Police Officer Insights into a Sex Offender Registration Scheme and Risk Assessment: Assessing the Validity of the SHARP Risk Assessment Tool

Abstract

The sexual abuse of a child is one of the most serious crimes a person can commit and can cause a lifetime of severe and ongoing problems for the victim. With the impact of this crime being so acute and often high profile, it brings about a number of challenges in the management of these offenders in the community. The introduction of sex offender registries is the most recognised method used in managing sex offenders living in the community, and has been an established approach to management within Australia for nearly 20 years. As legislation currently stands in Australia, each state and territory is required to have regulations in regard to the registration of convicted sexual offenders. Policies such as registration are often based on a misperception that child sex offenders will pose an ongoing risk to society, and that there is an unacceptable risk of reoffending among this group of offenders. While sex offender registers are yet to prove their unequivocal usefulness, police officers managing the register are aided by risk assessment tools to determine the likelihood of reoffending. The necessity of risk assessment as part of offender management through a registration scheme is two-fold: first, it assists police in identifying who are their most risky offenders and who will therefore require more intensive management; and second, it guides the (often limited) resources of the police and ensures this is directed towards the areas, and offenders, where it is needed the most. This thesis offers an area of research that is limited in the current empirical literature around police officer perception of sex offender registries and the risk assessment tools they use as part of ongoing offender management. Study one (Chapter 2) reports the findings of 17 police interviews with officers responsible for managing convicted sex offenders in the community on a sex offender registration scheme. Officers were asked about their thoughts and opinions on the register and risk assessment tools while also detailing their policing experience. Nine main themes were identified from the interviews. These were: the purpose of the register; concerns about community perceptions; resources; the essential but limited use of risk assessment tools; a desire for individual management tailored to the offender; the need for more training despite staff competency; the insufficient sharing of important information among stakeholders; concerns around the relevance of sex offender legislation; and confusion about how to understand and manage online offenders. A significant finding of this study was of the need for a dynamic risk assessment tool that police officers can use. This finding was particularly important for study two and guiding the present thesis. Study two (Chapter 3) examined the five-year follow-up recidivism rates of 103 registered sex offenders. This was done by a comparison between two risk assessment tools: the SHARP and the Risk Matrix 2000 (RM2000). The SHARP is a five-factor dynamic risk assessment tool used to predict recidivism among sex offenders and was designed specifically for use within a law enforcement environment. This study aimed to test the validity of the SHARP to predict sexual recidivism. Results of the study indicate that the SHARP has medium predictive validity for sexual recidivism, and large predictive validity for both violent and general recidivism. The SHARP outperformed the RM2000 in predicting sexual, violent and general recidivism. Study three (Chapter 4) continued with the findings from study two and reports on survey results of 10 police participants responsible for assessing the risk of recidivism of convicted sex offenders on a register. The survey aimed to gather the insights of police officers currently utilising the SHARP through a combination of quantitative and qualitative responses. Police were asked about their views of the register and the SHARP dynamic risk assessment tool. Participants expressed satisfaction with the use of the SHARP and highlighted their ability to code important risk factors prudent to sexual offending. Qualitative analysis revealed favourable attitudes towards the SHARP and its usefulness as a risk management tool. In combination, the findings of the three studies significantly contribute to the literature on policing sex offender registries and the use of risk assessment tools by law enforcement. Police officers are tasked with a difficult and challenging job in maintaining a sex offender register and managing convicted sex offenders in the community. To aid this, police require an effective risk assessment tool that allows them to assess for risk among registered sex offenders. Officers are required to identify their highest risk offenders and tailor offender management accordingly. Police have identified that some offenders will require greater focused management in the community. This thesis has highlighted not only how to better improve sex offender registers but also what is needed for an offender to reduce their risk and how officers can identify this. The thesis also demonstrates that the SHARP is an effective tool in predicting sexual recidivism among registered sex offenders.