Psychopathy and Female Gender: Phenotypic Expression and Comorbidity; A Study Comparing a Sample of Women Hospitalized in Italy's Maximum Security Facility with Women Who were Criminally Sentenced and Imprisoned,

Various studies have shown that women with psychopathy tend to commit crimes that are less violent than those of psychopathic men. The present study was designed to address the influence of psychopathy on the crimes committed by female offenders. A national sample of female offenders found NGRI or of diminished responsibility and at risk for criminal recidivism (OPG patients) was compared with a sample of female offenders who were convicted and imprisoned. Results of this comparison between the two groups of female offenders indicate that psychopathy is a transversal psychopathological dimension which may or may not be associated with other mental disorders. In both samples, the most commonly reported offenses among women with high PCL‐R scores were minor offenses, not particularly violent, but they appear to be related to typical psychopathic features such as superficial charm, pathological lying, and manipulation.     

Not guilty by reason of insanity: clinical and judicial profile of medium and high security patients in Belgium

Under Belgian law, offenders deemed to lack criminal responsibility because of insanity receive mandated treatment under the internment law. Population profiles of these forensic patients (‘internees’) are, however, very scarce. In this study, we analysed the demographic, clinical and judicial profile of a large sample of Belgian internees admitted to a secure setting. In addition, differences between internees admitted to a medium versus a high security setting were investigated. Belgian internees were characterised by a large number of personality disorders and a low number of first offenders. Comparative analyses showed substantial differences between the high and medium security settings, with a marked proportion of the forensic patients in high security having committed a sexual offence. Contrary to expectations, more predictors for length of stay were found in the medium security subsample, while admission periods were significantly longer in the high security subsample.     

Violence risk profile of medium- and high-security NGRI offenders in Belgium

Under Belgian law, offenders not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) are committed by the courts to forensic mental health treatment. The use of violence risk assessment tools has become routine in these settings. However, there are no national statistics regarding violence risk assessment in the Belgian forensic population. A study was undertaken to collect risk assessment data (PCL-R, VRAG, HCR-20) on a large cohort of forensic patients committed to Medium Security units in the Flanders region and in High-Security units in the Walloon region. Flemish patients were expected to present a lower risk compared with their Walloon counterparts. Instead, data yielded by a structured risk assessment method demonstrate the opposite. Moreover, the majority of patients in Flemish facilities had committed violent offenses and were institutionalized for shorter periods whereas the majority of Walloon patients had committed sexual offenses and were institutionalized for markedly longer periods.