American and Canadian Approaches to Sex Offenders: A Study of the Politics of Dangerousness.

Source: (2008) Federal Sentencing Reporter. 21(2):111-113.

In this Article, we describe and attempt to account for differences between American and Canadian approaches to managing the dangerousness of sex offenders, whether through community protection legislative initiatives; treatment,
including cognitive-behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy, such as the use of antiandrogens; or restorative justice alternatives, such as Circles of Support
and Accountability (CoSA). Over the past two decades, in both the United States and Canada, clinical models of dangerousness emphasizing diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology have been supplanted by approaches emphasizing actuarial risk assessment and risk management. In addition, concerns with fundamental justice
issues, such as due process, proportionality, and privacy rights, have given way to community protection concerns. However, in the United States, community protection concerns promoted by politically influential victims’ advocates within and outside of government have arguably been more influential than in Canada. Additionally, a variety of factors, including a generally more cautious approach to legislative reform, sensitivity to the limits posed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms enacted in 1982, and a less politically influential victims’ movement, have limited the speed and extent of the development of the community protection approach in Canada. (excerpt)