Sex Offender Recidivism Report

Overview Recidivism in sex offenders returning to the community consistently remains a constant concern for society. Recent studies have directed in the direction of guidelines for professionals evaluating sex offenders with exclusive attention on identifying sexual recidivism as a whole. Clinicians must approach sex offender testing with caution; there is not an exact method of predicting sexually deviant behavior with 100 percent accuracy. However, multiple assessments have demonstrated the ability to identify and predict erotic deviant behavior (DeClue & Zavodny, 2014).

The Static-99R (revised in 1999) is one of the most widely used forensic assessments developed to predict deviant sexual behavior in adult sex offenders. The Static was

The Static risk assessment was revised in 2009 to incorporate the age of the offender, which was not originally a measure in the previous version. Age was the only category that was added that was not presented as a constant in the assessment whereas the age of the offender would change yearly. The age item was added when research revealed that sexual recidivism declines as the offender increases in age (DeClue & Zavodny). The Static-99 and the Static-99R were designed to provide valuable information in a sensible time frame. In addition to the timely manner that the assessment is administered, it is available in seven different languages, including English, French, Swedish, Finnish, Chinese, German and Dutch

The study compared predictive accuracy in both tests amongst sex offenders and discovered that both tests are comparable to each other and generated good interrater reliability. Results also concluded that both assessments demonstrated excellent predictive accuracy for nonsexual violent and general offenses (De Vogel, De Ruiter, Van Beek, & Mead, 2004). The study showed that “Although this group of sex offenders is representative for Dutch sex offenders with a tbs-order, they are probably not for sex offenders in general” (De Vogel, De Ruiter, Van Beek, & Mead). A large margin of the sex offenders that were assessed were placed in the high-risk group, and very few were placed in the low-risk group. The Dutch study showed very low accuracy and reliability in comparison to the newer studies performed. Different techniques have been implemented to properly measure the risks of recidivism over the last 50 years, but the Static-99 has been the most commonly used for evaluating sex offenders (Brouillette-Alarie & Proulx, 2013). The test integrates 10 static risk factors that are historical indicators (other than age) that cannot be altered by an intervention. “The predictive validity of the Static-99 for sexual recidivism is among the best in the field of sexual aggression” (Brouillette-Alarie & Proulx). In the area of sexual offending, the Static-99