has been presented at several scientific forums (e.g. European Society of Criminology, EuroPris). It assesses static and dynamic criminogenic factors and complements them with an intuitive assessment of the recidivism risk by four independent expert assessors. Static factors (i.e. constant and unchanging) are considered to be gender and similar, and dynamic factors (i.e. characteristics of the individual that are open to change) are selected data on the behaviour of the convict, his criminal history and compliance with the treatment program recorded during the prison sentence.
Those convicted of sexual offences are largely held separately to the main population but there are prisons with mixed populations for sentenced prisoners
Is there any program designated for sex offenders?There are currently 8 Accredited Programmes in use across prisons in England and Wales targeted at those who have committed sexual offences - they are the Healthy Sex Programme (HSP), Horizon, iHorizon, Kaizen, Becoming New Me Plus (BNM+), New Me Strengths (NMS). There are also two other resources available for those individuals who are identified as needing additional support after completing the aforementioned programmes: the New Me MOT toolkit, and the Living as New Me (LNM) programme. Some but not all of those programmes are also delivered in the community by the probation service. All of the programmes and toolkits mentioned above are designed for adult males aged 18 and above. Each programme is aimed at a different group of individuals. Participation is voluntary in prisons, but the programmes can be mandated in the community, either as a requirement of a release licence from prison or as part of a community sentence.
If the sex offender programs were adopted from abroad, where were they adopted from and what types are they?The aforementioned programmes and toolkits described above were developed centrally by HM Prison and Probation Service
At which point of the imprisonment does the inclusion in the program take place (beginning, at the end, when applying etc.)?We do not stipulate a point in an individual’s sentence at which they must take part in a programme. The individual taking part must have enough time remaining on their sentence to complete the programme. A judgement would be made on an individual basis as to the right time for the person to take part in the programme
Do you have any risk assessment tool specifically developed for sex offenders?The risk assessment we use for everyone, not just those convicted of sexual offences, is called OASys. It incorporates both actuarial risk assessment alongside structured professional judgement to assess the level of risk that someone presents, and to plan their sentence to reduce that risk. As part of that, we have a specific actuarial tool – the OASys Sexual reoffending Predictor (OSP) – for predicting the likelihood of further sexual offending by men convicted of sexual/sexually motivated offences. This is a tool that has been developed by the Ministry of Justice in the UK. We introduced it into probation and prison practice in HMPPS in England and Wales in 2021. The police also use OSP. As an actuarial tool it produces two risk levels: OSP/C – this predicts the likelihood of someone committing a contact sexual offence OSP/I – this predicts the likelihood of someone committing an offence related to indecent images of children You can find out more information about OSP here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementation-and-use-of-oasys-sexual-reoffending-predictor-osp-policy-framework
What are you using the risk assessments for (inclusion into a program, determination of detention risks, assessment of conditional release etc.)?The overall OASys assessment is used to plan the sentence and related risk management. Use of the OSP is outlined in the Policy Framework referred to above. The risk levels produced in the OSP are used to inform the overall risk assessment for that individual, as well as being used to inform targeting for accredited programmes, toolkits and other interventions such as polygraph testing.
No.
Is there any program designated for sex offenders?Yes. A) many factors are evaluated, among them the victims. But this is not deciding the attending in programs. B) some prisons separate during the period of the program and others don’t. C) They are always voluntary.
If the sex offender programs were adopted from abroad, where were they adopted from and what types are they?From UK. SOTP
At which point of the imprisonment does the inclusion in the program take place (beginning, at the end, when applying etc.)?When applying.
Do you have any risk assessment tool specifically developed for sex offenders?Yes It is specifficly designer for the programs and does not align with any others.
What are you using the risk assessments for (inclusion into a program, determination of detention risks, assessment of conditional release etc.)?This risk assessment is for the use of the treatment program.
Jointly
Is there any program designated for sex offenders?/
If the sex offender programs were adopted from abroad, where were they adopted from and what types are they?/
At which point of the imprisonment does the inclusion in the program take place (beginning, at the end, when applying etc.)?/
Do you have any risk assessment tool specifically developed for sex offenders?Yes a)In case of sexual offences, specialized risk assessment instruments are being used (Static & Stable). If the sex offender has also committed other offences, this can be combined with other risk assessments (for general offences, violence, …). b)Imported. c)Originally from Canada, translated in the Netherlands
What are you using the risk assessments for (inclusion into a program, determination of detention risks, assessment of conditional release etc.)?Conditional release
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