Offence Paralleling Behaviour Research Articles

A feasibility study to identify the presence of autism specific risk factors in secure services using an autism specific framework

PurposeSome individuals with autism may engage in violent behaviour. Research into autism specific factors (ASFs) that may contribute to violence is limited. The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of use of an ASF framework which was developed to inform risk formulation and treatment needs.Design/methodology/approachRetrospective identification and evaluation of ASFs in offenders with autism (N = 13) at childhood, time of index offence and in current risk behaviours. The ASFs described in the framework were repetitive behaviours and circumscribed interests; poor social understanding and empathy; sensitivity to sensory stimulation; and disruption to rigid behavioural routines or difficulties coping with change.FindingsThere was evidence for all four ASFs being consistently present in childhood, contributing to violent behaviour at the index offence and current risk behaviours in at least one case. Poor social understanding and empathy was often present at both childhood and index offence in all cases. Of the seven cases with offence paralleling behaviour, five had at least one ASF present at each timepoint.Practical implicationsThis proof-of-concept study provides initial support that ASFs play a role in offending behaviour of individuals with autism. Clinicians working in specialist and generic forensic services, with an in-depth knowledge of autism, could use the ASF framework to enhance risk assessments and facilitate more targeted treatment planning for offenders with autism in specialist and general forensic services.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to test the application of the ASF framework in an autistic offending population.

Schema modes in criminal and violent behaviour of forensic cluster B PD patients: A retrospective and prospective study

PurposeA clear understanding of an offender's criminal behaviour is a prerequisite for determining suitable treatment. In the literature, several specific frameworks or therapeutic approaches that aim to explicate criminal behaviour can be distinguished (e.g., cognitive analytic therapy, offence paralleling behaviour paradigm), but Schema Therapy (ST) is becoming an increasingly popular paradigm. According to forensic ST's theoretical framework, criminal and violent behaviour can be explained by an unfolding sequence of schema modes, or moment‐to‐moment states that represent emotions, cognitions, and behaviour. In this study, we examine the validity of this theory and the relationship between schema modes, psychopathy, and institutional violence.MethodsSchema modes were assessed retrospectively from descriptions of patients’ crimes in a sample of 95 hospitalized cluster B personality disordered offenders. Psychopathy was rated with the Psychopathy Checklist‐Revised and institutional transgressions were coded from daily hospital reports.ResultsOur findings show that criminal behaviour is often preceded by schema modes that refer to feelings of vulnerability and abandonment, loneliness, and states of intoxication. Criminal behaviour itself is characterized by schema modes that refer to states of impulsivity, anger, and the use of overcompensatory strategies involving threats, intimidation, and aggression. Schema modes involving bullying and manipulation were positively correlated with the interpersonal facet of psychopathy; the vulnerable child mode was negatively correlated with the affective facet of psychopathy. The schema modes in this study moderately predicted later institutional transgressions.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the schema mode concept is of explanatory value in understanding criminal and violent behaviour.

Detecting offence paralleling behaviours in a medium secure psychiatric unit

Purpose Offence paralleling behaviour (OPB) is a relatively new concept that emphasizes the assessment and modification of behavioural patterns that parallel criminal offending. Extant empirical research into OPB has typically focussed on the similarity between aggressive behaviours observed in custody and violent index offences perpetrated in the community; the results of these studies have been inconsistent, with the degree of similarity varying within subjects and across studies; (Daffern, Howells, Stacey, Hogue, & Mooney, 2008; Daffern, Howells, Mannion, & Tonkin, 2009). The aim of this study was to establish the level of similarity between OPB predictions and actual in-patient aggressive behaviours. Method This prospective pilot study used a novel practice algorithm (Jones, 2010a) to develop a reference formulation from which OPBs and Pro-social alternate behaviours (PABs), the pro-social variants of OPBs, were predicted. Participants were five mentally disordered offenders resident in a UK medium secure psychiatric unit. Following generation of a reference formulation and OPB and PAB predictions the participants were monitored for 6 months. The degree of similarity between predicted and actual OPBs and PABs was calculated using Jaccard's coefficient. Results Results indicated considerable similarity between matched (pairing predictions and their corresponding actual behaviours) OPBs, which were also more similar than random pairs (pairing randomly selected predictions and aggressive behaviours). Conclusion This study revealed the existence of OPB in mentally disordered offenders and has provided the first test of a novel practice algorithm, revealing its potential to guide OPB formulations.

Sexual offenders, offence paralleling behaviour and how it relates to risk

This paper will explore the role of Offence Paralleling Behaviours (OPB) in relation to risk assessment and risk reduction in sexual offenders. Specifically, the paper addresses the difficulty of identifying OPBs in relation to sexual arousal and sexual interests due to the increased use of detection evasion skills (DES) in this domain. Sexual interest will be defined as the fantasies, thoughts, ideas or preferences that individuals find sexually attractive, and arousal defined as the resulting response. Previous research (Hanson & Bussière, 1998) concluded that sexual deviance was a significant factor in sexual recidivism. Further, meta-analytic reviews (Hanson & Bussière, 1998; Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005) consistently show that deviant sexual interest, (for example sex with children, or to include adult sexual coercion), are the strongest predictors of future offending. Therefore a thorough understanding of current sexual interest is important to assess risk of further offending. However, it can be very difficult for service users to discuss such personal interests. The paper will also consider the importance of a thorough functional analysis of offending behaviour and briefly describe the development of a new tool to assist with the assessment of current sexual interest. Potential treatment pathways in relation to sexual OPBs are discussed, reflecting the complex nature of offence related sexual arousal.

Offence paralleling behaviour and the custodial good life at HMP Grendon

This paper is a summary of a presentation at the DFP conference discussing what constitutes offence paralleling behaviour (OPB) in a therapeutic community and the opportunity the environment presents to develop and practise a ‘custodial good life’.

A test of methodology intended to assist detection of aggressive offence paralleling behaviour within secure settings

Purpose. Treatments and risk assessments determined by the offence paralleling behaviour (OPB) framework appear to have found a place in practice well ahead of empirical support and conceptual clarity. Although the framework is intuitively appealing its inappropriate use may have profound negative implications for patients. Incapacitation and unnecessary treatments may be demanded when observed behaviours are interpreted as evidence of persistent pathology related to previous patterns of criminal offending. Conversely, behaviours occurring within institutions that are not topographically similar but that fall within the same response class and do represent the continuation of problematic patterns of behaviour may be ignored if observers are not sensitive to the possibility that problem behaviours, albeit muted, may persist within institutions.Methods. This paper presents a study examining the similarity of personality disordered patients' violent index acts with their aggressive behaviour during hospitalization.Results. Results revealed evidence of cross situational similarity for some but not all aggressive behaviours.Conclusion. These results provide support for the OPB framework. However, the lack of similarity on a significant number of incidents indicates a need for thorough, structured analysis to determine whether an aggressive behaviour observed in an institution parallels violent acts preceding incarceration.

Refining the definition of Offence Paralleling Behaviour

Refining the definition of Offence Paralleling Behaviour

Using Offence Paralleling Behaviour to structure observations and to inform the management and assessment of clients in secure forensic settings

Using Offence Paralleling Behaviour to structure observations and to inform the management and assessment of clients in secure forensic settings