Extensive Criminal Histories Research Articles

Criminal History, Physical and Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Services Use Among Incarcerated Substance Abusers

Recent research shows that drug-involved offenders engage in many health-risky behaviors, but relatively little is known about the impact of criminal history on the health of these individuals. In this study, criminal history and health information was collected from 661 male drug-abusing prisoners. Findings showed that having a more extensive criminal history was associated with higher rates of overall physical health problems but not mental health problems. Although no relationship between mental health and crime was observed, future research on the connection between psychological problems and criminal history is discussed. Years of lifetime use of five different drugs was positively related to criminal history. In terms of health services utilization, offenders with more serious criminal histories were more likely to have received previous medical treatment in a hospital emergency room and to have received treatment for drug or alcohol abuse.

DIAGNOSING ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER AMONG SUBSTANCE ABUSERS: THE SCID VERSUS THE MCMI-II

There is much controversy among social scientists and clinicians over the proper measurement of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). The degree to which various diagnostic measures differ in their assessment of ASPD among substance abusers is not known. This study assessed the degree of agreement between a semistructured clinical interview and a self-report inventory on a diagnosis of ASPD among substance abusers. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID-II), a clinically generated instrument, and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-II), a self-report inventory, were administered to 275 clients randomly assigned to two therapeutic communities (TCs). Based on the limited existing literature, it was hypothesized that there would be minimal agreement between the diagnosis of ASPD by the two scales. This hypothesis was supported. The kappa statistic indicated low agreement between the scales (κ = 0.27), with the MCMI-II diagnosing ASPD more often than the SCID-II. The low agreement on a diagnosis of ASPD may be due to the different types of information collected by the two scales. The SCID-II emphasizes observable behavioral criteria, while the MCMI-II emphasizes pathological personality traits. The focus of the MCMI-II on pathological personality traits may more accurately diagnose ASPD in substance-abusing populations in which the majority of the clients have extensive criminal histories. Definite conclusions regarding the proper measurement of ASPD in substance-abusing samples is difficult without additional empirical evidence.

Violent Offenders in Drug Court

Drug courts are slowly beginning to expand their admission criteria to include more chronic and serious offenders since traditional probation and incarceration have failed to prevent drug use and crime. Drug courts have moved from providing diversion programs for first-time offenders charged with drug possession to developing tracks for more complex clients. Many of these new drug court participants have extensive criminal histories, including histories of violent crime. Drug court decision-makers thus confront the difficulty of balancing the needs of treatment versus corrections by attempting to target offenders whose criminal histories suggest that their candidacy in a drug court would not pose a risk to public safety. To date, little is known about whether drug courts are appropriate for offenders with lengthy criminal histories that often include violence. The research presented here explores correlates of drug court graduation for seriously crime-involved offenders, most of whom have a history of violence.

Who Is More Dangerous? Comparing the Criminality of Adult Homeless and Domiciled Jail Inmates: A Research Note

The criminality of 100 homeless and 100 domiciled jail inmates was compared. Homeless jail inmates were significantly more likely than domiciled jail inmates to be mentally ill, to be arrested for nuisance offenses, to have more extensive criminal histories, and to have prior arrests for use of weapons, drugs, and alcohol. Suggestions for processing homeless offenders are given.

Are Special Hospitals needed?

It has been recommended that the Special Hospitals should be replaced by high-security services at a regional level. This study examines the implications of such a change in policy and demonstrates that local facilities would have to contain a significant proportion of patients whose violent and criminal behaviour cannot be managed in medium security and where in some cases all previous therapeutic interventions have failed to prevent a progression through successively higher levels of hospital security over time. Admissions to Special Hospitals followed more serious behavioural disturbance in other psychiatric services and more serious offences; the patients had more extensive previous criminal histories and were more likely to have primary and comorbid diagnoses of personality disorder and paraphilias. Almost a quarter of all admissions to the Special Hospitals in 1988–94 were transfers from medium security. This study provides little evidence that medium-security services reduced the demand for beds in Special Hospitals over the study period. The transfer of high-security beds to local services would have to take into account the threefold difference in levels of demand across regional catchment areas.

Twenty years after Gilmore: Who is being executed?

This research profiles the 432 felons executed between 1977, the first execution in the post-Gregg era, and 1997. The 432 death row inmates executed during this period were males (with one exception), convicted of murder under at least one aggravating circumstance, and had extensive criminal histories. Most held low-prestige jobs prior to their last arrest, achieved less than a high school education, and had serious mental or emotional problems. Only a handful of these executions generated any publicity. Those who were executed were lower class individuals unlikely to arouse any public sympathy.

Adapting and Using the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-2 with Criminal Justice Offenders

This article presents the preliminary results of adapting and using the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-2 (SASSI) with criminal justice populations. Through pilot testing with 200 probationary and 100 pretrial adult criminal offenders referred to Illinois Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, separate norms based on the SASSI-2 were developed for making treatment referral decisions. Analysis of SASSI-2 data collected from larger samples of criminal offenders showed that it appears to accurately screen for chemical dependency and that the treatment referrals based on the norms developed in the initial pilot study were reasonable. The SASSI-2 Corrections subscale also distinguished well between offenders with more extensive criminal histories and those with fewer prior arrests. Although more rigorous validation studies are needed, it is recommended that the SASSI-2 be considered for use with criminal justice populations when a brief, objective, and accurate screening tool for chemical dependency is needed.

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Sex Offenders

Recidivism rates were examined for the near-exhaustive sample of 122 sex offenders placed in a rural Vermont county under correctional supervision from 1984 through 1995. Participants were at risk for an average of 62.9 months. Of this sample, 71 nonrandomized participants enrolled in a comprehensive outpatient cognitive-behavioral and relapse-prevention-based treatment program, 32 participants received less specialized mental health treatment, and the remaining 19 participants received no treatment. Pretreatment, between-group comparisons identified the no-treatment group as having more extensive criminal histories. No other statistically significant between-group differences among factors related to reoffense risk were found. At follow up, the cognitive-behavioral treatment group demonstrated a statistically significant treatment benefit. The treatment program is described.

Social status of DUI offenders in jail.

It has been argued that DUI (driving under the influence) is an offense of the economically privileged, which suggests that DUI offenders may be different from other offenders. Studies of DUI arrestees and jail inmates, however, suggest they have more extensive criminal histories than other licensed drivers and similar criminal histories to other jail inmates. This study utilizes data from a representative national survey of over 5,000 jail inmates to compare jailed DUI offenders with other offenders on social characteristics, prior criminality, drug use, and alcohol use. The purpose of these comparisons is to determine whether DUI inmates represent a distinct "class" of offender for whom jail is a new experience. The implications of this distinction for policies which mandate jail time for DUI offenders are discussed.

Predicting Predatory Behavior in a Population of Incarcerated Young Offenders

Predatory relationships are characterized by violence or threats of violence and their prediction and prevention are matters of critical importance within the custodial setting. In an attempt to predict predatory behavior, 251 consecutive admissions to a secure custody Young Offenders Unit in a maximum security detention centre were administered the Young Offender-Level of Service Inventory (YO-LSI). Subjects ranged in age from 16 to 19 years. Twenty-eight of them subsequently displayed aggressive behavior toward other residents and had to be isolated. The YO-LSI distinguished predators from nonpredators and showed satisfactory interobserver reliability and internal consistency. Results suggested that predators have more extensive criminal histories and criminal sentiments, as well as more substance abuse, educational/employment, family, peer, and psychological problems.

High and Low Offenders Compared

Prisoners with extensive criminal histories were compared with those having a relatively minor history of crime in respect of a large number of variables, in order to evaluate factors associated with recidivism and hence of predictive use. It was found that most of the generally regarded concomitants of delinquency were more prevalent in the high offenders, some much more so. Of special significance were a history of mental illness and prolonged absence from the parental home in childhood.

Men remanded into custody for medical reports: the selection for treatment.

In a sample of men remanded into custody for medical reports during a three-month period, it was found that those who received recommendations for treatment had a diagnosis of acute mental illness, had in the past been admitted more frequently to mental hospitals and had spent a longer period as in-patients. They were also assessed as being difficult to manage, i.e. they were considered to be nuisances, were threatening and potentially violent. The men who were not recommended for treatment had a history of excessive drinking and drink-related offences; they also had more extensive criminal histories and a diagnosis of psychopathic disorder.