Police National Computer Research Articles

Multiple homicide: a descriptive study of serial homicide and mass murder in England and Wales

ABSTRACT Homicide involving multiple victims is relatively rare in England and Wales. When it does occur, mental illness is assumed to have played a significant role. However, reliable evidence to support this is often lacking. We aimed to describe the prevalence of multiple homicide and its subgroups: serial murder, mass murder and familicide and the presence of mental disorder. Data were obtained from the Home Office, HM Court Service, the Police National Computer and NHS Trusts. In England and Wales 470 killed multiple victims between 1997 and 2018. Most did not have evidence of mental health symptoms at the time of offence (85%) or a recorded history of mental disorder (69%). Mental disorder was also not found in most serial homicides (90%), mass murders (94%), or familicides (70%). A tenth of all multiple homicide perpetrators had been under the care of mental health services a year before the incident. This finding challenges commonly held views about mental disorders and the stigma that is perpetuated when multiple-victim homicides occur. Low prevalence and low levels of contact with mental health services make preventing multiple homicide difficult. Reducing violence across society by adopting a multi-agency public health approach is recommended.

The time is now: Preventing unnecessary criminalisation of children in care

ObjectivesNewly linked administrative datasets allow us to explore the relationship between ethnicity, care experience and youth justice involvement. This data reveals huge disparities in the youth justice system, highlighting the need for urgent policy reform to prevent unnecessary criminalisation of children in care and care leavers. MethodsUsing linked administrative datasets from the Ministry of Justice and Department for Education, this paper takes a birth cohort approach to understanding youth justice involvement. It draws on National Pupil Database, Children Looked After and Police National Computer records from 2006 to 2017. Firstly, this paper will use descriptive statistics to highlight disparities in the extent of youth justice involvement among care-experienced individuals compared to non-care-experienced individuals and how this varies by ethnic group. Focusing on three offence types, the paper will then draw on mixed effects models to assess the likelihood of receiving a harsh sentence. ResultsThe paper will show that the extent of youth justice involvement among individuals who have been in care (i.e. foster care, children’s homes and kinship care) is much greater than previously thought. It will demonstrate that youth justice involvement is especially common among ethnic minority care-experienced individuals, particularly those who identify as Black or mixed ethnicity. The paper will highlight how care experience increases a person's risk of receiving a custodial sentence and may also affect their risk of getting a longer custodial sentence. Findings will be situated within the broader literature on in-care criminalisation (e.g. Walklate & Fitz-gibbon, 2021), calling attention to institutional and structural influences on justice systems involvement. ConclusionThe paper will show how linked administrative data can generate new insights which can inform policy and practice across both systems of care and justice. In doing so, it will make the case for a statutory duty of preventing unnecessary criminalisation of children in care and care leavers."

Evaluating interventions for violence prevention using linked MoJ-DfE data: a feasibility study.

ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility of using linked education and offending data (from the National Pupil Database, Department for Education and the Police National Computer, Ministry of Justice) to identify matched control groups to evaluate violence prevention interventions. ApproachWe simulated a plausible intervention (multi-systemic therapy aimed at high-risk young people living in high-risk areas) aimed at reducing the rate of serious violent offending between the ages of 15 and 18 years. We separately simulated an intervention in London and one outside London. We selected eligible individuals aged 14 years for inclusion in the intervention group, modelled the predictors of serious violent offending. then used two different matching algorithms – prognostic score matching and (coarsened) exact matching – to identify matched controls. We compared their effectiveness by measuring the observed rates of serious violence in the two groups. ResultsThe dataset we used dataset included just under 1.5 million individuals born between 1st September 1995 and 31st August 1998 with complete data. Consistent with previous research, factors associated with the risk of serious violence included deprivation, geographical region, sex, ethnicity, attainment, school absence and exclusion, being in care of the local authority or classified as in need, as well as prior offending and some school-level factors. Exact matching or coarsened exact matching was more successful than prognostic score matching at selecting suitable control groups, both within and outside London. Within London, exact matching on sex, ethnicity and any offending before age 14 gave a suitable control group; outside London it was necessary to match on a few additional characteristics in order to obtain well-balanced groups. ConclusionThe linked dataset can feasibly be used to generate suitable matched control groups to evaluate violence prevention interventions; exact matching on key characteristics is potentially the optimal solution. Its utility in practice will depend on regular data updates and having an efficient mechanism for accessing the data for such purposes.

Resettle intensive intervention and risk management service (IIRMS): a pathway to desistance?

PurposeThis study aims to explore the demographic and reconviction data of individuals who had engaged in an established Intensive Intervention and Risk Management Service, a community service within the offender personality disorder pathway (OPD).Design/methodology/approachDemographic information and reconviction data from the Police National Computer was accessed for all participants (n = 69) released to the service over a 10-year period (2008– 2018), 45 of who met criteria to be included in the study. Their intervention period spans custody to community, with an expected period of 2 years engagement upon release.FindingsParticipants in the service had experienced significant traumatic histories, with four or more adverse childhood experiences. Individuals had a mean of 17 convictions for violent and/or sexual offences and an average of 11 years in custody prior to release. The average length of intervention at Resettle in the community was almost 19 months, with an additional minimum of six months in-reach prior to release. A total of 60% of individuals were recalled back to custody at least once during their intervention, with this being more likely for those who had been convicted of a violent rather than sexual offence. Within the group who were reconvicted, the reconvictions were for less serious offences than the index offence, with only 16% being convicted of an indictable offence. Almost two-thirds (64.4%) did not receive a further conviction post-intervention in the follow-up period.Research limitations/implicationsThis follow-up study focused upon demographic and reconviction data from one established IIRMS. Although findings are not necessarily generalisable to other IIRMS and OPD pathway services, the demographic and reconviction data has important learning for how services may reflect upon engaging with individuals whose needs and risks had not previously been adequately met and managed upon release. This data are useful learning, for what may help individuals with complex needs upon release into the community after long sentences and how to best meet their needs. There are aspects of the Resettle IIRMS approach which could be applied to non-specialist services to encourage a holistic, compassionate and relational approach to reaching those with complex needs who pose significant risks to others.Practical implicationsThis follow-up study has provided access to participants’ engagement with an established IIRMS. Although participants “opt in” to the service whilst in custody, engagement on release becomes a probation licence condition; a fixed boundary regarding attendance and engagement which, although enables robust risk management and reduces the likelihood of drop-out, also raises consideration about choice and control. The four day per week service provides an intensive intervention, for those with complex needs and limited prior experience of living safely (with minimal risk to self or others) in the community. Participants were previously offered little hope of release or effective support because of their risk, need, complexity and, in some cases, concern about whether their risk could be effectively managed. Although not a panacea for all, the results are suggestive of a service that is navigating the boundary between “care and control” to good effect for future resettlement and desistance.Originality/valueThe findings are important for service providers, commissioners and the public purse. The results are useful for the national development of IIRMS. The findings are also important for prisoners and people on probation to inform their decision-making regarding intervention choices and hope for what may be achievable.

Police ethics and integrity: Keeping the ‘blue code’ of silence

This paper examines attitudes towards police ethics and integrity using the responses of police officers and support staff to some ethical dilemmas via an online questionnaire. The aim of the study was to explore potential connections between respondents’ beliefs about the seriousness or type of misdemeanour and their likelihood of reporting the behaviour. Using a series of scenarios, we explore professional ethics and integrity by analysing the evidence from our survey of around 1,500 police officers, police community support officers (PCSOs) and police support staff. Throughout, we aim to show which of the scenarios were considered the most ‘serious’, which are more likely to be reported, and offer some suggestions as to why the ‘blue code’ is significant. The findings suggest the persistence of a reluctance to report some misdemeanours; of the 10 scenarios created for the survey, there was a great deal of certainty around the reporting theft of cash, but respondents were less likely to report a colleague keeping a ‘found’ watch. Accessing the Police National Computer without due authority was seen as relatively ‘serious’ and covering up for a drink-driving colleague and use of excessive force were both likely to be reported. We discovered ambiguities in responses around sexual touching of a colleague in an office setting, but a lower level of concern regarding an officer who forms a romantic relationship with a victim of crime who he met in a professional setting. Respondents expressed distrust in the force’s anonymous messenger system, set up for reporting a colleague’s behaviour without revealing their own identity and said they could treat a whistle-blower with respect or caution, depending on the circumstances of the individual case.

Multisystemic therapy compared with management as usual for adolescents at risk of offending: the START II RCT

Background The Systemic Therapy for At Risk Teens (START) trial is a randomised controlled trial of multisystemic therapy (MST) compared with management as usual (MAU). The present study reports on long-term follow-up of the trial (to 60 months). Objectives The primary objective was to compare MST and MAU for the proportion of young people in each group with criminal convictions up to 60 months post baseline. Secondary outcomes included group comparisons of psychological and behavioural factors. An economic analysis was carried out to determine the cost-effectiveness of MST compared with MAU. Two qualitative studies were conducted to better understand the subjective experiences of the participants. Design Primary outcomes (collected up to 60 months) were collected using a centralised police database. Secondary outcomes were evaluated using self-report questionnaires completed by both young people and parents or carers at the 24-, 36- and 48-month follow-ups. Research assistants were blind to treatment allocation. Setting Participants were recruited from participating MST sites in nine areas of England. Secondary outcomes were typically collected within the family home. Participants A total of 684 families were recruited into the START trial and allocated randomly to a treatment group. Of these, 487 remained in the second phase of the trial. Young people were aged, on average, 13.8 years at baseline, with 63% male and 37% female. Interventions MST is a manualised programme for young people exhibiting antisocial behaviour and their families that uses principles from cognitive–behavioural and family therapy to provide an individualised approach. MAU content was not prespecified, but consisted of the standard care offered to young people who met eligibility for the trial. Main outcome measures Young people’s offending was evaluated using the Police National Computer. Secondary measures included validated self-report measures completed by both the young person and their parent or carer. The economic evaluation took a broad perspective and outcomes were assessed in terms of quality-adjusted life-years and offending. Results No significant differences were found in the proportion of offending between the groups (hazard ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 0.84 to 1.26; p = 0.78). No differences were found between the groups on secondary outcome measures, with a few exceptions that did not hold up consistently across the follow-up period. The economic analysis did not find evidence to support the cost-effectiveness of MST compared with MAU. Outcomes from the qualitative studies suggest that families mostly felt positive about MST, and that MST was associated with greater maturity in young men. Limitations Some intended evaluations were not possible to deliver. Selective attrition may have influenced the nature of the sample size. It is also unclear how representative the MAU services were of reality. Future research Recommendations are made for the evaluation of MST in populations with more severe behavioural problems, as well as for identifying and testing new moderators. Conclusions The results of the second phase of the START trial do not support the long-term superiority of MST to MAU, but elements of the intervention may be adapted successfully. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN77132214 and London South-East REC registration number 09/H1102/55. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research programme and will be published in full in Health Services and Delivery Research; Vol. 8, No. 23. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have carried out ground breaking work over several years to put in place a robust, rigorous and innovative impact evaluation of the expanded Troubled Families Programme: a targeted intervention programme for families with multiple issues including crime, anti-social behaviour, truancy, unemployment, mental health problems and domestic abuse.
 The evaluation was set up in 2015 and runs until the end of the Programme in 2020. The research design allows us to observe the impact of the Programme at a national level on a wide range of outcomes it aims to affect, spanning the remit of several government departments. It also enables us to control for family and individual characteristics to ensure that a 'comparison group' can be used to derive a robust estimate of the impact of the Programme on those who have taken part.
 A key aspect of the evaluation is the use of matched nationally held administrative datasets, including the National Pupil Database (which provides educational attainment and attendance as well as data for Children in Need), the Police National Computer (which provides data on offending behaviour) and The Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (which provides data on employment and benefits). With the help of our trusted third party contractor (ONS), this data is collected and matched to individual level information of families eligible for the programme provided by local authorities (for both those on the programme and in the comparison group).
 There are many advantages of using administrative data to measure outcomes: we have access to a wealth of historical data on a large number of individuals and families which has allowed us to control for a range of covariates and to develop Propensity Score Matching models to compare the outcomes of those on the programme and the comparison group. The data collected from local authorities also means we can analyse the data at an individual and family level, this is extremely rare with datasets of this nature.
 The impact and wider evaluation findings have provided valuable evidence to support the development of the policy over the programme’s lifetime. The impact results have provided an assessment of what effect the programme is having on child and adult outcomes for those on the programme compared to those who have not yet started. In particular, it allows us to consider the impacts on service use, and attributing costs and benefits to these changes in use of services allows us to weigh up the overall public value of the programme. Other elements of the evaluation, such as the area level case studies and family survey have provided some context for our findings.
 The presentation will discuss the evaluation design, the impact results for child social care, crime, employment and benefits, along with findings from the cost-benefit analysis of the programme.

The potential of linking cohort participants to official criminal records: a pilot study using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)

BackgroundPolicing in the UK is increasingly taking a public health approach to tackling crime. Birth cohort studies are potentially well-placed to provide evidence on the most important risk and preventative factors. Linking official police records to cohort data offers considerable potential for future research, but data privacy concerns mean achieving such linkage is challenging. As a pilot, the Ministry of Justice provided ALSPAC with an anonymous extract (cannot be linked to study data) detailing consenting participants’ criminal convictions and cautions held within the Police National Computer (PNC).
 Main AimTo use anonymised PNC data to inform the potential for future research using ALSPAC and individual-level linked crime data.
 MethodsWe examine criminality (type, when and where committed) in the cohort participants who were sent for linkage to the PNC in 2013 when they were aged approximately 21 years (n=7358). We consider the representativeness of these participants by comparing their self-reported crime-related behaviours during adolescence to those of participants who did not consent to linkage (n=7604). Finally, we consider these self-reported measures by present-day crime linkage consent status.
 ResultsOf those sent for PNC linkage, 885 were linked to a criminal record(s) comprising 2635 convictions and 1365 cautions. A third related to serious crimes, and >90% were committed in Avon and Somerset constabulary. Those sent for linkage self-reported fewer criminal behaviours than those not sent for linkage. Regarding present-day consent status, those who have explicitly opted-in generally self-report fewer criminal behaviours and have less missing data than those who have not responded to the consent campaign.
 ConclusionIf future linkage to individual police records was only achieved for explicit consenters, this would under-estimate criminality in the cohort. The geographical clustering of the crimes means local police records, which are more detailed than those of the PNC, could also be used.

Capturing the personal through the lens of the professional: The use of external data sources in autoethnography

This article shows how external data sources can be utilised in autoethnographic research. Beginning with an account of a critical incident that examines the incompatibility of private and professional identities, I show how, through the collection of data sources, I capture the impact of homophobic and heteronormative discursive practices on health, wellbeing and identity. In the critical incident, I explore how I prospered as a teacher at a British village school for almost 10 years by censoring my sexuality and carefully managing the intersection between my private and professional identities. However, when a malicious and homophobic neighbour and parent of children at the school exposed my sexuality to the Headteacher, I learned the extent to which the rural school community privileged and protected the heteronormative discourse. A poststructuralist theoretical framework underpins this article. My experience of being a subject is understood as the outcome of discursive practices. Sexual identity, teacher identity and autoethnographer identity are understood to be fluid, and constantly produced and reproduced in response to social, cultural and political influences. The article describes how email correspondence, medical records and notes from a course of cognitive behaviour therapy were deployed to augment my personal recollection and give a depth and richness to the narrative. As the critical incident became a police matter, examination takes place of how I sought to obtain and utilise data from the police national computer in the research. Attempts to collect data from the police and Crown Prosecution Service were problematic and provided an unexpected development in the research and offered additional insight into the nature of the British rural community and its police force.

The Criminal Histories of Drug-Drive Offenders

Abstract This study examined the previous criminal behaviour of individuals who were arrested for violating the drug driving over the prescribed limit offence, introduced into the UK in March 2015. The sample consists of individuals arrested during the first year of enforcement of this offence from March 2015 to March 2016 within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Metropolitan Police Service in London. The previous criminal behaviour of the research subjects was framed within a number of criminological theories and there is examination of any correlation between their criminal history and the drug-driving offence they had been arrested for. The criminal activity was obtained from each individual’s criminal record held on the police national computer and coded with regards to offence groups. As well as criminal sanctions, there was also an examination of drug-related arrest histories. The results indicate a high level of previous criminal activity with drugs and driving matters dominating that activity. This supports the construct that, in this context, drug driving fits within their patterns of offending.

Assessing the impact of care farms on quality of life and offending: a pilot study among probation service users in England

ObjectivesTo assess the feasibility of conducting a cost-effectiveness study of using care farms (CFs) to improve quality of life and reduce reoffending among offenders undertaking community orders (COs). To pilot...

Police Attempts to Predict Domestic Murder and Serious Assaults: Is Early Warning Possible Yet?

Research QuestionWhat facts known to police, if any, could have predicted the 118 domestic and family murders and near-murders in the Thames Valley (UK) police area over a recent three-year period?DataThames Valley Police records were examined for 118 victims and 120 offenders in all 118 cases of “deadly” domestic violence: murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, and grievous bodily harm with intent in calendar years 2007, 2008 and 2009. Police National Computer (PNC) and other records of police contact with those persons prior to the cases identified for this prediction study were also coded, as well as the PNC records of a case-control sample of 150 male and 100 female offenders in less serious violent crimes. Local police risk assessments, including the DASH protocol, were coded for deadly violence cases with prior police contact.MethodsRisk assessments made during prior police contacts with domestic violence cases during the time period were coded for accuracy of forecasts. Characteristics of offenders and victims in deadly violence were also compared to characteristics of the case-control sample, calculating the relative-risk ratios between the two groups for the presence of factors that further research could explore as possible predictors of deadly domestic violence.FindingsIn 55% of deadly violence cases, there was no prior recorded contact by police with the victim; a further 21% of victims had only one prior police contact. Not one of the 13 murder cases with any prior police contact had ever been assessed by responding officers as “high risk” based on DASH or its predecessor, for a 100% false negative rate of prediction on risk of murder and an 89% false negative rate for any deadly violence (only 6 cases with prior contact had been classified as high risk). In contrast, during the same time period, 2721 other domestic violence cases yielded “high-risk” assessments but were not actually followed by deadly violence. Yet the case control study found male offenders who committed serious domestic assaults were over three times more likely than other violent offenders to be have had markers of suicidal tendencies.ConclusionsPredicting deadly domestic violence based on intelligence from prior police contacts does not appear possible at present, given these findings that less than half of these cases had prior police contact, and that when contact did occur, the relationships were assessed by the DASH protocol or its predecessor as not high risk in 89% of those cases. A more promising predictor for male offenders in these cases, even without prior contact, may be a prior marker for suicide (ideation, threats or attempts), but use of that marker requires further research on the extent to which it can be identified before the deadly violence occurs, either from police contacts or other sources, so that more intensive efforts can be undertaken to prevent deadly violence in the truly high-risk cases.

Does paying service providers by results improve recovery outcomes for drug misusers in treatment in England?

To compare drug recovery outcomes in commissioning areas included in a 'payment by results' scheme with all other areas. Observational and data linkage study of the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System, Office for National Statistics mortality database and Police National Computer criminal records, for 2 years before and after introduction of the scheme. Pre-post controlled comparison compared outcomes in participating versus non-participating areas following adjustment for drug use, functioning and drug treatment status. Drug services in England providing publicly funded, structured treatment. Adults in treatment (between 2010 and 2014): 154 175 (10 716 in participating areas, 143 459 non-participating) treatment journeys in the 2 years before and 148 941 (10 012 participating, 138 929 non-participating) after the introduction of the scheme. Scheme participation, with payment to treatment providers based on patient outcomes versus all other areas. Rate of treatment initiation; waiting time (> or <3weeks); treatment completion; and re-presentation; substance use; injecting; housing status; fatal overdose; and acquisitive crime. In participating areas, there were relative decreases in rates of: treatment initiation [difference-in-differences odds ratio (DID OR)=0.17, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.14, 0.21]; treatment completion (DID OR=0.60, 95% CI=0.53, 0.67); and treatment completion without re-presentation (DID OR=0.63, 95% CI=0.52, 0.77) compared with non-participating areas. Within treatment, relative abstinence (DID OR=1.50, 95% CI=1.30, 1.72) and non-injecting (DID OR=1.32, 95% CI=1.10, 1.59) rates were improved in participating areas. No significant changes in mortality, recorded crime or housing status were associated with the scheme. Drug addiction recovery services in England that are commissioned on a payment-by-results basis tend to have lower rates of treatment initiation and completion but higher rates of in-treatment abstinence and non-injecting than other services.

Investigating the Relationship Between the Diversity Index and Frequency of Offending

Recent work has suggested that specialization is correlated with frequency of offending, but this observed relationship may actually depend on the measuring instrument used. The diversity index is a common method of measuring specialization in such studies, and this paper investigates whether this observed correlation is due in part to the mathematical form of the diversity index itself. The criminological question as to whether specialization increases or decreases with offense frequency cannot be answered until the behavior of the diversity index is better understood. We use simulations to investigate the behavior of the diversity index where the number of crimes is small (the small sample problem), simulating from known distributions of offending. Two of the distributions used in the simulation are defined to be unspecialized. The first uses an equiprobable distribution of offenses across offense categories. The second uses the distribution of offenses in the British population. The third distribution is from a specialist distribution and assumes that different offenders have different probabilities of choosing particular offenses.We report these simulations for both three and ten crime categories. To set the simulated results in context, we use an extract from the UK Police National Computer to investigate the criminological question as to whether specialization increases with offense frequency. For all three simulation schemes, the diversity index D increases steeply with the frequency of offending N at low frequencies, with the increase slowing around N = 20, and becoming flat when the number of offenses N reaches 500. This relationship is observed for both three crime categories and ten crime categories. The observed relationship of D with N can be used to correct the diversity index to allow the true relationship of specialization with offense frequency to be investigated. We recommend that the diversity index be used with caution when there are small numbers of crimes over fixed time periods. Any increase or decrease of the diversity index over the criminal career life course may reflect the behavior of the measurement tool with the number of offenses, rather than any change in specialization itself. Applying one of the suggested suitable correction methods to D will mitigate this problem.

Gambling Harm and Crime Careers

Incarcerated populations across the world have been found to be consistently and significantly more vulnerable to problem gambling than general populations in the same countries. In an effort to gain a more specific understanding of this vulnerability the present study applied latent class analysis and criminal career theory to gambling data collected from a sample of English and Scottish, male and female prisoners (N = 1057). Theoretical links between gambling and crime were tested through three hypotheses: (1) that prisoners in the UK would have higher rates of problem gambling behaviour than the national population; (2) that if the link between gambling and crime is coincidental, gambling behaviour would be highly prevalent in an offending population, and (3) if connections between gambling behaviour and offending are co-symptomatic a mediating factor would show a strong association. The first of these was supported, the second was not supported and the third was partially supported. Latent class analysis found six gambling behaviour clusters measured by responses to the Problem Gambling Severity Index, primarily distinguished by loss chasing behaviour. Longitudinal offending data drawn from the Police National Computer database found four criminal career types, distinguished by frequency and persistence over time. A significant association was found between higher level loss chasing and high rate offending in criminal careers suggesting that impulse control may be a mediating factor for both gambling harm and criminal careers.

Using the UK general offender database as a means to measure and analyse organized crime

Purpose– Organised Crime is notoriously difficult to identify and measure, resulting in limited empirical evidence to inform policy makers and practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of identifying a greater number of organised crime offenders, currently captured but invisible, within existing national general crime databases.Design/methodology/approach– All 2.1 million recorded offenders, captured over a four-year period on the UK Police National Computer, were filtered across three criteria associated with organised crime (co-offending, commission of specific offences, three years imprisonment or more). The 4,109 “organized crime” offenders, identified by the process, were compared with “general” and “serious” offender control groups across a variety of personal and demographic variables.Findings– Organised crime prosecutions are not random but concentrate in specific geographic areas and constitute 0.2 per cent of the offender population. Offenders can be differentiated from general crime offenders on such measures as: diversity of nationality and ethnicity, onset age, offence type and criminal recidivism.Research limitations/implications– Using an offence-based methodology, rather than relying on offenders identified through police proactive investigations, can provide empirical information from existing data sets, across a diverse range of legislative areas and cultures. This allows academics to enhance their analysis of organised crime, generating richer evidence on which policy makers and practitioners can more effectively deliver preventative and disruptive tactics.Originality/value– This is the first time an “offence based” methodology has been used to differentiate organised crime offenders from other offenders in a general crime database.

Is treatment for alcohol use disorder associated with reductions in criminal offending? A national data linkage cohort study in England

BackgroundThis is the first English national study of change in criminal offending following treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). MethodsAll adults treated for AUD by all publicly funded treatment services during April 2008-March 2009 (n=53,017), with data linked to the Police National Computer (April 2006-November 2011). Pre-treatment offender sub-populations were identified by Latent Profile Analysis. The outcome measure was the count of recordable criminal offences during two-year follow-up after admission. A mixed-effects, Poisson regression modelled outcome, adjusting for demographics and clinical information, the latent classes, and treatment exposure covariates. ResultsTwenty-two percent of the cohort committed one or more offences in the two years pre-treatment (n=11,742; crude rate, 221.5 offenders per 1000). During follow-up, the number of offenders and offences fell by 23.5% and 24.0%, respectively (crude rate, 69.4 offenders per 1000). During follow-up, a lower number of offences was associated with: completing treatment (adjusted incident rate ratio [IRR] 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.79–0.85); receiving inpatient detoxification (IRR 0.84; CI 0.80–0.89); or community pharmacological therapy (IRR 0.89; CI 0.84–0.96). Reconviction was reduced in the sub-population characterised by driving offences (n=1,140; 11.7%), but was relatively high amongst acquisitive (n=768; 58.3% reconvicted) and violent offending sub-populations (n=602; 77.6% reconvicted). ConclusionsReduced offending was associated with successful completion of AUD treatment and receiving inpatient and pharmacological therapy, but not enrolment in psychological and residential interventions. Treatment services (particularly those providing psychological therapy and residential care) should be alert to offending, especially violent and acquisitive crime, and enhance crime reduction interventions.

Police National Computer Record Checks in Referrals to a Medium Secure Unit

Introduction The forensic history is a vital part of the assessment in patients referred to forensic services. It influences decisions made about risk and the link between illness and offending behaviour. Doctors should view the police national computer, (PNC) record in all assessments of referrals. Objectives To establish whether PNC records are available to doctors conducting forensic psychiatric assessments of new referrals at a medium secure unit (MSU). Aims Establish what proportion of patients referred to a MSU in London had a PNC record present at the time the assessment report was presented to the admissions panel. Methods The admissions panel of a MSU in London has kept data on all assessments carried out since 2011. All of this data was reviewed to see what proportion of patients had a PNC record present at the time the assessment report was presented to the admissions panel. Results In total there were 186 patients. 21 of these were women. 165 of these were men. 59% of the assessments had a PNC record present. In 19% of assessments a PNC was not requested. In 18% it was requested but not available. In 4% it was deemed not necessary. Conclusions A PNC record was not available in 41% of forensic assessments carried out by a large forensic service in London. In 19% of these cases a PNC had not been requested. Suggested recommendations are that the PNC is requested at the time that the referral is received by the trust.

A Methodology for Reconviction Studies Using Police National Computer (PNC) Data

This paper gives an overview of measures commonly used in reconviction studies and outlines how to use Police National Computer (PNC) data to conduct a reconviction study. It highlights the need for standardisation in how reconviction studies are conducted and openess about limitations of working with official sources of data. The paper is written for researchers, practitioners and students alike who are interested in conducting reconviction studies and/or the use of PNC data in research more widely.

Mental Illness and Domestic Homicide: A Population-Based Descriptive Study

Approximately 10% of convicted homicide perpetrators in England and Wales have symptoms of mental illness at the time of homicide. The prevalence among perpetrators of adult domestic homicide is unclear. The study was a consecutive case series of all convicted adult domestic homicide perpetrators in England and Wales between 1997 and 2008. Sociodemographic, clinical, and offense characteristics were gathered from the United Kingdom Home Office, the Police National Computer, psychiatric court reports, and, for psychiatric patients, questionnaires completed by supervising clinicians. A total of 1,180 perpetrators were convicted of intimate partner homicide, and 251 were convicted of homicide of an adult family member. Fourteen percent of perpetrators of intimate partner homicide and 23% of perpetrators of adult family homicide had been in contact with mental health services in the year before the offense; 20% of intimate partner homicide perpetrators and 34% of adult family homicide perpetrators had symptoms of mental illness at the time of offense. Perpetrators with symptoms of mental illness at the time of offense were less likely than perpetrators without symptoms to have previous violence convictions or history of alcohol abuse. A significant minority of adult domestic homicide perpetrators had symptoms of mental illness at the time of the homicide. Most perpetrators, including those with mental illnesses, were not in contact with mental health services in the year before the offense. Risk reduction could be achieved through initiatives that encourage individuals with mental health problems to access mental health services and that develop closer interagency working, including between mental health services, police, social services, and domestic violence services.