Reasoning and Rehabilitation cognitive skills programme for mentally disordered offenders: Predictors of outcome

AIM To investigate factors predicting treatment completion and treatment outcome of the Reasoning and Rehabilitation Mental Health Programme(R&R2MHP) cognitive skills programme for mentally disordered offenders. METHODS Secondary analysis of data previously obtained from 97 male patients who were sectioned and detained under the United Kingdom Mental Health Act in low, medium and high security hospitals and who had completed R&R2MHP. Predictors of treatment completion included background variables and five outcome measures: Four self-reported measures of violent attitudes, social problem-solving skills, reactive anger and locus of control and an objective measure of behaviour on theward that was completed by staff. Completion of the 16 session programme, which was delivered on a weekly basis, was classified as ≥ 12 sessions.RESULTS It was found that the R&R2MHP is appropriate for delivery to participants of different ages, ethnic background, and at different levels of security without the completion rate or treatment effectiveness being compromised. Participants taking oral typical psychotropic medication were over seven times more likely to complete the programme than other participants. Behavioural disturbance on the ward prior to commencing the programme predicted non-completion(medium effect size). As far as treatment completion was concerned, none of the background factors predicted treatment effectiveness(age, ethnic background, level of security, number of previous convictions and number of previous hospital admissions). The best predictor of treatment effectiveness was attitude towards violence suggesting that this should be the primary outcome measure in future research evaluating outcomes of the R&R2MHP cognitive skills program. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that a stable mental state is a key factor that predicts treatment completion.

Drug-abusing Offenders with Co-morbid Mental Disorders:Gender Differences in Problem Severity,Treatment Participation,and Recidivism

Objective This study examined the gender differences in drug‐related problems and predictors of recidivism among a sample of 1444 offenders with co‐morbid drug abuse and mental disorders participating in California＇s Proposition 36 Program.Methods Background characteristics and problem severity in multiple key life areas were assessed at intake by using Addiction Severity Index,and drug treatment participation,mental health diagnoses and arrests were based on official records.Results Women demonstrated greater problem severity than men in family relationships,health,psychological health,and sexual and physical abuse history.Men on the other hand had greater criminal history,high rates of attention disorder,and psychotic disorder.More men than women were rearrested during the year after treatment admission.Logistic regression analyses showed that for the combined sample,male,young age,cocaine use（relative to methamphetamine）,drug abuse severity,methadone treatment,arrest history and fewer prior treatment history were associated with higher recidivism at 12‐month follow‐up;lower education,cocaine use,and arrest history were related to women＇s recidivism,while young age,outpatient treatment,and arrest history were predictors of men＇s recidivism.Conclusion Although the specific type of mental disorder did not seem to be predictive of recidivism,the high rates of mental health disorder and arrest of this population is problematic.Intervention strategies taking into consideration gender‐specific problems and needs can improve outcomes for both.

Perceptions of treatment among offenders with mental health problems and problematic substance use: The possible relevance of psychopathic personality traits

Substance abuse is related to re-offending, and substance abuse treatment may be effective in reducing criminal recidivism. Psychopathy, however, another factor that strongly correlates with re-offending, may be negatively associated with treatment utilization. This qualitative study explored perceptions of substance abuse treatment among offenders with mental health problems, problematic substance use, and various degrees of psychopathic personality traits. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) revealed that some treatment perceptions may vary with degree of psychopathic traits. For instance, participants with low and high degrees of psychopathic personality traits had different views on treatment requirements imposed upon them. Many treatment perceptions were also similar between the two participant groups. Thus, treatment perceptions may not be explained by degree of psychopathic personality traits alone, but the presence of some particular psychopathic traits may be relevant in explaining certain treatment perceptions. The results highlight the complex relationship between the individual and the treatment system, and may give input to future studies on rehabilitation of offenders with multiple treatment needs.

Profiling of Crimes Committed by Psychopathic Offenders

Criminal profiling is a process according to the behavioral pattern of offender to analyze the characteristics of the unsub. This article aims to review specific type of offender, psychopaths, to analyze their features during the crimes. It will firstly introduce the concept of psychopath and their criminality from genetic, biological, and environmental perspective. Then the characteristics of psychopathic offenders will be analyzed as well as motive, criminal scene analysis. Thirdly, three types of crimes that psychopaths are highly involved will be discussed. Finally, from the perspective of victimology, it also discusses the features of victims that psychopathic offenders choose.

A Juvenile Sex Offender with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Background:Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)is a neurodevelopmental disorder manifesting in early life.These children are more vulnerable to sexual abuse as victims and offenders.Here we describe a teenager with previously undiagnosed ADHD presenting with an alleged act of sexual offending.Case report:According to the 14-year-old accused,he has engaged in penetrative anal intercourse with another school colleague.He also divulged past such incidents involving a teenage male relative and insertion of foreign bodies by him to his anus repeatedly.On assessment the accused had features of inattention such as difficulty in sustaining attention,failing to finish work and features of impulsivity such as difficulty waiting for his turn and intruding on others.He was diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM 5 clinical criteria which were supported by the Sinhalese adaptation of the Swanson,Nolan and Pelham questionnaire.The assessment of the non-verbal intelligence was in the normal range,but his school performance was far below the average.Discussion:Undiagnosed ADHD contributes to academic impairment and inappropriate sexual behaviour.It is possible that the described adolescent’s impulsiveness and inattention contributed to his academic failure and risky sexual behaviour.Early detection and proper management of this disorder may have reduced the risk of such behaviour in him.

Factors Associated with Trait Anger Level of Juvenile Offenders in Hubei Province： A Binary Logistic Regression Analysis

The risk factors of high trait anger of juvenile offenders were explored through questionnaire study in a youth correctional facility of Hubei province, China. A total of 1090 juvenile offenders in Hubei province were investigated by self-compiled social-demographic questionnaire, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire（CTQ）, and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-Ⅱ（STAXI-Ⅱ）. The risk factors were analyzed by chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and binary logistic regression analysis with SPSS 19.0. A total of 1082 copies of valid questionnaires were collected. High trait anger group（n=316） was defined as those who scored in the upper 27 th percentile of STAXI-Ⅱ trait anger scale（TAS）, and the rest were defined as low trait anger group（n=766）. The risk factors associated with high level of trait anger included： childhood emotional abuse, childhood sexual abuse, step family, frequent drug abuse, and frequent internet using（P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）. Birth sequence, number of sibling, ranking in the family, identity of the main care-taker, the education level of care-taker, educational style of care-taker, family income, relationship between parents, social atmosphere of local area, frequent drinking, and frequent smoking did not predict to high level of trait anger（P〉0.05）. It was suggested that traumatic experience in childhood and unhealthy life style may significantly increase the level of trait anger in adulthood. The risk factors of high trait anger and their effects should be taken into consideration seriously.

（The Good）, The Bad and The Ugly： The Visual Construction of Female Child Sex-offenders

This paper explores the visual construction and representation of female sex offenders. It utilises the case study of Vanessa George, a nursery worker who was involved in the exchange of indecent imagery of children via an online paedophile ring. The first part of the paper considers the emergence of the sub-discipline, visual criminology and examines what is known about the visual representation of female offenders. The second part presents the findings of an empirical investigation, which involved engaging in a critical, reflexive visual analysis of a selection photographs and the police mugshot of Vanessa George. The paper considers the ways in which George＇s physical appearance and her suggested ability to deceive were used to visually represent her as ＂other＂, thus reinforcing the existing simplistic motifs of female sex offending.

Theory of unpremeditated joint principal offender

The social benefit of people＇s common behaviors is high. However, once there is the negligence, the harm to the interests of law will also be great. When more than two people implement the dangerous common behaviors, each doer has the common duty of care. If they commonly violate the duty of care which leads to the occurrence of the crimes, the unpremeditated joint principal offender establishes. China should take reference from the research experience of other countries in the world, to regulate people＇s common behaviors with the theory of the unpremeditated joint principal offender, to prevent and reduce the accidents from happening.

Brain Processing of Fearful Facial Expression in Mentally Disordered Offenders

Emotional facial expressions are important cues for interaction between people. The aim of the present study was to investigate brain function when processing fearful facial expressions in offenders with two psychiatric disorders which include impaired emotional facial perception;autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and psychopathy (PSY). Fourteen offenders undergoing forensic psychiatric assessment (7 with ASD, and 7 psychopathic offenders) and 12 healthy controls (HC) viewed fearful and neutral faces while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Brain activity (fearful versus neutral faces) was compared both between HC and offenders and between the two offender groups (PSY and ASD). Functional co-activation was also investigated. The offenders had increased activity bilaterally in amygdala and medial cingulate cortex as well as the left hippocampus during processing fearful facial expressions compared to HC. The two subgroups of offenders differed in five regions compared with each other. Results from functional co-activation analysis suggested a strong correlation between the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in the left hemisphere only in the PSY group. These findings suggest enhanced neural processing of fearful faces in the amygdala as well as in other facial processing brain areas in offenders compared to HC. Moreover, the co-activation between amygdala and ACC in the PSY but not the ASD group suggested qualitative differences in amygdala activity in the two groups. Since the sample size is small the study should be regarded as a pilot study.

Man with a Heart of Gold——A website to help released former offenders

＂One million private businesses arrange for the placement of and help onemillion people who have been re- leased after serving their prison terms and those released from programs of reeducation through labor （referred to as released former offenders below）.

To Touch Soul of Rakes——Reform school of juvenile offenders

Separated from the women’s prison by only a wall is a big courtyard. It is a world of green. We were told that growing in the three hectare courtyard are more than 3,000 of tall trees and bushes in more than 100 species, 3,000 pots of plants, 4,000 square meters of vegetative cover and nearly 10,000 square meters of flower beds, and lawns. There is also a rockery and a fall and more than 700 square meters of roof garden. No one could associate the place with the word "prison." But it is a prison-a prison or reform school for educating and correcting juvenile delinquents.

Swedish rape offenders——a latent class analysis

Sweden has witnessed an increase in the rates of sexual crimes including rape.Knowledge of who the offenders of these crimes are is therefore of importance for prevention.We aimed to study characteristics of individuals convicted of rape,aggravated rape,attempted rape or attempted aggravated rape(abbreviated rape+),against a woman≥18years of age,in Sweden.By using information from the Swedish Crime Register,offenders between 15 and 60years old convicted of rapeþbetween 2000 and 2015 were included.Information on substance use disorders,previous criminality and psychiatric disorders were retrieved from Swedish population-based registers,and Latent Class Analysis(LCA)was used to identify classes of rapeþoffenders.A total of 3039 offenders were included in the analysis.A major-ity of them were immigrants(n=1800;59.2%)of which a majority(n=1451;47.7%)were born outside of Sweden.The LCA identified two classes:Class A-low offending class(LOC),and Class B—high offending class(HOC).While offenders in the LOC had low rates of previous criminality,psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders,those included in the HOC had high rates of previous criminality,psychiatric disorders and substance use dis-orders.While HOC may be composed by more“traditional”criminals probably known by the police,the LOC may represent individuals not previously known by the police.These two separated classes,as well as our finding in regard to a majority of the offenders being immi-grants,warrants further studies that take into account the contextual characteristics among these offenders.

Eye tracking and child sexual offenders:a systematic review

Eye tracking is used in sexology to identify attractiveness and sexual desire indirectly.This systematic review summarizes results of works that have used eye tracking to analyse paedophilic interest in order to investigate its potential as a useful forensic tool.Six studies met the inclusion criteria.Five of them concerned a large study project and used approximatively the same sample of paedophiles(inpatients),forensic patients(without a sexual interest in children)and healthy controls to make comparisons between the three groups.One study added 11 self-declared paedophiles(outpatients)for a comparison between inpatient paedophiles,outpatient paedophiles and controls(healthy and forensic inpatients).One study compared a group of child sexual offenders with non-offenders.All studies used static pictures of male and female subjects at different pubertal stages.Some studies divided every picture into a different area of interest.Dependent variables used are fixation latency(early attention)and relative fixation time,(later attention).Each study identified significant differences between the paedophile group versus other groups:shorter fixation latency on child pictures,longer fixation time on child pictures and number of fixation most important on child pictures.Two scores(age preference index and attentional control index)showed hight and/or moderate sensitivity and specificity.Although the results suggest the eye tracking can discriminate between paedophile interest and non-paedophile interest,there are too few studies on this specific topic and further research is needed with larger and different sample,carried out by different research teams.If these findings were confirmed,it remains unclear as to their impact in a forensic context when presented openly in Court.

Efficacy of Williams LifeSkills Training in improving psychological health of Chinese male juvenile violent offenders:a randomized controlled study

This randomized controlled study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Williams Life Skills Training（WLST） as a means ofimproving the psychological health of Chinese male juvenile violent offenders.Sixty-six participants were assigned randomly to receive the usual intervention plus 8 weeks of WLST（study group,n = 33） or only the usual intervention（control group,n = 33）. We found that the study group exhibited significantly decreased State-Trait Anxiety Inventory（STAI X-1,X-2） STAX2 scores and Trait Coping Style Questionnaire（TCSQ） negative scores,and increased Interpersonal Support Evaluation List（ISEL） tangible scores from baseline to 9 weeks later（P 〈0.01）. In addition,a between-group difference in changes of TCSQ negative score was observed at the end of week 9（P 〈0.05）. These fi ndings suggest that WLST can improve trait anxiety,coping style,and interpersonal support in male Chinese juvenile violent offenders.

Prison Offers Viagra to Sex Offenders

自“伟哥”问世以来,新闻不断,但本文爆出的“伟哥”新闻与众不同!奥斯陆(挪威的首都)一监狱医生居然为两名因性犯罪而入狱的犯人开出了“伟哥”!此事公开后,有关官员却振振有辞地辩解:An inmate is a nornml individual whofromtimetotime—when on leave—wants to have functional sexual relations with his girlfriend or spouse.不过,其中的插入语when on leave,就让读者感到在“振振有辞”背后,藏匿着心虚。】

Do They Pose a Danger:Evaluation of the Recidivism Characteristics in China’s Community Corrections?

The modern criminal justice system includes community corrections,which play a preventive role in lowering recidivism among offenders.However,some offenders continue to commit crimes during community corrections.This research focuses on community corrections in Chinese community policing practice,particularly offender recidivism.The study collected a total of 500 questionnaires from offenders in the provincial administrative regions of northern China,which included first offense status,psychological status,and recidivism behavior.The study found that most recidivists are usually arrested for“drunk driving”,which may be related to their ability to exercise self-restraint,and that alcohol may contribute to their deviant behavior.Another important finding relates to young recidivists,who may have difficulty securing employment during community corrections and thus use crime again to gain income.In general,this study explores the offender population in Chinese community corrections practice and discusses the factors within it that influence offender recidivism.This may support law enforcement agencies in further evaluating the effectiveness of community corrections,and may provide new information for understanding community corrections in China.

BS-SC Model:A Novel Method for Predicting Child Abuse Using Borderline-SMOTE Enabled Stacking Classifier

For a long time,legal entities have developed and used crime prediction methodologies.The techniques are frequently updated based on crime evaluations and responses from scientific communities.There is a need to develop type-based crime prediction methodologies that can be used to address issues at the subgroup level.Child maltreatment is not adequately addressed because children are voiceless.As a result,the possibility of developing a model for predicting child abuse was investigated in this study.Various exploratory analysis methods were used to examine the city of Chicago’s child abuse events.The data set was balanced using the Borderline-SMOTE technique,and then a stacking classifier was employed to ensemble multiple algorithms to predict various types of child abuse.The proposed approach successfully predicted crime types with 93%of accuracy,precision,recall,and F1-Score.The AUC value of the same was 0.989.However,when compared to the Extra Trees model(17.55),which is the second best,the proposed model’s execution time was significantly longer(476.63).We discovered that Machine Learning methods effectively evaluate the demographic and spatial-temporal characteristics of the crimes and predict the occurrences of various subtypes of child abuse.The results indicated that the proposed Borderline-SMOTE enabled Stacking Classifier model(BS-SC Model)would be effective in the real-time child abuse prediction and prevention process.

Outcomes of administrative involuntary hospitalization: A national retrospective cohort study in Japan

BACKGROUND Treatment for offenders with mental disorders is a key concern in public mental health.Provision of adequate psychiatric treatment is important for the offender and their community.An approach used in Japan to address this issue is administrative involuntary hospitalization.Under this scheme,a person at risk for harming themselves or others because of a mental disorder can be involuntarily hospitalized in a designated psychiatric hospital.However,this scheme does not include tracking of these patients after discharge.Although some data for administrative involuntary hospitalizations are available,it remains unclear what happens to these patients after discharge.AIM To evaluate follow-up of patients under administrative involuntary hospitalization after discharge and obtain data for later comparisons with outcomes.METHODS We used a retrospective design and conducted a national survey of administrative involuntary hospitalizations.Questionnaires were distributed to 939 facilities across Japan.The questionnaire collected data for selected involuntary hospitalization cases in the hospital on June 30,2010(census date),and the prognoses of each patient on a specified date in 2011 and 2012.We also asked about the treatment provided to each patient.We stratified patients by prognosis(good or poor),and used logistic regression analysis to examine the relationship between treatment and prognosis.RESULTS We received completed questionnaires from 292 facilities(response rate 31.1%);105 facilities had no relevant patients.Our analysis included data for 394 patients with valid data.Official statistics indicated 1503 patients were under administrative involuntary hospitalization as at June 30,2012,meaning the capture rate was 27.2%.Approximately a fourth(104/394)at 1 year,and a third(137/294)at 2 years after the census had unknown prognosis.Treatment content included multi-disciplinary team meetings(78.2%of patients),counseling by public workers(59.9%),and discussion with external specialists(32.5%).Overall,116 patients were categorized as having a good prognosis at 1 year,and 168 had a poor prognosis.At the 2-year point,102 patients had a good prognosis and 150 had a poor prognosis.“Discussion with external specialists”was positively associated with a good prognosis at both 1 year(P=0.016)and 2 years(P=0.036).CONCLUSION We found that facilities in Japan currently have limited ability to track the prognoses of patients who were hospitalized involuntarily.Discussion with external specialists is associated with a good prognosis.

Criminal Behavior among the Elderly: A Look into What People Think about This Emerging Topic

The elderly population is growing fast. With this changing demographic fact we can expect to see overall crime rates among the elderly growing right along with it. This study explored people’s knowledge about elderly crime and their perceptions about elderly offenders. Survey data were collected from 229 respondents living in Southern California. Statistical analyses on the key variables revealed a number of significant group differences in regard to age F(7, 221) = 2.15, p = 0.039, and ethnicity F(5, 223) = 2.60, p = 0.026. The data revealed that most of the respondents believe that elderly crime is going to get worse over time (58.5%) and that white-collar crimes were the biggest problem (44.5%). Male respondents (M = 1.80, SD = 3.83) on average knew more elderly offenders than female respondents (M = 0.99, SD = 2.39). Respondents from all ages tended to believe that older people were less likely to commit street crimes but were about as likely to commit white-collar crimes as younger people. There also appears to be a pattern of increasing drug use and drug abuse among both elderly men and women. Increasing problems with criminal offending among the elderly are going to have major implications across different social systems and institutions, such as political, economic, and legal systems, corrections, rehabilitation, and medical and mental health services.