Are the Benefits of Civil Commitment Worth the Cost?: States Should Turn to Treatment, Not Confinement, of Sexual Offenders

OPEN MINDS, The Behavioral Health & Social Service Industry Analyst

Cover Story

The New York Legislature is debating whether to approve a sex offender civil commitment law. The law would allow the attorney general to confine sex offenders in secure hospitals indefinitely after they have served their prison sentences. This is a bad idea.

More than a dozen states have tried this novel strategy for preventing sexual recidivism. Their experiences clearly show that these laws waste taxpayer dollars and embroil state agencies in endless litigation. Instead of warehousing a . . .