SO what now for released sex offender Alwyn Wayne Brown?
Will community fear force him to another suburb, and then another, and then another, and then back to gaol? Will a potentially rehabilitated man be unable to re-integrate into society because of the stigma of his crimes?
Queensland criminologist Kelly Richards believes the only way to stop paedophiles re-offending is to put an arm around them; not run them out of town.
“If prison seems easier than the community, a sex offender will have every reason to commit another offence so he can go back inside,” she warns.
• Peter Tinley with Coolbellup parents: the Willagee Labor MP has organised a petition, demanding more intensive supervision of a released sex offender. Photo by Matthew Dwyer
She’s done extensive studies on the Circles of Support and Accountability program, which provides paedophiles with an emotional support group and helps with medical services, housing and employment. COSA operates in Canada, the US, the UK and NZ, and was trialed for the first time in Australia this year, receiving $40,000 in funding from the SA government.
“International evidence is promising,” Dr Richards says. “It suggests that COSA can reduce not only sexual reoffending but also violent and general reoffending compared with offenders who don’t receive support from a COSA.
“The time of release from prison is a very unstable one for this type of offender. They have often been incarcerated for long periods and have ‘burnt their bridges’ and therefore have few supports in the community.”
Dr Richards says COSA is the only program of its type in Australia to receive government funding. She says a 2009 Canadian study showed sex offenders in COSA reoffended 83 per cent less than a control group. “COSA would enhance community safety and child protection, and should be properly funded by governments.”
The Herald asked corrective services minister Joe Francis if he thought groups like COSA should be funded in WA, but he declined to comment.
Willagee Labor MP Peter Tinley says a halfway house-style approach is needed to ease offenders back into society.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK
Have these ppl who are pro release for this animal let him move in to their street, their apartment complex. I bet their tune would change. Hoes the view from the cheap seats.
What a load of shit. Pedophiles are sexually attracted to children, a community embracing pedophiles is nothing but a recipe for disaster. Did you grow up in a family where pedophiles were protected in the name of family solidarity? I did, it’s a recipe for failure that invariably puts vulnerable children in harms way, instead of protecting them as should be done. I strongly suggest you try doing your job and researching before you post such ignorant and damaging garbage.