Good news from Canada on Circles of Support and Accountability

from Bruce Cheadle's article in The Canadian Press:

The Harper government has agreed to fund a program aimed at keeping convicted sex offenders from committing more crimes - apparently reversing an earlier rejection of the acclaimed project.

Some $7.4 million in federal funding will be provided over five years for Circles of Support and Accountability, the office of Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan confirmed Thursday.

"By deciding today to fund this program, our government is taking concrete action to make our communities safer," spokesman Chris McCluskey said in an email.

The five-year deal will help the largely volunteer organization double the number of sex offenders in the program to about 300 next year, and more closely monitor results to determine what works best with offenders once they've served their sentences.

Oct 12, 2009 Policy, Circle, Practice, Case:Sexual

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Forget it, Roman? Polanski and the politics of what we remember

from Gareth Higgins' post on The Film Talk:

A friend suggested I should comment regarding Roman Polanski’s arrest and the attempt to extradite him to the US to face charges stemming from his admitted sex offence against a 13 year old girl in 1977.   I’m reluctant to do so, because the issues are complex and probably better handled in conversation where dialogue partners might arrive at a truth together, so I’d like to invite such a conversation in the comments below.

Oct 09, 2009 Policy, Case:Sexual

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Restorative justice urged to deal with sexual crimes

from Fiona Gartland's article in IrishTimes.com:

The criminal justice system is not suitable for addressing most sexual crimes, the director of abuse victims’ charity One in Four has said.

Speaking at the Children At Risk in Ireland (Cari) 20th anniversary conference in Dublin, Maeve Lewis said restorative justice must be explored as a way of dealing with sex offenders.

Oct 01, 2009 Policy, Case:Sexual

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