Yes there are many variables and there is always an emotional component (with me at least) with regard to child abuse/homicide.
I was also asking as an intro psych student might, since the story is a current event, and it seems at least that psychology has failed to make much headway in providing the tools/understanding that the criminal justice system might need to do a better job. As "everyone knows" parole boards routinely let out people that should not be and that they can't see the obvious that anyone on the street can see. Thanks for the links...I knew someone would come through :) --Mike On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 3:53 PM, Jim Clark <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi > > There are others who post here more capable than I am of addressing this > question, but Michael's (natural) response appears to be driven by emotion > rather than the psychological literature on sex offenders. A couple of > observations: > > 1. With respect to the 90 registered offenders who were interviewed, sex > offender tends to be a very broad term, so the 90 registered offenders needs > to be viewed cautiously. One would also want some idea of the base population > within that 5 mile radius ... 1,000 or 10,000 or 100,000 or .... > > 2. I know nothing about this particular case, but is it in fact true (as > implied perhaps by Michael) that the perpetrator was a previously released > offender? If so, then one would wonder whether it would have been possible > to identify this person as someone who would re-offend (see #3). If not > previously arrested, then harsh penalties (exile!) would only be relevant if > harsh penalties were known to reduce levels of offending in others. How well > has "3 strikes you're out" worked in the USA (other than contributing to the > bankruptcy of California, of course)? > > 3. As with so many decisions, surely there must be some balance between (a) > keeping incarcerated those who will re-offend, and (b) not keeping > incarcerated those who will not re-offend. Here are some statistics on > recidivism in sex offenders from Canada Corrections, an organization that is > I think well respected for its research orientation (e.g., to development of > instruments for predicting recidivism). > > http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/pblct/forum/e082/e082g-eng.shtml > > The gist of the statistics are that even after 5 years, a substantial portion > of sex offenders have not re-offended (or more precisely have not been caught > re-offending). > > 4. As to what is "broke about modern western society," we need to be careful > about drawing inferences about societies on the basis of such cases. To get > some appreciation of the extent of such violence, see: > > http://www.jimhopper.com/abstats/#unrpt > > For example, the report indicates almost 53,000 child homicides worldwide in > 2002. > > None of the above denies the validity of Michael's essential point, that one > would hope that more could be done to prevent these horrific events. > > Take care > Jim > > > James M. Clark > Professor of Psychology > 204-786-9757 > 204-774-4134 Fax > [email protected] > > Department of Psychology > University of Winnipeg > Winnipeg, Manitoba > R3B 2E9 > CANADA > > >>>> Michael Smith <[email protected]> 24-Feb-10 2:52 PM >>> > Having followed the recent heartbreaking news stories about 7 year old > Somer Thompson it really makes me wonder what's broke about modern > western society. > > Is it the justice system? As a society we (meaning those in positions > of authority to change things) don't want to keep sexual predators > away from society? > Is it the psychiatric/psychological assessment process where these > people are let out again? > Or is it just that this society is incapable of fixing this problem, > but we don't want to admit it? > > I mean the last news story I read said that the investigators had just > finished interviewing the last of the ninety (yes ninety) registered > sexual predators within a 5 mile radius of the Thompson home. > > Is it time to start looking at some uninhabited islands in the middle > of the ocean where they can be dropped off? > > --Mike > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&n=T&l=tips&o=848 > or send a blank email to > leave-848-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13541.42a7e8017ab9578358f118300f4720fb&n=T&l=tips&o=853 > or send a blank email to > leave-853-13541.42a7e8017ab9578358f118300f472...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=872 or send a blank email to leave-872-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
