"Take an eyeopening tour of the Mental Health Center in Cherokee"
http://www.kcci.com/news/central-io...ders/-/9357080/21058302/-/t92qta/-/index.html
(IOWA) Facility holds states most dangerous sex offenders
Video Transcript
On Saturday, it will be two months since a man named Michael Klunder abducted two girls in Dayton. 12-year-old Dezi Huges managed to escape. But the body of Kathlynn Shepard was found about two weeks later. Klunder had a dark past, with prior kidnappings and prison stays to show for it. Last night at 10 Emily Price investigated how Klunder slipped through the cracks. Tonight, she takes us inside the high security treatment center for high-risk sex offenders -
WE HAVE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE COMMITTED SEXUAL OFFENSES AGAINST CHILDREN, AGAINST ADULTS - SO WE HAVE A FULL RANGE OF SEXUAL OFFENSES. 10 FOR EACH PATIENT WHO IS HERE - IOWA TAXPAYERS WILL SPEND MORE THAN 77 THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR KEEPING THEM HERE.MUCH OF THAT IS SPENT ON TREATMENT.SOME MEN WILL SPEND UP TO 5 HOURS A DAY GETTING HELP.
WE TRY TO CREATE A TREATMENT ENVIRONMENT. THE MEN HERE ARE CALLED PATIENTS, NOT PRISONERS AND IT'S SO PRIVATE WE WEREN'T ALLOWED WHERE THEY LIVE. IT'S DEFINITELY NOT TOP OF THE LINE EVERYTHING - BUT
WE TRY TO CREATE A DORM-LIKE ENVIRONMENT WE STRIVE FOR IS TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A COLLEGE DORM, COUCHES AND CHAIRS, THEY HAVE A COMMON SEATING AREA, WITH ONE TV WHERE THEY SIT IN A GROUP AND WATCH TV. 19 HAND-PICKED OFFENDERS DEEMED
THE MOST LIKELY TO REOFFEND HAVE BEEN COMING HERE SINCE 1999 AND IN THAT TIME ONLY 16 HAVE BEEN RELEASED INTO SOCIETY. THAT'S
ROUGHLY 10 PERCENT OF ALL OFFENDERS WHO WALK THROUGH THE DOOR ACTUALLY WALK BACK OUT.
THE INDIVIDUALS WE HAVE HERE HAVE COMMITTED A LARGE NUMBER OF SEXUAL OFFENSES, WHICH MEANS THEY'VE IMPACTED A LOT OF PEOPLE, A LOT OF PEOPLE'S LIVES. 7 SMITH HESITATED EVEN DOING THIS INTERVIEW FOR FEAR IT WOULD RE- TRAUMATIZE VICTIMS. BUT HE DECIDED TO SIT DOWN FOR HIS FIRST TV INTERVIEW IN SOME 7 YEARSTO SHINE A LIGHT ON HOW THEY'RE HELPING OFFENDERS GET BETTER AND HOW, IN TURN, THEY'RE KEEPING IOWA SAFE.
MANY OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE HAVE SIGNIFICANT MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHIATRIC ISSUES, WHICH ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO THEIR SEXUAL OFFENDING. 21
IN ORDER TO GET OUT A PATIENT MUST BE EVALUATED BY THE COURTS. IT'S A DIFFICULT PROCESS WHICH INCLUDES PYSCH EVALUATIONS AND EVEN A POLYGRAPH.
WE HAVE QUITE A FEW OF THE ORIGINAL PEOPLE. MOST PEOPLE END UP STAYING FOREVER. SEVEN HAVE DIED HERE BEFORE THEY COULD GET OUT. BECAUSE HERE IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF A CUREIT'S HOW LIKELY ARE THEY TO REOFFEND. SO
IT'S ABOUT MANAGEMENT, HOW DO THEY MANAGE AND NOT ABOUT A CURE.
HOW DO THEY MANAGE THOSE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS AND BEHAVIORS, SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, ENVIRONMENTS THAT SET THE OCCASION FOR THEIR OFFENDING TO OCCUR?
HOW DO THEY MANAGE THAT SO FURTHER VICTIMIZATION DOESN'T OCCUR.BECAUSE THEY WILL ALWAYS HAVE TO BE VIGILANT SO THEY WON'T ENGAGE IN OTHER VICTIMIZATIONS.
SMITH SAYS PATIENTS HAVE HAD SETBACKS IN THEIR TREATMENT AND HAD TO START OVER A STEP OR TWO, BUT HE SAYS NO ONE HAS BEEN RELEASED AND THEN RE- OFFENDED.
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http://www.kcci.com/news/central-io.../21058302/-/t92qta/-/index.html#ixzz2nkGnSTYe
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