Prof to Sentencing Commission: Sex Offenders Can Be Treated

Eric Ray, KCPW News, Augustus 7, 2008 

There's a widely held public belief that when sex offenders are released from jail, it's only a matter of time until they commit another crime. However, Larry Bench, a University of Utah criminology professor, says that's usually not the case in Utah.

"When we looked at people going through the system for an extended period of time, the overall recidivism rate for offenders that came back to the system for new sex offenses was approximately 10%," says Bench.

Bench presented the results of his study to the Utah Sentencing Commission yesterday. Over 25 years, the study followed 383 sex offenders incarcerated at the Utah State Prison and released to the Bonneville Community Corrections Center. 

The study examined 12 different forms of offender relapse, including sex and non-sex related felonies and misdemeanors. Bench says if an offender goes back to prison, it will probably be for a minor, non-sex related offense.

"The most likely reason for people to come back to the Utah State Prison is parole revocations. So these would be technical violations that offenders have committed, like failing to report or perhaps violation of curfew, or one of the conditions of the probation parole agreement," says Bench.