Fewer sex offenders on community release programs than other criminals.

While the prospect of sexual predators on conditional release in the community is unnerving to many, the results of a recent Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) report may allay some fears. The study--which is based on 1994 data, the most recent year for which information is available--showed that convicted sex offenders are less likely than other convicts to be placed in community release programs.

On average for all offenders, the ratio of offenders on probation or parole to those incarcerated in jail or prison is nearly 3 to 1. For those convicted of rape or other sexual assault, however, the ratio of those on conditional release to those incarcerated is much lower: 1.4 to 1.

Sex offenders represent 4.7 percent of the almost 5 million convicted offenders serving time in federal or state prisons, or in jails or on probation or parole, according to the study's statistician, Lawrence Greenfeld. They comprise 1 percent of the federal prison population, 3.4 percent of the nation's jail inmates, 3.6 percent of the offenders on probation, and 4 percent of the offenders on parole. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Sex Offenses and Offenders, NCJ-163391 (Dec. 1996).)

Prior BJS follow-up studies of sex offenders discharged from prison or sentenced to probation showed that sex offenders have a generally lower rate of re-arrest than other violent offenders but are substantially more likely than other violent offenders to be rearrested for a new violent sex offense. For example, about 8 percent of 2,214 rapists released from prisons in 11 states in 1983 were arrested for a new rape within three years, while only about 1 percent of released prisoners who served time for robbery or assault were re-arrested for violent sex offenses.

The figures showing that sex offenders have a lower rate of re-arrest than other violent criminals do not surprise Fred Berlin, founder of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine's sexual disorders clinic in Baltimore. "The study's findings go against the commonly held notion that most sex offenders are recidivists," Berlin said. "For example, out of 2,214 rapists surveyed, 92 percent did not commit other rapes--only 8 percent did.

"I'm pleased to see these results because they put into perspective what we at the clinic already know to be true--that most sex offenders do not re-offend," said Berlin.

However, released rapists were found to be 10.5 times as likely as non-rapists to be re-arrested for rape. Offenders who served time for other sexual assaults were 7.5 times as likely to be arrested for a second sexual assault as those convicted of other crimes.

Berlin was not surprised by these results, either. `You have to understand that career sex offenders are like most other career criminals in that if sex offenders reoffend, it's likely to be a sex offense," he said. "But the same is true for most career burglars. If they re-offend, they burgle."

According to BJS, the survey is the first national estimate of the size of the convicted sex offender population under the jurisdiction of federal, state, and local correctional authorities.

To obtain a copy of the report, call the BJS Clearinghouse at [phone] or the fax-on-demand service at [phone].

The report is available on BJS's Internet home page at http:/www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs. Click on "What's new at BJS."