LAKE MONROE, FLORIDA – August 20,
2013.
“Sex Predators
Unleashed” was the headline on the cover of Sunday’s Ft. Lauderdale
Sun-Sentinel. The attention-grabbing story highlighted several instances where
Florida’s civil commitment program had failed victims by not keeping those
considered for civil commitment locked up.
The crimes
featured in the article were tragic. They should have never happened. The Sun
Sentinel found that “1,384 sex offenders had been rearrested on new sex
charges. In comparison, 759 sex offenders have been committed to the state’s
sex predator treatment center. That means for every one committed, nearly two
others were released and then arrested on a sex charge.” What the article does
not say is that all of the sex offenders released from Florida prisons –
31,0000 of them -- were screened for civil commitment over 14 years. Of
approximately 31,000 sex offenders who were assessed and released, there were
1,400 recidivists. That statistic represents a 5% recidivism rate over 14
years. That means that for every one re-arrested, about 20 did not go on to
commit new sex crimes. In 95% of the cases, the screening team,
evaluators, courts and program officials made the right call.
Of the sexual
recidivists, there were 14 murders, accounting for about of 1% of the
recidivistic cases and less than 5 in 10,000 of all sex offenders released from
prison. While these egregious cases are heinous and unacceptable, they are rare
events. In most cases the Sexually Violent Predator program did, in fact, do a
good job of identifying the worst of the worst. The vast majority of sex
offenders did not go on to commit any new sex crime and most are strictly
supervised in the community.
Jill Levenson,
Associate Professor at Lynn University, was one of the experts interviewed for
the article. The Florida Action Committee (FAC) spoke with Dr. Levenson about
the article and she stated, “It is naïve to think that we can prevent all
repeat crimes. The best we can do is use the best evidence we have to identify
those at highest risk to reoffend using an empirically derived and consistent
system. These tragic cases should be thoroughly examined so that the SVP
program, probation officers, treatment providers, and court officials can
identify areas where specific policies or procedures can be improved. At the
same time, there should be a close look at the 95% of offenders who did not
reoffend, so we can identify and enhance the sex offender management and
treatment strategies that are working well.”
Dr. Eric Imhof
PsyD, stated, “risk assessments of future human behavior are on the cutting
edge of science with a voluminous literature base and new information about how
to improve risk assessments published by researchers every day. It should be noted that the Department of
Children and Families (DCF) Sexually Violent Predator Program has stringent
standards for training and experience before contracting with an evaluator and
requires their evaluators to attend intensive annual or often bi-annual
trainings to keep them up to date on the latest developments in the field. These standards ensure quality control at the
second phase of evaluation process for sexually violent predators. Unfortunately, there is no such oversight for
evaluators once the case is transitioned from DCF to the courts and it is noted
that, in three of the high profile rape and murder cases described in the
article, these offenders were released, based in part, on testimony proffered
by evaluators who are not, and have never been, DCF evaluators and one that is
no longer a DCF evaluator. This leads
one to question the quality control that is in place during the commitment or
annual review phase of the process.
Ironically, Florida does have legislation that requires mental health
professionals assessing or treating sex offenders to undergo minimum training
and attend a minimum number of continuing education requirements to become
‘Qualified Practitioners’ (F. S. 948.001(9) & Florida Rule 64B4-7.0081); however, this standard is
under-enforced and the establishment of detailed standards for ‘Qualified
Practitioner’ were circumvented by psychologist and psychiatrists who perform
the vast majority of sexually violent predator evaluations and testimony. Requiring certification by the State of
Florida or, at least, establishment of detailed criteria to define ‘Qualified
Practitioner’ for psychologists and psychiatrists would go a long way to
ensuring minimum standards and quality control for those mental health
professionals that work with this potentially dangerous population.”
FAC agrees with
Dr. Eric Imhof. While the legislature is well meaning here, there are a few
areas in which this process can improve.
As this is a highly specialized area there should be required training
and continuing education in this field. It should be a public safety issue, not
a political one. FAC supports having a step-down practice for anyone released
to have support in the community and checks and balances, not as additional punishment,
but for public safety to ensure a released former offender from the SVPP
program has a connection in the community to have access to resources to assist
in transitioning safely and successfully back to society.
FAC also spoke
with Dr. Suzonne Kline, PsyD who, for years, headed up
the SVP program for the State of Florida. Dr Kline disagreed with many of the
findings in the Sun-Sentinel investigation. “No changes were made to the
Sexually Violent Predator Program for budget purposes. During my tenure, the
program was continuously funded and supported by the agency. Criteria were not
narrowed, but intentionally tightened to reflect the most recent scientific
literature in the field and for screening purposes only, making the program
more efficient and in line with the Florida Statute to identify the most
dangerous of sexual predators. In addition, a third independent expert
was brought in and required to review all cases with 2 or more sex
convictions. This represented an additional safe-guard for the program's
screening process. If any one expert requested a face-to-face evaluation, the
case moved forward.”
Dr. Kline also
agreed with Dr. Levenson and stated, “No program can be 100% effective. We are
dealing with human behavior. Despite enormous strides in actuarial and dynamic
risk assessment, the fact remains that we cannot predict the future. What we
can offer, however, are estimates of how likely one individual's risk of
recidivism relates to another.”
When putting
public safety at the forefront, Dr. Kline’s position on the matter is in line
with those of most experts in the field of sex offender management as well as
victim’s advocacy groups; “the vast majority if sex crimes are NOT committed by
convicted sex offenders. They are committed by first-time
offenders. Educating the public, policy-makers and media of this
empirically validated fact is of the utmost importance in order to change
public policy and make our communities safer.”
Florida
Action Committee (FAC), founded in 2006, is a state-wide consortium
of concerned citizens and professionals whose purpose is to promote the
prevention of sexual abuse while preserving the safety and dignity of all
citizens through carefully structured laws targeting the truly violent, forced,
and/or dangerous predatory acts of sex. FAC believes that many aspects of the
current approach to sex offenders seriously undermine justice and actually
increase the threat of sexual assault against others, particularly children.
FAC opposes a publicized registry of sex offenders and seeks to bring an end to
the humiliation of people who have already paid for their crimes. FAC asserts
that only by supporting justice for all people—offenders and victims alike can
a truly safe society be built and secured for all Americans.
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