Violent Offenders Research Articles

Tensions between police training and practice for the risk assessment of registered sex offenders in England and Wales

ABSTRACT In UK, police officers are specially trained to become Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) officers. MOSOVO officers risk assess Registered Sex Offenders during home visits. We aimed to examine the MOSOVO training and home visits, and determine whether there is an alignment between training and practice. Three police forces in UK participated. Firstly, the MOSOVO training course was observed at each force. Secondly, MOSOVO officers in each force recorded home visits over a two-week period; the authors randomly selected 12 recordings for analysis. Field notes and transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes were developed: unspecialised trainers lead to distrust and disengagement; the training does not prepare officers for all types of home visit; tensions between standard police policies and MOSOVO role; police suspicion of RSOs influences home visit implementation. We provide recommendations to improve MOSOVO training and the home visit process.

Relationships Between Early Maladaptive Schemas and Emotional States in Individuals With Sexual Convictions.

This study seeks to add to the existing knowledge and available literature on schema therapy elements in forensic inpatient samples. Early maladaptive schemas and emotional states were assessed in Dutch individuals with sexual convictions and compared to individuals with nonsexual violent convictions. Self-ratings of the Young Schema Questionnaire and the Schema Mode Inventory of 95 patients with either convictions for child sexual abuse (N = 30), sexual violence against adults (N = 34), and nonsexual violent convictions (N = 31) were examined using one-way multivariate ANOVAs. Regardless of victim type, forensic patients convicted for sexual offending, and patients with convictions for nonsexual violent offending, seem to make equal use of specific maladaptive cognitive schemas and schema modes during mandated inpatient care. Other studies have shown that people with sexual offense histories are typically characterized by insecure attachment, overvigilance towards women, or a child-like self-concept. Our study indicates that forensic patient in Dutch mandated care may be qualitatively different from typical patients with sexual offense histories and that Dutch patients with violent or sexual offense histories are more similar than they are dissimilar.

International Law Enforcement Observer IX.

Aim: This time, the international overview draws the attention of the readers of Belügyi Szemle to certain studies, which - in addition to providing results in the traditional areas (police endangerment, racism, criminal organisations, violent crime, terrorism, human rights interpretation) - also offer methodological surprises.Methodology: For scientific curiosity to lead to genuinely new knowledge, a fresh approach to research is needed. For example, the rejection of police vulnerability as a rule of law has traditionally taken as its task the sociological interpretation of norm-breaking and amoral official behaviour (Dieu, 1995). Less attention has been paid to the features of the law enforcement profession or the roots of the organisational culture that are responsible for the proliferation of malpractice. A review by Ágota Németh gives an insight into the character of the latter. An original perspective emerges in a study on the “fallibility” of the police, reported by Gergely Takács. The specific characteristics of the protection of public safety and the maintenance of public order have been confirmed again: the unexpectedness of the violation, the need for immediate reaction, the autonomy of the intervener (Hug, 1997). These features give room for general empowerment rather than limitation of police power, and at the same time they are a source of error in policing. A methodological innovation is reported by Zsombor Hermann, who illustrates the successful use of network theory by providing insights into British research on criminal organisation models.Findings: Ákos Erdélyi has turned his attention to research - taking the organisational fragmentation of the fight against terrorism and the sensitive nature of intelligence data into consideration - that seeks to find the answer to how counter-terrorism authorities can strike a delicate balance between sharing intelligence information and securely protecting it. The study reviewed by Tamás Suszter explores the potential of community policing as a solution to get over the racist attitudes in the police forces of the American continent. A typology of violent offenders can be drawn from an approach based on the criminal history of convicts serving their sentences. Sándor Dragon’s review presents such a research. The tightening of criminal sanctions against terrorism can be seen in the French legislation, which also allows for the deprivation of nationality acquired through naturalisation as a supplementary punishment for those convicted of terrorist acts. “Under French law, a person whose loyalty and allegiance are in doubt can lose his or her nationality, but only a naturalised citizen can be deprived of it. An extra safeguard is the requirement of a criminal conviction. Reading this section, it is clear that the negative link between immigration and security is reflected in the tightening of anti terrorism laws.” Barbara Mágó’s article points out the constitutional situation that places the right to citizenship within the sphere of human dignity, which is inviolable and cannot be restricted by criminal law. For a deeper understanding of the problem, it is undoubtedly necessary to clarify the social science concept of terrorism, as can be found in the domestic literature (Pék, 2022).Value: The latest foreign products of law enforcement research, in addition to their thematic diversity, testify to the common values of those working in the discipline. All of these works are based on the recognition that law enforcement administration can fulfil its social function with the rigour of the rule of law only if it succeeds in achieving harmony between efficiency and legality. Law enforcement science also has a major responsibility in this endeavour.

Criminal behaviors and substance abuse in psychiatric patients

IntroductionPeople with mental illness are overrepresented throughout the criminal justice system. In Italy, an ongoing process of deinstitutionalization has been enacted: the Judicial Psychiatric Hospitals are now on the edge of their closure in favor of small-scale therapeutic facilities (Residenze per l’Esecuzione delle Misure di Sicurezza - REMS). Law 81/2014 prescribes that a patient cannot stay in a REMS for a period longer than a prison sentence for the same index offense. Therefore, when patients end their duty for criminal behaviors, their clinical management moves back to outpatient psychiatric centers. Elevated risks of violent behavior are not equally shared across the spectrum of psychiatric disorders. In the past several years, multiple studies in the field of forensic psychiatry confirmed a close relationship between violent offenders and comorbid substance abuse.ObjectivesIn order to broaden the research in this area, we analyzed sociodemographic, clinical and forensic variables of a group of psychiatric patients with a history of criminal behaviors, attending an outpatient psychiatric service in Milan, with a focus on substance abuse.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional single center study, conducted in 2020. Seventy-six subjects with a history of criminal behaviors aged 18 years or more and attending an outpatient psychiatric service were included. Demographic and clinical variables collected during clinical interviews with patients were retrospectively retrieved from patients’ medical records. Appropriate statistical analyses for categorical and continuous variables were conducted.ResultsData were available for 76 patients, 51,3% of them had lifetime substance abuse. Lifetime substance abuse was significantly more common in patients with long-acting injectable antipsychotics therapy, >3 psychiatric hospitalizations, history of previous crimes and economic crime (Table 1). Additionally, this last potential correlation was confirmed by logistic regression.Table 1.Lifetime substance abusers (N=39)Non-lifetime substance abusers (N=37)Proportion DifferenceP-valueN%N%Depot administrationYes11(28,9%)0(0%)28,9%0,02HospitalizationsFour or more25(64,1%)5(33,3%)30,8%0,04Economic crimeYes15(40,5%)1(6,7%)33,8%0,02Previous crimesYes17(51,4%)2(13,3%)38,1%0,02ConclusionsData emerging from this survey provide new information about offenders in an Italian mental health service with a focus on lifetime substance abuse in these patients. Our preliminary results should be confirmed in larger sample sizes.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

The clinical stages of psychosis among violent and non-violent adult prisoners in Australia

IntroductionPast research examining the relationship between psychosis and criminality has typically focused on chronic schizophrenia and violence. However, contact with the criminal justice system is not constrained to the most unwell or most violent. The present study is novel as it examines the different clinical stages of psychosis, from the at-risk mental states (ARMS)/Ultra-High Risk (UHR) to the early and chronic psychotic illness phase, across the entire spectrum of criminal offending.ObjectivesThe main study objective is to establish the prevalence of the clinical stages of psychosis among adults entering custody and to examine the sociodemographic and forensic characteristics associated with the different stages of psychosis. A further aim is to examine whether psychosis-spectrum prisoners differ from non-psychotic prison controls across these characteristics.MethodsParticipants consist of unselected 291 adult male and female prisoners entering the largest maximum security reception centres in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. They completed a range of semi-structured questionnaires and adapted mental health screening measures. The Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental States (CAARMS; Yung et al., 2005) was used to ascertain whether participants met the Ultra High Risk (UHR), First Episode of Psychosis (FEP) or Established Psychosis (EP) criteria.ResultsParticipants were 34.25 years old (SD = 10.69) on average and men were significantly older than women (p = 0.035). Among prisoners with a psychosis-spectrum illness (n = 121), the prevalence of UHR was 24%, First Episode Psychosis (FEP) was 6% and established psychosis was 11%. Compared to controls, psychosis spectrum prisoners were found to have higher levels of social disadvantage, psychiatric comorbidities and multiple incarceration episodes. However, psychosis was not associated with a greater risk of violent offending. Implications on the complex illness burden associated with psychosis and the need for early identification and intervention across forensic mental health services will be further discussed.ConclusionsThis study is novel as it examines the full spectrum of psychotic illness across the entire spectrum of criminal offending. The findings support the notion that risk of criminal justice contact and complex illness burden exist across the different clinical stages of psychosis, from the UHR to the early FEP and chronic psychosis stages, for both violent and non-violent offending. Early intervention services must consider how to more effectively identify and intervene to reduce the risk of criminal justice system contact among mentally ill individuals.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Enhancing psychological treatment for violent offenders: A narrative review of treatment approaches to target aggressive script rehearsal

Enhancing psychological treatment for violent offenders: A narrative review of treatment approaches to target aggressive script rehearsal

Adolescent Romance Or Partners In Crime? The Influence Of Romantic Relationships And Peers On Criminal Behavior In Adolescence

ABSTRACT The impact of romantic relationships in adulthood, specifically marriage, has received consistent attention in existing scholarship. However, the impact of romantic relationships during adolescence has received much less attention. As such, the current study uses two waves of data from the Pathways to Desistance study to examine how elements of romantic and peer relationships affect adolescent delinquent behaviors. Results indicated several important findings regarding the desistance effects of romantic relationship status, monitoring by romantic partners, and impulse control on adolescents’ self-reported nonviolent and violent offending. Limitations, future research, and policy recommendations are discussed.

Child-to-parent Violence Offenders (Specialists vs. Generalists): The Role of Direct Victimization at Home

Background/Objectives: Current research has identified direct victimization at home as one of the main predictors of child-to-parent violence (CPV). However, the mechanisms involved in this relationship have not been studied. Thus, we first analyze the differences between CPV offenders and offenders who have committed other types of offenses, as well as the differences between two types of CPV offenders: specialists (those who have only committed CPV) and generalists (those who have committed CPV in addition to other offenses), in multiple risk factors. Next, we specifically examine direct victimization at home and its relationship with social-cognitive processing in CPV. Method: The sample consisted of 208 Spanish young offenders recruited from the Juvenile Justice Service (163 males) aged 14-20 years. Concretely, 83 were CPV offenders, 126 other offenders and concerning the CPV group, 57 were specialists and 26 generalists. A wide range of individual, family, and social variables were evaluated. Results: Compared to other offenders, CPV offenders show more socio-cognitive difficulties, less parental warmth and more parental criticism/rejection, more direct victimization at home and more vicarious victimization at school and in the street. Specialist and generalist CPV offenders differ significantly in their characteristics, with the generalists showing a more negative profile than the specialists. The most important result is that direct victimization at home is linked to social-cognitive processing, and, while some of the variables (anticipation of positive consequences and justification of violence) are positively related to CPV motivated by instrumental reasons, other variables (anger and aggressive response access) are positively related to CPV motivated by reactive reasons. Conclusions: Dysfunctional social-cognitive processing is implicated in the relationship between direct victimization at home and CPV, varying the components involved depending on the reasons for the violence. It is discussed the implications of the obtained results for research and professional practice.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids: Considerations for forensic psychiatry, sports psychiatry, and the law

Anabolic-androgenic steroids: Considerations for forensic psychiatry, sports psychiatry, and the law

Trait anger and aggression among male violent offenders: The mediating effect of sadistic impulse and the moderating effect of emotion regulation

We investigated the mediating role of sadistic impulse and the moderating role of emotion regulation strategy in the relationship between trait anger and aggressive behaviour in violent offenders. A total of 492 male violent offenders (mean age = 34.06 years, SD = 6.67 years) completed the Trait Anger Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Short Sadistic Impulse Scale, and Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale. We tested a moderated mediation model by multiple linear regression analysis (Bootstrap n = 5 000). The results showed that sadistic impulse mediated the relationship between trait anger and aggressive behaviour in violent offenders. Higher level of sadistic impulse was associated with a higher likelihood of aggressive behaviour. Emotion regulation strategy moderated the relationship between trait anger and aggressive behaviour. Specifically, those with lower emotional regulation were more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour compared to those with higher emotional regulation. The mediated moderation model applied to both impulsive and premeditated aggression. In the low emotion regulation group, the mediating effects of trait anger on impulsive and premeditated aggression were significant. In the high emotion regulation group, the mediating effects of trait anger on impulsive and premeditated aggression were lower, but still significant. Our findings are consistent with the emotion regulation theory of aggression stating that people with sadism may assault others to improve their mood.

A comparative study of recidivism factors associated with different offense categories in South Africa

The dearth of official, accurate reoffending data and empirical insight into the factors associated with recidivism in South Africa, including the overrepresentation of violent and sexual offending in the recidivism literature can be argued to negatively impact the development of effective interventions and associated policies. The current study therefore explored the differences between recidivists (N = 202) from different offending categories with respect to cognitive-behavioral, victimogenic, social, environmental, substance use and employment variables. The findings indicated a significant comparative difference in deviant decision-making patterns by sexual offenders, justification of offending behavior by narcotic offenders and involvement in gangsterism and substance use by aggressive offenders. Economic offenses were also significantly more frequently committed by the participants. The study provides new insight into the socio-psychological understanding of recidivism and recommends that future research be sensitive to the local context but is also aware of the changing nature of African ideologies globally.

Preventive detention in Finland and the other Nordic countries

ABSTRACT In the early twentieth century, European criminal justice systems started to discuss new security measures for dealing with persistent habitual criminals and mentally disordered offenders. New preventive institutions were established in the Nordics in the shift of the 1920–1930s. Indeterminate confinement came to cover both persistent property offenders, and repeat serious violent and sexual offenders. The success of these measures and the effectiveness of institutional treatment more generally, came to be questioned in the Nordic countries in the 1960s and 1970s. Disappointment about treatment effectiveness, combined with increased stress on legal safeguards, predictability and proportionality in the administration of criminal justice, undermined professional support for indeterminate sanctions and compulsory care. The use of preventive detention was either restricted, as in Denmark and Norway, or abolished altogether, as in Finland and Sweden. However, there were other arrangements in the latter countries, which partly served the same purpose.

Evaluating the Normative and Institutional Frameworks for Management of Violent Extremism Offenders in the Kenyan Prisons

This study aimed at evaluating the normative and institutional frameworks for management of violent extremism offenders in the Kenyan prisons. This study was guided by the Restorative justice theory, Retributive justice theory and the transformative justice theory. The study applied descriptive research design. This study used purposive and simple random sampling techniques to select 200 respondents who included; prison staff (senior staff), religious leaders (Sheikhs), and criminal justice lawyers, Office of the ODPP, prosecutors and inmates. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and key informants interview schedules. Secondary data was collected from published articles, journals, books, dissertations and projects. Quantitative data was coded and entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 22 for analysis while qualitative data was arranged thematically and presented through narration. The study findings established that; there exist weaknesses in law regarding management of violent extremist in Kenya particularly leniency relating to the justice served. On the strategies utilized for the management of violent extremist, incarceration is perceived as a fairly effective strategy while military incursion is regarded as a very effective strategy. Radicalization can be positive if it does not encourage violence or harm. Prison authorities have adopted various approaches to manage violent extremism which include; faith-based interventions which entail religious transformation offered by professional Clerics; separation of convicted inmates in different prison blocks and cells; education and vocational training to illiterate and marginalized offenders to acquire skills which can avail them employment opportunities, psychological and cognitive approaches as well as use of recreational and cultural activities. These strategies are geared towards dissuading violent extremism offenders from extremism as well as deradicalize them. The study findings identified the challenges which confront the successful implementation of deradicalization and prevention of violent extremism in Kenyan Prisons as well as opportunities. They include; institutional challenges, recidivism or relapse among the Prisoners; reintegration challenges; structural challenges evidenced by unemployment among the released terrorist convicts; regulatory discontinuities, Gang related problems among others. In this regard the study recommends for a coordinated multiagency cooperation in the management of violent extremists suspects or prisoners. There is also need for drafting and legislation of a policy framework for the management of violent extremism in rehabilitation facilities in the country.

Personality features of a violent juvenile offender

Personality features of a violent juvenile offender

The Criminon Model: A New paradigm for Offender Rehabilitation in Pakistan

This secondary research-based article examines the rationale, and significance of Criminon, a program offered in prisons worldwide, including Karachi Central Prison. Information was gathered from newspaper reports, articles, and websites to investigate Criminon program, its mission, objectives, courses, and services. It also examines Criminon success rate globally and in Karachi Central Prison. The findings revealed that Criminon is modernizing the archaic prison system in Karachi by rehabilitating offenders. Criminon education can rehabilitate and ultimately reintegrate even violent and habitual offenders, and many offenders are motivated to change in prison. In Karachi Central Prison, the Criminon is demonstrating positive results in altering the mentality of offenders, which can aid in reducing criminality, recidivism, and prison overcrowding. The research concluded that implementing Criminon to rehabilitate inmates would be beneficial for Pakistan and therefore recommends that it be implemented in all Pakistani prison administrations.

Systemic racism in data practices

Systemic racism in data practices

Healthcare utilization and psychiatric morbidity in violent offenders: findings from a prospective cohort study

PurposeAlthough persistent offenders with histories of imprisonment and violence have disproportionate high rates of psychiatric disorders, little is known of their psychiatric healthcare utilization (HCU) and HCU-associated factors. This study aimed to explore psychiatric HCU, psychiatric morbidity, and psychotropic prescription drugs in violent offenders with a history of incarceration.MethodsMale offenders aged 18–25 (n = 266) imprisoned for violent and/or physical sexual offenses were clinically assessed in 2010–2012 and prospectively followed in Swedish national registries through 2017. Register-based information regarding HCU, psychiatric morbidity, and psychotropic drugs was tracked and compared with a general population group (n = 10,000) and across offending trajectory groups. Baseline risk factors were used to explain prospective psychiatric HCU in violent offenders.ResultsViolent offenders used less general healthcare and psychiatric outpatient care, but more psychiatric inpatient care and were more often given psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic drugs than the general population. Participants previously assigned to persisting offending trajectory groups had higher rates of psychiatric HCU than those assigned to a desisting trajectory. In multivariable regression models, psychiatric HCU was associated with anxiety disorders, prior psychiatric contact, placement in a foster home, psychopathic traits, low intellectual functioning, and persistent offending.ConclusionsViolent offenders are burdened by extensive and serious psychiatric morbidity and typically interact with psychiatric healthcare as inpatients rather than outpatients. Knowledge about their backgrounds, criminal behaviors, and psychiatric statuses can aid the planning of psychiatric services for this troublesome group.

TESTING A PORTION OF THE OKLAHOMA AGING INMATE FORGIVENESS MODEL

Abstract The study assessed the viability of the published Oklahoma Aging Forgiveness Model on women in custody using cross-sectional data collected from females, violent and non-violent, in custody in Oklahoma. The theoretical model led to a hierarchical regression of a measure of positive mental health (Positive Evaluation of Life) on a block of control variables (age, education, and crime type), a block consisting of items from the Duke Religiosity measure, and a final block utilizing forgiveness of self, others, and situation (Heartland Forgiveness Scale). Results from the complete sample, N=447, explained 36% of the variance in the outcome. Significant individual predictors included in the final model were crime type, religiosity, and forgiveness of self and situations. We split the sample on crime type and found that for the violent offenders (N=228), 39% of the variance in the outcome was explained; in addition to religiosity, all three assessments of forgiveness were significant predictors. For the non-violent offenders (N=209), 35% of the outcome’s variability was explained. Religiosity, forgiveness of self and situation were significant predictors for this sub-sample. Discussion will focus on the Oklahoma Aging Forgiveness Model and how it works similarly for men in custody (published) and for women in custody. Further, the discussion will focus on the significant role played both by religiosity and forgiveness for those in custody. Findings from this study and that of studies with men clearly demonstrate that religiosity and forgiveness are important aspects of a prisoner’s life.

Domestic Violence during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidences from Vietnamese Families

Domestic violence has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic's early 2020 in many countries, including Vietnam. The violence sholud be solved. We examine 300 sample units, including 150 men and 150 women with wife status in the urban Vietnamese community, using the convenience sample and the norm sample. Results showed that domestic abuse by men is 32% more common than by women (22%). When they were asked about their feelings after inflicting acts of domestic violence on their spouses, the majority of violent offenders 64.7% said they felt regret and guilt. According to the poll, 4.8% of victims are women who do not want to engage in social activities because they feel helpless. They also feel weak as a result of the violence they have experienced. Then, it was a great concerns related to this domestic violence because of COVID-19 pandemic. More reasearch needed to solve these challenges. Keywords: Domestic Violence, COVID-19 Pandemic, Vietnamese Family.

Australian police detainees who use anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and their involvement in violent crimes compared to detainees using substances other than AAS

IntroductionAlthough anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use is associated with an increased risk of violent behaviour, this relationship is complex. Many methodological issues also exist with current studies and most focus on community or prison settings, targeting people who use AAS only. This will be the first Australian study to compare police detainees who at the time of arrest report the use of AAS with those who report using other substances in the past 12 months; focussing on demographic characteristics, most serious charged offences and presence of poly-drug use. MethodsData is drawn from the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program, which collects data around drug use and criminal justice information from police detainees across Australia. Data was requested for 2017-2021. Our sample included 10,105 offenders who reported substance use, including 312 who had used AAS. ResultsWe found that detainees who had used AAS in the 12 months before their offence were charged with violent crimes (40.5%) at a similar rate to those who used substances other than AAS (36.5%). We found high rates of other substance use amongst AAS-using detainees, particularly alcohol and stimulants. Discussion and conclusionsCommitting violent offences does not seem to be a unique feature of individuals using AAS, with the prevalence of violent crime among detainees no different to those who use other substances. It however did form the most serious offence of the majority of detainees who used AAS. Drug programs for violent offenders to overcome their drug dependence and criminal offending are however absent.