This study compares the predictive accuracy of three sex offender risk assessment measures: the Rapid Risk Assessment for Sex Offence Recidivism, RRASOR (Hanson, 1997); Thornton's Structured Anchored Clinical Judgement, SACJ (Grubin, 1998); and a new scale called Static-99, created by combining the items from the RRASOR and SACJ. Predictive accuracy is tested using four diverse data sets drawn from Canada and the United Kingdom. The appendix contains details on the coding rules for Static-99.
This comprehensive reference by nationally recognized experts provides an interdisciplinary overview of existing knowledge about sex offenders. It provides in-depth coverage of the problem of identification, risk assessment and management, treatment, and legal solutions. It seeks to ensure public safety while at the same time maintaining medical integrity and respect for due process. The book is intended for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and researchers who work with sex offenders, as well as attorneys, members of the judiciary, and policymakers.
This book reviews the scientific evidence relevant to assessing the recidivism risk of sex offenders, as well as the issues related to sex offenders, in considerable detail. It is not an attempt for creating sympathy for sex offenders. Substantial numbers of psychologists claim they can accurately identify the recidivism risk of sex offenders. Despite the very limited, peer-reviewed data related to these claims, many psychologists insist the scientific evidence supports their efforts in this regard. Too often, the issues detailed in these chapters have been overlooked and/or misinterpreted. As.
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Criminal Psychology will be a modern, interdisciplinary resource aimed at students and professionals interested in the intersection of psychology (e.g., social, forensic, clinical), criminal justice, sociology, and criminology. The interdisciplinary study of human behavior in legal contexts includes numerous topics on criminal behavior, criminal justice policies and legal process, crime detection and prevention, eyewitness identification, prison life, offender assessment and rehabilitation, risk assessment and management, offender mental health, community reintegration, and juvenile offending. The study of these topics has been increasing continually since the late 1800s, with people trained in many legal professions such as policing, social work, law, academia, mental health, and corrections. This will be a comprehensive work that will provide the most current empirical information on those topics of greatest concern to students who desire to work in these fields. This encyclopedia is a unique reference work that looks at criminal behavior primarily through a scientific lens. With over 500 entries the book brings together top empirically driven researchers and clinicians across multiple fields—psychology, criminology, social work, and sociology—to explore the field.
This expert reference provides a broad, comprehensive review of the major domains of sexual offending. Beginning with an integrated etiological model of sexual offending, chapters follow addressing the primary predisposing conditions related to sexual offending (e.g. pedophilic, hebephilic, paraphilic rape and non-contact paraphilic disorders, hyper sexuality and personality factors). In addition, special subgroups of sexual offenders (females, youth and the intellectually disable) are considered. Both broad and specific perspectives on the assessment of sexual offenders are provided. Overviews are offered of clinical and forensic evaluations of such offenders and the utility of structured psychological assessment. A novel conceptual model of risk assessment is proposed. More specifically, each of the primary approaches or instruments related to risk assessment of sexual offending are addressed: the Static risk assessment measures, the Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide, structured professional judgment, and the varied measures of dynamic or criminogenic needs assessment. Finally, multiple aspects of management of sexual offenders are discussed including models of psychosocial treatment, the question of the effectiveness of such treatment, biological interventions, civil commitment, circles of support, and the containment approach to community management. Chapters are authored by both prominent experts and experienced professionals for a breadth of perspective. Among the topics covered: Pedophilic, Hebephilic, Rape Paraphilic Disorders and the variety of Non Contact sexual offending conditions Personality, related conditions, & their association with sexual offending: motivators and disinhibition in context. Disorders of hyper sexuality. Assessments of sexual offenders, including the role of psychological testing, clinical & interview approaches, as well as forensic evaluations Conceptual models of risk assessment & discussion of specific static, dynamic & structured clinical risk assessment approaches Models of & reviews of treatment outcome with sexual offenders, including psychotherapy, psychopharmacology and castration, the containment approach, civil commitment & circles of support Overview of public policy issues & an evidence-based perspective on sex offender registration and residential restrictions. This breadth of material in Sexual Offenders will help practitioners gain multiple levels of clinical insight as well as giving them up-to-date practical tools and techniques for working with this problematic class of individuals.
Over the past quarter century Congress, state legislatures and the courts have radically reshaped America's laws dealing with sex offenders in an effort to reduce the prevalence of sex offenses. Most convicted sex offenders must now register with the authorities, who then make information about them available to the public. Possession of child pornography has been made an extremely serious crime often punishable by prison sentences that dwarf those meted out to child molesters, rapists, robbers, and even killers. Federal law now imposes a minimum sentence of ten years in prison for those convicted of using the internet to attempt to lure minors for sex. And the federal government and 20 states have "sexually violent predator" laws that allow the indefinite civil commitment of convicted sex offenders to secure institutions for treatment after they have served their full criminal sentences.All of these changes in sex offender law, as well as numerous others, have been based at least in part on input from psychology, psychiatry and the social sciences. Moreover, enforcement and administration of many of these laws relies to a large extent on the efforts of mental health professionals. However, many questions about this involvement remain largely unanswered. Are these laws supported by empirical evidence, or even by well-reasoned psychological theories? Do these laws actually work? Are mental health professionals capable of reliably determining an offender's future behavior, and how best to manage it? Finally, are experts capable of providing effective treatment for sex offenders -- i.e., treatment that actually reduces the likelihood that an identified sex offender will re-offend?In Justice Perverted, Charles Patrick Ewing poses these difficult questions and others that few in either law or psychology have asked, much less tried to answer. Drawing on research from across the social and behavioral sciences, he weighs the evidence for the spectrum of sex offense laws, to occasionally surprising results. A rational look at an intensely emotional subject, Justice Perverted is an essential book for anyone interested in the science behind public practice.
The Handbook of Violence Risk Assessment, Second Edition, builds on the first edition’s comprehensive discussion of violence risk assessment instruments with an update of research on established tools and the addition of new chapters devoted to recently developed risk assessment tools. Featuring chapters written by the instrument developers themselves, this handbook reviews the most frequently used violence risk assessment instruments—both actuarial and structured professional judgment—that professionals use to inform and structure their judgments about violence risk. Also included are broader chapters that address matters such as the consideration of psychopathy and how the law shapes violence risk assessment. Already the primary reference for practitioners, researchers, and legal professionals in this area, this second edition’s easy-to-access, comprehensive, and current information will make it an indispensable reference for those in the field.
This comprehensive Handbook of original chapters serves as a resource for clinicians and researchers alike. Two introductory chapters cover general issues in violence risk assessment, while the remainder of the book offers a comprehensive discussion of specific risk assessment measures. Forensic psychology practitioners, mental health professionals who deal with the criminal justice system, and legal professionals working with violent offenders will find the Handbook of Violence Risk Assessment to be the primary reference for the field.
A professional volume to help practitioners, clinicians, counselors, and parole officers, assess risk and evaluate offenders who have been convicted of a sex crime. This is the most comprehensive volume available on every aspect of assessing risk. It compares all current risk assessment techniques of sex offenders in terms of ease of use, reliability, and predictive power. It is a complete guide to assessing sex offenders for likelihood of re-offense, and it provides a wealth of information on other aspects of the assessment process, including information gathering, interviewing offenders, and writing reports. Chapter topics include: defining risk; data gathering; diagnostic issues; recidivism base rates; risk factor lists; actuarial scales; instrumentation (violent and sexual); the evaluation report; presenting in court; ethical issues.
PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW Discover first-hand insights into the experience of acting as a psychologist expert witness In Psychology and the Law: Case Studies of Expert Witnesses, a team of distinguished psychologists delivers an insightful and practical collection of case studies exploring the role of mental health professionals acting as expert witnesses in regulatory, judicial, and quasi-judicial proceedings. Each chapter is authored by an expert in their field, covering situations ranging from the assessment of people involved in criminal and family law proceedings and Parole Board hearings to the assessment of a civil litigant’s experience of historical trauma resulting from the alleged negligence of the local authority. Each case follows the involvement of the practitioner from initial retainer to the process of giving evidence in court or in a court-like proceeding. The book also offers valuable judicial and legal perspectives on the roles played by mental health professionals acting as expert witnesses, as well as discussion of the cross examination of persons giving psychological evidence. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to the use of psychologists as expert witnesses Comprehensive explorations of clinical forensic expert witness case studies Practical discussions of medicolegal expert witness case studies Fulsome treatments of judicial and legal perspectives on the roles, uses, and limits of psychological evidence and the use of psychologist experts in military court martials Perfect for undergraduate and postgraduate students of law and psychology, Psychology and the Law: Case Studies of Expert Witnesses will also benefit qualified psychologists, psychiatrists, lawyers, policymakers and legislators, social workers, and members of the judiciary.
