ABSTRACT
Writers influenced by diverse theoretical perspectives have argued that, since the 1980s, there has been a notable shift in penal policy towards the risk-focused management of people who offend (see for example Feeley and Simon 1992). Public protection and risk reduction have become key criminal justice objectives, and it is in the sphere of sex offender legislation that the risk-focused penal discourse has found its greatest expression in recent years (McAlinden 2006). Within probation policy, sex offenders have become increasingly subject to risk-focused surveillance and control (Kemshall and Wood 2007). Inflexible enforcement policies are now targeted at groups of offenders classed as ‘high’ risks to promote the twin aims of risk reduction and public protection. Many sex offenders under probation supervision would fall within the category of ‘high’ risk offenders targeted for inflexible enforcement. Observers posit that the risk-focused penal discourse, media accounts and prevailing stereotypes are mutually reinforcing factors that fuel public sentiments and inform sex offender policy and legislation (McAlinden 2006; McCulloch and Kelly 2007).
