NCJ Number
197283
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 64 Issue: 6 Dated: October 2002 Pages: 118-122
Editor(s)
Susan L. Clayton M.S.
Date Published
October 2002
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the model Kansas Sexual Predator Treatment Program (SPTP) resulting from the passing of the 1994 Sexual Predator Act of Kansas.
Abstract
In 1994, the Sexual Predator Act of Kansas was unanimously passed and empowered the State’s attorney general to bring civil commitment actions against individuals who were within 90 days of release from criminal confinement and who were determined to be at high risk to re-offend. Leroy Hendricks, the first Kansas resident committed to the Kansas Sexual Predator Treatment Program (SPTP) appealed his commitment to the State Supreme Court which ruled that the State violated his due process rights and was unconstitutional. However, in 1997, an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Kansas law constitutional. The SPTP was the first sexually violent persons program to pass the test of the U.S. Supreme Court. SPTP staff approach a person assigned to the program from many directions that include: (1) staff stress that the program is not an extension of a person’s prison sentence; (2) staff stress that as mandated by law a person’s placement ensures that when a person’s risk for re-offending has diminished he/she must be released if the court agrees; (3) staff acknowledge that changing well-established behavior patterns is a challenge; and (4) a roadmap is laid out for success for an individual. Sexually Violent Persons (SVP) programs across the country vary in the number of stages used and the task content of each stage. However, every program uses the stage concept offering a way for each person to gauge his movement through the program. In addition, for an individual to successfully re-enter society a strong coordinated coalition approach among the systems most involved such as legal, criminal justice, and social must be proposed and initiated. If a person is not ready for life in the community, he can be safely returned to the inpatient program, and once prepared, he can become a contributing taxpayer and member of society.