As a social worker, I can imagine working with an offender is much different from working with a victim, right?

Welcome.

Yeah, that makes sense. Thank you!

Providing social work services to a victim of a crime and survivors is quite different from providing services to an offender. For many social workers, working with offenders requires a different skill set, and they may not seek employment in a setting where they provide services to offenders. Providing services to a victim of a crime and survivors necessitates empathy. Social workers may find it easier to empathize with these populations. However, when working with an offender, the social worker may find it more difficult to be empathetic, particularly depending on the type of offense. For example, a mitigation specialist conducting a social history in a case involving homicide is very different from providing services to a victim of interpersonal violence. Although both situations involve violence, social workers may still prefer not to provide direct services in either of these situations. Social workers may have strong personal feelings and beliefs about homicide and how offenders should be punished.