BOCA RATON – The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was recently been awarded a $150,000 grant to fund comprehensive sex offender management strategies.
Working in partnership with Lynn University psychology professors Jill Levenson and Debra Ainbinder, the two-year project will implement a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary strategy that incorporates assessment, risk-based supervision, registration and notification, re-entry services and treatment, and multi-disciplinary collaboration.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Sex Predator and Offender Tracking Unit (SPOT) is currently managing 890 sexual offenders and predators. This number is almost double the county’s population of 400 registered sex offenders in 2000. This increase is due in part to the county’s overall population growth as well as newly adopted legislative requirements, said officials at the sheriff’s office.
The State of Florida is one of only four states currently in compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection Safety Act of 2006. Among its many new requirements, the Adam Walsh Act expanded the length of sex offender registration to 25 years or life in most cases, required juveniles to register, and increased penalties for sex offenders who fail to register.
“We are excited to be involved in this innovative approach to enhancing public safety,” said Jill Levenson of Lynn University. “By assessing risk and creating individualized management plans, the SPOT team can better allocate their resources to apply stricter supervision of offenders who pose a greater threat to the community.”
The project also calls for collaboration between police, victim advocates, researchers, treatment providers, probation officers, and re-entry services.
“By creating a multidisciplinary team to develop strategies, we will be able to discuss program challenges and identify resources for the purpose of improving the overall success of our comprehensive sex offender management program,” the grant’s developers said.