What the Community Doesn’t Know: Probation Supervision of Mentally Ill Sex Offenders

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3:15 PM - 4:15 PM

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It is the stuff horror movies thrive on--mentally ill sex offenders running free in the community, wreaking havoc on innocent victims. What the community doesn’t realize is that there may be some mentally ill sex offenders in their community, and it is the responsibility of probation departments to make sure the community is kept safe. Probationers with mental illness in general are often tough to deal with, yet helping them find stability and become productive citizens is being accomplished throughout the country. The added restrictions on sex offenders makes it more difficult, but not impossible, to do the same with mentally ill sex offenders. As will be described in this workshop, in Maricopa County, we utilize specialized caseloads with an officer specially trained to deal with this population. We also utilize our Mental Health Court to gain better compliance and to assure our clients get the services they need.