SEX offenders jailed in the past 15 years are being offered rehabilitation to stop them committing similar crimes when they are released.

The Sex Offender Treatment Programme (SOTP) is designed to give offenders an understanding into why they committed the offences, the impact on their victims and to equip them with the skills required to lead a life free from sex crimes.

There are six different voluntary programmes available to inmates at Risley Prison that are carried out in small groups and range in intensity.

Risley is a specialist site for sex offenders and one of 25 jails across England and Wales that offers such treatment.

Nicola Davies speaks to Karen Stewart, a forensic psychologist managing the SOTP, Sagheer Hussain, head of psychology and programmes, and Jo Middleton, head of performance improvement, about the prison’s role in dealing with sex offenders.

How do you identify which course is suitable for an offender?

Karen: “Men are assessed before enrolment to know their level of risk. It is not just based on the offence, it is also based on their age, victim type, number of offences and their relationships.

“We see sexual offenders as individuals. When someone arrives here we try to see them as soon as possible and assess their needs and formulate a sentence plan.

“A lot of men struggle to admit what they have done and deny their offence or refuse to talk about it so we work closely with them to build a rapport and encourage them to talk about their offences.”

Jo: “The Prison Service is set up for a man to accept responsibility and start enrolling on programmes and treatment so they can progress through their sentences quicker.”

Karen: “Before they start treatment we will sit down with them and identify risk factors. Some cases are more complex and require us to tap into different services such as health care and clinical psychologists if we perceive an offender has a personality disorder or other mental illness.”

How effective are SOTPs in preventing re-offending?

Karen: “Research suggests that they are effective, especially in medium to low risk prisoners and in reducing violent offending..”

Sagheer: “We look at reduction in reconviction rates but the main way is through the change in attitudes and beliefs. Have they more control over their lives?

“We do see a lot of positive changes as prisoners go through the programmes and they also talk about those changes, in particular regarding their self-esteem.”

How do you get men to accept what they have done?

Karen: “On each programme we have different techniques, skills and exercises. We encourage offenders to accept responsibility and look at ways to elicit that.

“For example, role-plays such as writing a letter from the victim’s perspective and writing to his own victim and in doing so considering what he would say to them – although we never send these letters.”

Is there a psychological profile of a sex offender?

Sagheer: “We usually find someone who has been abused has distorted views of relationships but we have lots of men who have not been abused who go on to abuse.

“But there is no homogenous group. It is not class or culture specific.”

Karen: “We know sexual interest, attitudes toward women, poor problem solving and controlling emotions all play a part in sexual offending but one man who committed a rape could be completely different to the next rapist.”

What happens to sex offenders who refuse to do the courses?

Karen: “We meet with them regularly and build a rapport.

“They can be denying the offences or feel that if they admit it they will lose the support of family members.

“A number of men can be offending for years so when we ask them to look at it, it’s quite a big thing and they can be really fearful.”