PRISON officers have called for mandatory treatment programmes for sex offenders in prison. Over 100 sex offenders are due for release over the next two years and few will have participated in any form of treatment or therapy programme, the annual conference of the Prison Officers Association in Ennis, Co Clare, was told yesterday.
The POA assistant general secretary, Mr Ray Murphy, said the union was "very concerned at the public perception that there is a widespread sex offenders treatment programme available in our prisons" when, in fact, there was not.
The 234 sex offenders in custody, excluding remand prisoners, make up about 11 per cent of the prison population. Of these, 107 are due for release over the next two years. Mr Murphy said the only sex treatment facility offered was a programme in Arbour Hill which had only 16 places.
"The union believes it is time to review the whole situation," he said. "There is no such thing as a mandatory treatment programme and in fact it is up to the offender himself to give his consent and volunteer to take part in any sex therapy programmes in prison."
Despite judges ordering sex offenders to take part in such programmes, few offenders actually did so, he said. The POA wanted comprehensive and mandatory programmes in all prisons, and the Government should legislate for continuing supervision of the offenders after they were released from prison. "Sex offenders on release offend again," he said.
"No programme in the prison context only would produce the required results. The offender must be supervised in the community after release."
Wheatfield prison in Dublin holds the largest number of sex offenders, followed by Arbour Hill, Cork, Limerick and Mountjoy in Dublin.