Written by two experts in the field of sex offender reintegration, this unique book is based on original empirical data. By including the voices of Core Members, volunteers and professionals in one volume this book offers a highly innovative and important contribution to the increasing literature base on Circles of Support and Accountability. It is suitable for practitioners, policymakers, academics and students alike.
Dr Karen Harrison, Senior Lecturer in the Law School, University of Hull, UK
An interesting and full account into the experience of being part of a Circle Project. This new book guides the reader through the workings of a Circle, drawing on the views of Core Members, professionals working within this multi-agency setting, as well as the crucial contribution and experiences of Circle Volunteers. In doing so it offers practical findings and insights to practitioners and policy makers working in this field, as well as criminology academics and students.
Dr Kirsty Hudson, Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, UK
The Resettlement of Sex Offenders after Custody
Circles of Support and Accountability is a voluntary initiative that assists people with convictions for sexual offences to resettle in the community. People leaving prison with such convictions often have difficulties in resettling. They carry the burden of the conviction itself, which may be both stigmatising and isolating, and they are the subject of sex offender register requirements, parole and other supervisory conditions.
Circles of Support and Accountability in the UK started over ten years ago and have slowly spread across the country. They work closely with the police and probation services but rely entirely on volunteers prepared to give up their time to work with people often otherwise shunned by communities. Circles offer support to the person concerned but also hold them accountable for their future behaviour. They aim to ensure there are no more victims.
This book is based on original research and provides a close- up picture of how these Circles of Support and Accountability work in practice. It brings together for the first time the voices of all the participants, from the offenders and the volunteers through to the Coordinators who link the volunteers to the professionals in the form of the police and probation services.
David Thompson is a lecturer of Criminology at the University of Sheffield. He recently completed his PhD thesis Moving on After Getting Out: Support and Accountability for Sex Offenders which also examined the role of Circles of Support and Accountability.
Terry Thomas is Emeritus Professor of Criminal Justice at Leeds Beckett University. His most recent publications are Sex Crime: Sex Offending and Society (2016, Routledge) and The Policing of Sexual Offences and Sex Offenders (2016, Palgrave Macmillan).
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21 Policing, Port Security and Crime Control
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Edited by Ernesto Savona, Michele Riccardi and Giulia Berlusconi
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Kevin Borgeson and Robin Valeri
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27 Domestic Violence in International Context
Edited by Diana Scharff Peterson and Julie A. Schroeder
28 Child Trafficking in the EU
Policing and Protecting Europes Most Vulnerable
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29 The Resettlement of Sex Offenders after Custody
Circles of Support and Accountability
David Thompson and Terry Thomas with Susanne Karstedt
30 Cybercrime and its Victims
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First published 2017
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2017 David Thompson and Terry Thomas
The right of David Thompson and Terry Thomas to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Thompson, David (David Mark), 1985 author. | Thomas, Terry,
1946 author. | Karstedt, Susanne, author.
Title: Resettlement of sex offenders after custody : circles of support and
accountability / David Thompson and Terry Thomas with Susanne Karstedt.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. |
Series: Routledge studies in crime and society ; 29 | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016052929 | ISBN 9781138898509 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315708539 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sex offendersGreat Britain. | Sex offenders
RehabilitationGreat Britain. | PrisonersDeinstitutionalizationGreat
Britain.
Classification: LCC HV6593.G7 T58 2017 | DDC 364.80941dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016052929
ISBN: 978-1-138-89850-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-70853-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
We wish to thank all the people who have assisted and supported us in the writing of this book. The work emerged from a study completed at the University of Leeds for Circles UK the study was conducted by the authors under the supervision and support of Susanne Karstedt.
Special thanks must first go to all of the participants in the study who gave their time so freely to talk to us. By that we mean the Coordinators, the Core Members, volunteers and the police and probation officers. All are engaged in a difficult project yet all were gracious with their time and fitted us in around their Circles work and other work. This book is dedicated to them for trying something different and making it work.