Bemidjiblade
Member
For those of you who haven't been aware of it... the North Country (North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) has been in an uproar over sex offenders since a particularly brutal rape and murder a little more than a year ago. This morning coming home from work, I found something that shocked me. The local lib paper, which until now has been all too willing to go along with the lynch mob mentality that's been the norm up here since Dru Sjodin's murder, actually did a piece from the side of the people who work with and treat offenders from a living. Since I have 3 sex offenders in my immediate family, this has been a topic I have followed closely for as long as I can remember. The person interviewed is the head of the treatment team that handles the northern half of the state of MN, so, this is an expert opinion type deal. I know you all will form your own opinions on the issue, but I thought no matter what your feelings, it would be interesting to hear from a professional who deals with offenders constantly.
The article is from the Bemidji Pioneer, http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=83
*puts flameproof suit on*
Scheela promotes reason in dealing with sex offenders
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
By Laurie Swenson
Staff Writer
[email protected]
For some sex offenders, incarceration is the right answer, but it shouldn’t be the only answer for all offenders, Riki Scheela told about 200 people who attended Tuesday night’s Honors Lecture at Bemidji State University.
Scheela, who chairs the BSU Nursing Department, has worked with sex offenders since 1987. She runs the Sexual Abuse Treatment Program at the Upper Mississippi Mental Health Center. Her topic Tuesday night was “Realities, Research and Reasoned Responses to Sex Offenders.â€
“Locking them up and throwing away the key is not going to solve the problem,†said Scheela.
Some people think that treatment programs such as the one Scheela runs are a slap on the wrist, but she says that’s far from the truth. “It’s extremely difficult for them to tell what they did,†she said, “They also have to tell about their own experience as children.†Some offenders have asked to go to prison instead because treatment was so painful.
An offender is typically in treatment for two years or more. The process is very focused. Offenders must do oral and written disclosures of their crimes, write and share an autobiography of more than 60 pages, complete a 27-page sexual history inventory, write apology letters to all victims, write empathy documents in which the offender writes from the victims’ perspectives, identify an abuse cycle and come up with a safe plan that addresses the elements of the abuse cycle, and pass a polygraph test (paid for by the offender).
Group treatment is a major focus of the program, which also stresses education and support. The program utilizes the services of a wide variety of trained people: social workers, psychologists and clergy members, for example, as well as Specialized Sex Offender Agents, probation officers who work specifically with sex offenders.
Scheela said the recidivism rate for offenders who complete the program is less than 5 percent. She also noted that recidivism rates for sex offenders are lower than many people think. In 1997-99, the re-arrest rate for sex offenders in Minnesota was 3 percent for Level One offenders, 4 percent for Level 2, and 8 percent for Level 3.
The types of crimes committed by sex offenders are extremely diverse, Scheela said, and their motivation is equally varied. Some sexually abuse because they feel inadequate, or were sexually abused themselves and choose victims of the same age they were when they were victimized. Others are motivated to hurt and frighten people.
“There is a huge spectrum of people,†Scheela said. “Some are very treatable. Some we don’t know how to treat and should be kept out of society.â€
Scheela recognizes that treating sex offenders with respect may be offensive to some, in a social environment of fear, mistrust and sometimes vengeful reactions. But, she said, research shows that sex offenders who are treated like human beings are more likely to act like human beings.
“The philosophy of this program is this is learned behavior and they can unlearn it,†Scheela said. “They’ve done terrible things, but they are not terrible people.â€
The causes of sexual abuse and assault are incredibly complex, she said, and people should be suspicious of simplistic answers.
A variety of sociocultural, family and individual factors can contribute to someone becoming a sex offender. Ninety percent of sex offenders in prison have themselves been sexually abused, Scheela said, adding that many have been victims of physical abuse, neglect and abandonment as well.
People need to recognize that men can be victims, and women can be offenders, Scheela said, noting that males and females are abused at the same rate until puberty. After puberty, abuse tends to be sexual more often for females and physical more often for males.
It’s not always the guy lurking in the bushes, she said. “It could be the pastor, priest, coach, teacher, babysitter, grandma.â€
Scheela identified what she calls Scheela’s Remodeling Process, the vocabulary of which comes from offenders with whom she worked, and is likened to a remodeling of a building.
The stages are Falling Apart, Taking On, Tearing Out, Rebuilding, Doing the Upkeep, and Moving On. The process results in someone who is not new, but is remodeled, changed.
“The old me is always there,†one offender once told Scheela.
The process came from interviewing 20 offenders, after listening to people saying that all offenders were remorseless, proud of what they did, and didn’t care about their victims.
âThat wasn’t what I was seeing,†she said. “I felt we should ask them.â€
The article is from the Bemidji Pioneer, http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=83
*puts flameproof suit on*
Scheela promotes reason in dealing with sex offenders
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
By Laurie Swenson
Staff Writer
[email protected]
For some sex offenders, incarceration is the right answer, but it shouldn’t be the only answer for all offenders, Riki Scheela told about 200 people who attended Tuesday night’s Honors Lecture at Bemidji State University.
Scheela, who chairs the BSU Nursing Department, has worked with sex offenders since 1987. She runs the Sexual Abuse Treatment Program at the Upper Mississippi Mental Health Center. Her topic Tuesday night was “Realities, Research and Reasoned Responses to Sex Offenders.â€
“Locking them up and throwing away the key is not going to solve the problem,†said Scheela.
Some people think that treatment programs such as the one Scheela runs are a slap on the wrist, but she says that’s far from the truth. “It’s extremely difficult for them to tell what they did,†she said, “They also have to tell about their own experience as children.†Some offenders have asked to go to prison instead because treatment was so painful.
An offender is typically in treatment for two years or more. The process is very focused. Offenders must do oral and written disclosures of their crimes, write and share an autobiography of more than 60 pages, complete a 27-page sexual history inventory, write apology letters to all victims, write empathy documents in which the offender writes from the victims’ perspectives, identify an abuse cycle and come up with a safe plan that addresses the elements of the abuse cycle, and pass a polygraph test (paid for by the offender).
Group treatment is a major focus of the program, which also stresses education and support. The program utilizes the services of a wide variety of trained people: social workers, psychologists and clergy members, for example, as well as Specialized Sex Offender Agents, probation officers who work specifically with sex offenders.
Scheela said the recidivism rate for offenders who complete the program is less than 5 percent. She also noted that recidivism rates for sex offenders are lower than many people think. In 1997-99, the re-arrest rate for sex offenders in Minnesota was 3 percent for Level One offenders, 4 percent for Level 2, and 8 percent for Level 3.
The types of crimes committed by sex offenders are extremely diverse, Scheela said, and their motivation is equally varied. Some sexually abuse because they feel inadequate, or were sexually abused themselves and choose victims of the same age they were when they were victimized. Others are motivated to hurt and frighten people.
“There is a huge spectrum of people,†Scheela said. “Some are very treatable. Some we don’t know how to treat and should be kept out of society.â€
Scheela recognizes that treating sex offenders with respect may be offensive to some, in a social environment of fear, mistrust and sometimes vengeful reactions. But, she said, research shows that sex offenders who are treated like human beings are more likely to act like human beings.
“The philosophy of this program is this is learned behavior and they can unlearn it,†Scheela said. “They’ve done terrible things, but they are not terrible people.â€
The causes of sexual abuse and assault are incredibly complex, she said, and people should be suspicious of simplistic answers.
A variety of sociocultural, family and individual factors can contribute to someone becoming a sex offender. Ninety percent of sex offenders in prison have themselves been sexually abused, Scheela said, adding that many have been victims of physical abuse, neglect and abandonment as well.
People need to recognize that men can be victims, and women can be offenders, Scheela said, noting that males and females are abused at the same rate until puberty. After puberty, abuse tends to be sexual more often for females and physical more often for males.
It’s not always the guy lurking in the bushes, she said. “It could be the pastor, priest, coach, teacher, babysitter, grandma.â€
Scheela identified what she calls Scheela’s Remodeling Process, the vocabulary of which comes from offenders with whom she worked, and is likened to a remodeling of a building.
The stages are Falling Apart, Taking On, Tearing Out, Rebuilding, Doing the Upkeep, and Moving On. The process results in someone who is not new, but is remodeled, changed.
“The old me is always there,†one offender once told Scheela.
The process came from interviewing 20 offenders, after listening to people saying that all offenders were remorseless, proud of what they did, and didn’t care about their victims.
âThat wasn’t what I was seeing,†she said. “I felt we should ask them.â€
