By Alexandra Marks
Christian Science Monitor
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005
The national debate over how best to deal with dangerous sexual predators is playing out in a highly charged political way in New York. It centers on the issue of civil commitment, laws that allow the government to institutionalize unsafe sexual offenders in mental hospitals after they served their time in prison.
Advocates contend this is the best way to keep dangerous, repeat sexual offenders from striking again. But opponents argue that civil confinement of sexual offenders has proved to be extremely expensive and not as effective as longer sentences, intensive treatment, and post-incarceration supervision.
It is a highly emotional issue: Just what does a government do with people who clearly pose a danger? States across the country, which have been grappling with it for two decades, are still working to come up with the best solution. In the 1990s, 16 states passed civil-confinement laws for sexual offenders. Since then, most have focused instead on increasing sentences for sexual offenders and improving post-incarceration treatment and supervision.
"There's certainly been a trend in states to pay attention to how long they go to prison and, if they're going to get out, how do we supervise them effectively in the community," says Donna Lyons, criminal-justice program director for the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. "They're really looking at the whole picture. There's really not just one solution being pursued."
http://csmonitor.com/2005/1207/p03s03-ussc.html