Press Release – New Chapters, A New Model of Treatment for Sexual Violence in the Irish Prison Service - November 1st, 2024

New Chapters

A New Model of Treatment for Sexual Violence in the Irish Prison Service

A review of the Building Better Lives (BBL) Programme was conducted between February 2023 and July 2024 by Canadian expert, Professor Liam Marshall, following the emergence of updated research evidence, practise based evidence, discussions with field experts, new Council of Europe recommendations, and the new National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence.

The Irish Prison Service has developed a new model of intervention for people who are convicted of a sexual offence called ‘New Chapters’. This means anyone committed to custody from 1st November 2024 who is convicted of a current sexual offence will be managed under this new model. This will be delivered by a team of psychologists who have specific clinical expertise in the assessment and treatment of men convicted of a sexual offence.

Treatment will offer a broad range of programmes targeting the needs, risks and strengths of a much larger number of people in custody. This new model reflects a move away from the concept of a one-size-fits-all model of treatment for people convicted of a sexual offence.

Director General of the Irish Prison Service, Caron McCaffrey said, “New Chapters’ will transform how we work with people convicted of a sexual offence. It will provide a greater level of rehabilitation opportunities for people, whatever their situation or circumstances, and help to reintegrate them back into society by reducing existing barriers to engagement, and increase the historically low participation rates in treatment programmes”.

Each programme in ‘New Chapters’ has been designed to help people to make positive changes in their lives, to address the known risk factors relevant to sexual offending, to prevent re-offending and/or to prepare people for release. ‘New Chapters’ will be rolled out initially in the Midlands and Arbour Hill Prisons, where programmes will be introduced on a phased basis in accordance with staffing levels.  Other prisons will be included in the model once funding is available to cater for additional staffing requirements.

The new model will include people who deny and minimise their offence(s) and people in all risk categories, regardless of sentence length. It will also cater for the treatment needs of Autistic people, people with Intellectual Disabilities or other cognitive challenges, those with complex mental health problems, and those who have been sentenced for accessing Child Sexual Exploitation Materials (CSEM) and other internet-based sexual offending.

 

ENDS

For further information contact:
The Press Officer
Irish Prison Service
Ballinalee Road
Longford
Co. Longford
M. 0876674284
E. pressoffice@irishprisons.ie

Press Release - New Chapters, A New Model of Treatment for Sexual Violence in the Irish Prison Service

Press Release – New Chapters, A New Model of Treatment for Sexual Violence in the Irish Prison Service - November 1st, 2024

Press Release - New Chapters, A New Model of Treatment for Sexual Violence in the Irish Prison Service

New Chapters

A New Model of Treatment for Sexual Violence in the Irish Prison Service

A review of the Building Better Lives (BBL) Programme was conducted between February 2023 and July 2024 by Canadian expert, Professor Liam Marshall, following the emergence of updated research evidence, practise based evidence, discussions with field experts, new Council of Europe recommendations, and the new National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence.

The Irish Prison Service has developed a new model of intervention for people who are convicted of a sexual offence called ‘New Chapters’. This means anyone committed to custody from 1st November 2024 who is convicted of a current sexual offence will be managed under this new model. This will be delivered by a team of psychologists who have specific clinical expertise in the assessment and treatment of men convicted of a sexual offence.

Treatment will offer a broad range of programmes targeting the needs, risks and strengths of a much larger number of people in custody. This new model reflects a move away from the concept of a one-size-fits-all model of treatment for people convicted of a sexual offence.

Director General of the Irish Prison Service, Caron McCaffrey said, “New Chapters’ will transform how we work with people convicted of a sexual offence. It will provide a greater level of rehabilitation opportunities for people, whatever their situation or circumstances, and help to reintegrate them back into society by reducing existing barriers to engagement, and increase the historically low participation rates in treatment programmes”.

Each programme in ‘New Chapters’ has been designed to help people to make positive changes in their lives, to address the known risk factors relevant to sexual offending, to prevent re-offending and/or to prepare people for release. ‘New Chapters’ will be rolled out initially in the Midlands and Arbour Hill Prisons, where programmes will be introduced on a phased basis in accordance with staffing levels.  Other prisons will be included in the model once funding is available to cater for additional staffing requirements.

The new model will include people who deny and minimise their offence(s) and people in all risk categories, regardless of sentence length. It will also cater for the treatment needs of Autistic people, people with Intellectual Disabilities or other cognitive challenges, those with complex mental health problems, and those who have been sentenced for accessing Child Sexual Exploitation Materials (CSEM) and other internet-based sexual offending.

 

ENDS

For further information contact:
The Press Officer
Irish Prison Service
Ballinalee Road
Longford
Co. Longford
M. 0876674284
E. pressoffice@irishprisons.ie

Press Release – New Chapters, A New Model of Treatment for Sexual Violence in the Irish Prison Service - November 1st, 2024

Press Release - New Chapters, A New Model of Treatment for Sexual Violence in the Irish Prison Service

New Chapters

A New Model of Treatment for Sexual Violence in the Irish Prison Service

A review of the Building Better Lives (BBL) Programme was conducted between February 2023 and July 2024 by Canadian expert, Professor Liam Marshall, following the emergence of updated research evidence, practise based evidence, discussions with field experts, new Council of Europe recommendations, and the new National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence.

The Irish Prison Service has developed a new model of intervention for people who are convicted of a sexual offence called ‘New Chapters’. This means anyone committed to custody from 1st November 2024 who is convicted of a current sexual offence will be managed under this new model. This will be delivered by a team of psychologists who have specific clinical expertise in the assessment and treatment of men convicted of a sexual offence.

Treatment will offer a broad range of programmes targeting the needs, risks and strengths of a much larger number of people in custody. This new model reflects a move away from the concept of a one-size-fits-all model of treatment for people convicted of a sexual offence.

Director General of the Irish Prison Service, Caron McCaffrey said, “New Chapters’ will transform how we work with people convicted of a sexual offence. It will provide a greater level of rehabilitation opportunities for people, whatever their situation or circumstances, and help to reintegrate them back into society by reducing existing barriers to engagement, and increase the historically low participation rates in treatment programmes”.

Each programme in ‘New Chapters’ has been designed to help people to make positive changes in their lives, to address the known risk factors relevant to sexual offending, to prevent re-offending and/or to prepare people for release. ‘New Chapters’ will be rolled out initially in the Midlands and Arbour Hill Prisons, where programmes will be introduced on a phased basis in accordance with staffing levels.  Other prisons will be included in the model once funding is available to cater for additional staffing requirements.

The new model will include people who deny and minimise their offence(s) and people in all risk categories, regardless of sentence length. It will also cater for the treatment needs of Autistic people, people with Intellectual Disabilities or other cognitive challenges, those with complex mental health problems, and those who have been sentenced for accessing Child Sexual Exploitation Materials (CSEM) and other internet-based sexual offending.

 

ENDS

For further information contact:
The Press Officer
Irish Prison Service
Ballinalee Road
Longford
Co. Longford
M. 0876674284
E. pressoffice@irishprisons.ie