This book offers a collection of original contributions to current research available on Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) by engaging with current literature and unpublished research in the field. The book explores the role of narrative identity in desistance from sexual crime and how CoSA maps onto this, as well as a history of CoSA across the world. The text then moves into an empirical section, reporting on some unpublished findings, including an evaluation of a new prison-based CoSA in the UK. Lastly, the experiences of service users and the influence of media perceptions are explored, offering a space for the 'unheard voices' as well as consideration of future directions for practitioners. The book is relevant not just to psychologists, criminologists, social workers and students, but to practitioners and the general public with an interest in learning about CoSA.
The editors of this volume have all been involved in the settingup of the Safer Living Foundation, a charity formed in 2014 to reduce and prevent sexual offending.

Introduces new research on Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) Suggests potential new directions for researchers and practitioners of CoSA Discusses the rehabilitation of sexual offenders from an interdisciplinary perspective

Autorentext

Helen Elliott is a Lecturer in Counselling at Bishop Grosseteste University, UK. She has a background in forensic psychology and is a trainee integrative psychotherapist.
Kerensa Hocken is a registered forensic psychologist at HMPPS Whatton, UK. She has oversight for the assessment and treatment of people in prison for sexual offending in the Midlands region.
Rebecca Lievesley is a Lecturer in Forensic Psychology and member of the Sexual Offences, Crime and Misconduct Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, UK.
Nicholas Blagden is a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology. He is aChartered Psychologist and has worked and researched within the criminal justice system and HM Prison Service for many years.
Belinda Winder is Head of the Sexual Offences, Crime and Misconduct Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Phil Banyard is Associate in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, UK. He was recently honoured with the British Psychological Society's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology Education.

Inhalt
Chapter 1: A History of the Development of Circles of Support and Accountability; Chris Wilson.- Chapter 2: Circles of Support and Accountability, Assisted Desistance and Community Transition; Nicholas Blagden, Helen Elliott and Rebecca Lievesley.- Chapter 3: Do Circles of Support and Accountability Work? A Review of the Literature; Rosie Kitson-Boyce.- Chapter 4: The Prison-Based Model of Circles of Support and Accountability and its Application in Transitioning to the Community; Rosie Kitson-Boyce.- Chapter 5 Evaluating Community-based Circles of Support and Accountability; Michelle Dwerryhouse.- Chapter 6: The Role of the Media in Shaping Responses to Sexual Offending; Dave Potter.- Chapter 7: A Different Life: The Experiences of Core Members and Volunteers on the Safer Living Foundations Circles of Support and Accountability; Dave Potter.- Chapter 8: Future Directions: Alternative Circles of Support and Accountability Models and Minority Groups; Kerensa Hocken, Claire Good, Helen Elliott, Carrie Webb, Helen O'Connor, and Kim Cox