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When I received this Press Release it arrived on
the heels of a telephone call informing me that the local successful program
was being cut.
There is much to read and much to think about. Many
questions…
~ Murray Lincoln ~
Press Release – Re
Circles of Support and Accountability - CUT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Harper Government Shutters Most Widely
Respected and Effective Program for Sexual Offenders:
Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA)
·
Correctional
Services of Canada (CSC) recently informed all 18 Circles of Support and Accountability
(CoSA) projects in Canada that their contracts will be terminated at the end of
March 2014. The Correctional Service of
Canada says it does not have the $2.2-million budget to support CoSA. We
believe the government must provide CSC with the means to support CoSA to
offset the threats to public safety.
·
To date,
four studies demonstrating the effectiveness of the CoSA model have been
published in peer-reviewed journals, all of them showing the same outcome: dramatically reduced rates of sexual and
other reoffending among CoSA participants. These findings have
encouraged the US federal government to support CoSA project development in
many communities; the UK and other international jurisdictions are following
suit.
·
CoSA has
been supported by the federal government since 1994. This partnership in
risk-management between CSC and the community, where ordinary citizens,
supported by local professionals volunteer their time to accompany high-risk
sex offender as they return from prison, has become a best-practice model for
jurisdictions in the United Kingdom, the United States, and several countries
in the European Union. In fact, US-based research
has assessed projects according to
their fidelity with the original Canadian CoSA model.
·
Circles of
Support and Accountability (CoSA) began in 1994 when a community of concerned
Canadians responded to the release of Charlie Taylor, a notorious child sexual
offender. Taylor was surrounded with a
group of volunteers committed to supporting him while holding him accountable
for his actions. Taylor died 12 years after his release with no more victims – one of CoSA Canada’s
goals. CoSA continues this approach today with 700 CoSA volunteers nation-wide
supporting 155 sexual offenders.
On the
recommendations of CSC, the Parole Board of Canada holds many of the
highest-risk sexual offenders beyond their statutory release date to the last
day of their sentence. At that point, these high-risk sexual offenders are
released to the community with no access to follow-up services or formal
support and little chance to develop accountability. Left unsupported,
offenders’ risk of reoffence escalates.
Local citizens have stepped into this gap to provide crucial support and
to foster accountability. Community members are willing to do their part to
enhance public safety and protect the most vulnerable. But they need the
support of their federal government.
·
The
National Crime Prevention Centre, an arm of Public Safety Canada, is nearing
completion of a $7.5 million evaluation of CoSA nationally. It concludes
September 2014, but the CSC, also an arm of Public Safety Canada, has decided
not to wait and is pulling its support in March.
·
At the
same time the government is unable to secure a $2.2million budget for CoSA, it
is spending nearly $80 million launching measures such as the, “Safer Streets
and Communities Act.” Research[1]
shows that such measures are unlikely to work, whereas many experts in Canada
and internationally are convinced CoSA is an approach most likely to work.
For more information, interview or commentary,
contact . .Dan Haley danhaley@nexicom.net 705-750-5942
~ Murray Lincoln ~
For your inspection
[1] [1] See
for example, Gendreau, P., C.
Goggin, & F.T. Cullen. (1999). The Effects of Prison Sentences on
Recidivism. Ottawa: Solicitor General Canada; and Ruddell, R. and Winfree, L.T.
(2006). "Setting Aside Criminal Convictions in Canada: A Successful
Approach to Offender Reintegration." The Prison Journal, 86 (452-469).
1 comment:
Just another example of the Insanity of this present Government--I will be writing our MP!!
We support Dan H. & you over any appeal of this decision you might lanch.
Brenda
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