It is critical, if the content of the modules is to be properly delivered, that trainers who have certain qualities and skills are selected. The trainers selected in the five regions of the Correctional Service of Canada were chosen mainly because of their good presentation skills, their vast experience in dealing first-hand with sex offenders and their familiarity with the typologies and dynamics of sexual deviance. Our experience to date certainly supports the need to carry on with this training project. All case management officers and other professional groups who directly manage sex offenders will receive more thorough training. Consensus among professionals working in the field as to which factors best predict sex offender recidivism has not yet been reached.
Available literature is in the infancy stage, and much work remains to be done.
Definitive statements about risk assessment, therefore, cannot be made. At the same time, however, it is vitally important that we use what we do know as creatively and actively as possible. Victims of sex offences, especially future victims, cannot wait for us to perfect our knowledge and techniques. Being proactive, and doing the best we can at the moment, offer the most hope for victims and are the best ways to expand our knowledge and skills. Accordingly, we are training our staff to apply the relapseprevention model, now considered to be the most effective management program for sex offenders.