Residential Work with Sex Offenders: Places of Collusion and Segregation or Preparation for Resettlement and Reintegration

This chapter will explore the growing and sometimes publicly contentious use of probation-approved premises as a resource for both protecting the public and resettling sex offenders.

Through a consideration of relevant literature and the findings from the studies by Reeves and Cowe, this chapter will explore the potential risks and opportunities that hostel accommodation offers and consider the potential good practice mechanisms and approaches that might might make best use of this resource, both in relation to containing and monitoring high-risk sex offenders being released from custody and in preparing them for an eventual move on into the community. It will critically consider some of the hidden and unintended consequences for both staff and offenders of grouping sex offenders together. Particular attention will be paid to mechanisms that promote interaction between such offenders and the implications of this grouping. The concept of a constructive regime will be considered alongside whether such premises are now functioning as places of containment or resettlement.