Public Views About Reintegrating Child Sex Offenders via Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA): A Qualitative Analysis

Richards, Kelly; McCartan, Kieran

Abstract

© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) have recently become part of the criminal justice landscape. However, little has been documented on public views about COSA. The existing research on this topic is entirely quantitative, providing no insight into the reasons behind public support for COSA. This study addresses this gap by analyzing comments made on four online forums following the announcement of Australia’s first COSA program. Findings suggest that community education should focus on a number of key messages about COSA to harness public support for this program. Recommendations are made about the content and delivery of these messages.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 27, 2017
• Publication Date: Mar 4, 2018
• Deposit Date: Feb 27, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 5, 2018
• Journal: Deviant Behavior
• Print ISSN: 0163-9625
• Electronic ISSN: 1521-0456
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 400-416
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2017.1304800
• Keywords: public, views, reintegrating, child, sex, offenders, Circles of Support and Accountability, COSA, qualitative, analysis
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/903153
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2017.1304800
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Deviant Behaviour on 27th February 2017, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2017.1304800.
• Contract Date: Feb 27, 2017