Concern over decline in sex offenders taking prison programmes

The number of prisoners participating in a sex offenders programme in jails has declined over the last few years, it emerged today.

Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said he was concerned by the drop in those seeking to take part in rehabilitation programmes while in prison.

Mr McDowell said a sentencing provision would be included in the Criminal Justice Bill to give prisoners an incentive to join the remedial programmes.

“One of the measures we are going to bring at the committee stage of the Criminal Justice Bill is a sentencing provision to allow courts to suspend part of the total sentence package based upon co-operating with such regimes,” he said.

“So it will be a direct positive incentive for prisoners to fully cooperate with those kind of programmes.”

Mr McDowell added: “It would give them a very clear choice either cooperate or serve a longer sentence.”

Gordon Holmes, chairman of the Parole Board, said officials were deeply concerned by the small amount of prisoners, who had been jailed in the Curragh Prison but were not involved in the Sex Offenders Programme.

“It is surely a matter of concern that prisoners, who, because of the long-term nature of their sentences, become institutionalised, can be, in this day and age, released to the public without any form of training or without being required to attend any of the many programmes available to assist in their rehabilitation,” he said.

“It is only a matter of time until such prisoners go back into their old habits and reoffend again.”

Mr Holmes said the rehabilitation of prisoners required diligent attendance at the programmes.

The chairman said the granting of remission of sentences should be made conditional upon those prisoners co-operating with the service and ensuring they are doing the best to help themselves.

He said the Parole Board was not inclined to recommend any form of early release for sex offenders due to the dangers of repeating the offences.

“That being so the sex offenders themselves don’t see anything in it for them,” Mr Holmes said.

He added: “The difficulty is that where sex offenders are concerned rehabilitation is more difficult because many of the sex offences are ones that are frequently repeated.

“So therefore they are not going to get temporary release as a result of attending these programmes, effectively there is nothing in it for them, they are not doing it.”

The Parole Board’s report for 2004 showed that no prisoners in the Curragh Place of Detention were interviewed for early release.

However, eight out of the 34 prisoners that accepted an invitation to come before the Parole Board had been found guilty of sex offences.