THE IMPACT OF THE PRISON SERVICE SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT PROGRAMME ON MINORITY ETHNIC OFFENDERS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the Prison Service Sex Offender Treatment Programme (SOTP) upon minority ethnic sexual offenders. Fifty‐two Black sexual offenders were compared with a “matched” sample of 52 White sexual offenders on a range of psychometric measures pre and post treatment intervention. Results indicated that on the majority of measures, treatment was equally effective across both groups of participants. Based on these results, the hypotheses that the SOTP has a less positive impact on Black offenders than on White offenders was rejected. There were, however, some differences across the two groups, especially in their starting points before treatment. Black offenders had higher levels of denial of offence premeditation and offence repetition. The premeditation difference disappeared post‐treatment. However, Black offenders’ denial of repetition remained significantly higher than White offenders post‐treatment. These results are discussed in terms of their clinical implications.