New panel to set monitoring standards for Arizona sex-offenders

PHOENIX — A new board to study the treatment of sex offenders in Arizona goes live next month with an eye on changing laws to reduce reoffending.

But no one at a news conference on Tuesday to publicize the legislation that created the board had any data on the current recidivism rate for sex offenders. So how would they measure success?

“I would say that is undetermined at this time,’’ said Dr. Brecken Blades, a forensic psychologist who was part of the impetus for the panel. “Success would be we can get a board together and start having these conversations, these difficult standards, and create standards and guidelines that can then be implemented within people on supervision and treatment.’’

All that, in turn, goes to the question of whether sex offenders can be rehabilitated.

Senate President Warren Petersen deflected the question, handing it off to Sen. Shawnna Bolick, who sponsored the legislation creating the Arizona board. She, in turn, said it is modeled after a similar law in Colorado.

“There are statistics out there showing that, essentially, because of the board’s efforts in Colorado, things have improved a little bit in Colorado,’’ said the Phoenix Republican. “So we’re hoping to take that as an example of what’s working and, hopefully, implement it here.’’

But Blades, who said she specializes in the assessment and treatment of misbehavior, said there is reason to believe that the standards the board is charged with crafting can make a difference.

“Research tells us that evidence-based treatment, paired with smart, consistent supervision reduces reoffending and increases community safety,’’ she said. Blades said it is based on the “best available science and the real-world experience of jurisdictions that have done this well.’’

The person with the most real-world experience at Tuesday’s event was Beth Goulden, who spent 24 years as an adult probation officer in Maricopa County specializing in supervision of sex offenders. She is now with Pinal County.

“Your job in probation supervision is to change behavior, monitor behavior,’’ Goulden said when asked if sex offenders can be rehabilitated and placed back in communities. But it’s not all black and white.

“You can’t predict human behavior,’’ she said.

What that leaves, Goulden said, is working with specialists, like Dr. Blades, to do assessments.

“They take sex-history polygraphs,’’ Goulden said.

“You learn about their history,’’ she continued. “You gather so much information. And you make the best decision.’’

But Goulden said there are some generalizations that can be made.

Consider, she said, an 18-year-old who has sex with a 14-year-old who is put on probation “is very different than someone who might be 60 years old who has sex with an underage, or young prepubescent child who gets placed on probation.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

“Those are very different cases,’’ she said.

If nothing else, what the panel is supposed to craft clear — and statewide — standards.

“There are no standards by which sex offenders are being monitored,’’ said Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller, who was also at the news conference.

It starts, he said, with each county doing “something different.’’ And Miller said the same is true of doctors who have their own standards.

“And here’s the scary part: In some counties, there are zero treatment options,’’ he said.

The legislation is in many ways the result of efforts by Goulden.

“After the stories of sexual abuse fade from the headlines, the supervision of those charged with sex crimes should not be a mystery,’’ Goulden said. And it’s not just the offenders who are affected.

“Thousands of families are impacted by sexual abuse, curing the pain, shame and trauma that too often remains unspoken,’’ she said. “It’s time for us as a state to begin having the difficult but necessary conversations about how we respond, how we protect victims, and how we prevent future harm.’’

What the board will do, Goulden said, is get input from all aspects of the issue, ranging from law enforcement and prosecutors to mental health professionals, probation officers and community groups.

She is particularly seeking a “victim-centered approach’’ to supervision and rehabilitation. That means paying attention to the needs of the current victim as well as preventing harm to future victims.

Consider, Goulden said, what happens when a sex offender who has a family is put on probation.

“When might they be able to reunify with their children?’’ she asked.

“Can they ever see their minor children again, things like that,’’ Goulden continued. “What if the child is the victim of the sex crime and is in an incest home?’’

And what that means, she said, is that all the treatment and supervision is focused not on the offender but on the victims.

The board itself has no powers but can only make recommendations to the Legislature. Bolick said she hopes some of those are ready ahead of the 2026 session.

But she said actually funding any recommendations — and they could come with a price tag if it involves changes in supervision and treatment — will have to wait until lawmakers see what is being sought.