Predictive accuracy of static risk factors for Canadian Indigenous offenders compared to non-Indigenous offenders: implications for risk assessment scales

ABSTRACT

The over-representation of Indigenous offenders in Canadian prisons highlights the importance of research on the generalizability of potential static risk factors for this group. The current investigation examined whether 87 static indicators currently assessed in Canadian federal prisons were differentially present and related to outcomes (revocations, general recidivism, and violent recidivism) for Indigenous (n?=?1500) and non-Indigenous (n?=?6684) male federal offenders. The follow-up was eight months for revocations and five years for any/violent recidivism. Indigenous offenders scored significantly higher risk than non-Indigenous offenders on the majority of the indicators (particularly criminal history indicators). Generally, most criminal history indicators and some offence severity indicators predicted revocations, general, and violent recidivism for Indigenous offenders; however, several of the indicators had significantly lower accuracy for Indigenous offenders (particularly criminal history indicators). Overall, Indigenous offenders are a higher risk population and several static risk indicators do not perform as well for this group as for non-Indigenous offenders. Nonetheless, there were numerous static indicators that did predict outcomes for Indigenous offenders. The current findings suggest that it is possible to meaningfully assess static risk for recidivism among Indigenous offenders.     

“对话”的本土心理学

本土心理学的内涵已经不仅仅是将心理学研究植根于本土文化当中,而且还要考虑本土文化内涵意义的显现途径以及在文化显现中主体与文化、研究者与被研究者的关系。应当在本土心理学研究中确立一种对话的关系,这种对话的关系表现为文化与文化的对话、主体与文化的对话以及研究者与被研究者的对话。只有在对话中,本土心理学研究才可能具有现实性。     

Sex offender programmes: New technology coping with old ethics

Abstract

Sex offender treatment programmes offer new technologies for dealing with a serious social problem but demand the sacrifice of many traditional principles of mental health ethics, such as the therapist's obligation to give primacy to the client's interest and the therapist's duties to maintain confidentiality, use non-coercive treatment and offer a choice of therapies in all but exceptional circumstances. Recognizing that such programmes are, in fact, a form of punishment enables the formulation of more consistent and practical ethical guidelines for therapists attempting interventions with sex offenders. An example of how such guidelines could be developed uses a consequentialist justification for punishment which targets the protection of human rights, rather than crime prevention, as its goal.     

The International Movement of Prisoners

This article analyses and compares the evolution of the procedures and motivations for the international movement of prisoners under two systems operating in the United Kingdom ?C the inter-state prisoner transfer system and the international criminal justice enforcement system. It sets out the basic conditions for transfers under the current systems before outlining recent changes in the inter-state system to the requirement to obtain the consent of the proposed transferee (the prisoner) and the state that will implement the sentence. It proceeds to discuss the potential consequences and benefits these procedural modifications may entail for both systems. The paper concludes by evaluating the different and changing rationales used to justify the international movement of prisoners.     

Criminologists,duct tape,and Indigenous peoples: quantifying the use of silencing research methods

A recent quantitative evaluation of mainstream criminological research found that there is a dearth of research on “Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice context” conducted in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States and published in elite criminology journals while these nations continue to incarcerate Indigenous peoples at markedly disproportionate rates. Although the silence prohibits public attention to this social issue, counter-colonial critics have mostly focused on criminologists who deliberately marginalize Indigenous peoples through use of inappropriate research methods. This study is a first attempt to quantify the use of “silencing research methods” in contemporary mainstream criminology. It involves a comprehensive review of research published in elite criminology journals over the past decade (2001–2010). The findings reveal that although mainstream criminologists generally prefer non-silencing research tools, they primarily employ silencing research methods when studying Indigenous peoples. Also, studies that focus on Native American peoples use silencing research tools more often than studies on other disproportionately incarcerated social groups, i.e., African and Hispanic Americans. The study concludes that by using “silencing research methods,” elite mainstream criminology has contributed to the marginalization of Indigenous peoples to varying degrees in all four countries over the past decade.     

我国企业再生程序的制度分析和适用

我国企业破产法实现了对破产程序制度的重大改革,将现行的企业清算主导型破产程序转变为企业再生主导型破产程序,规定了重整程序、和解程序和清算程序。其中有关重整程序与和解程序的规定,即为企业再生程序之规定。企业再生程序的制度设计在我国企业破产法上不仅涉及破产程序理念的提升,而且涉及制度基础的完善。     

戒毒康复人员回归社会的理论与实践研究——以广东三水康复苑为考察对象

戒毒康复事业是一项全新的事业,广东三水康复苑在实践中积累了很好的经验,并成为全国推广的三水经验。在戒毒康复人员回归社会的工作上,广东三水康复苑做了可贵的探索,取得了成功经验。     

Exploring Sex Differences among Sentenced Juvenile Offenders in Australia

Recent research applying latent class analysis (LCA) reveals considerable diversity in the self‐reported offending patterns of incarcerated females and suggests that a failure to recognize these patterns will hinder the ability to understand mechanisms that lead females to serious offending. Using data from a cohort of serious juvenile offenders in Queensland, Australia, this paper extends the earlier research by using LCA to assess sex differences in juvenile criminal offending. Results indicate that female offenders are not a homogenous group with respect to their offending patterns, that there is a degree of symmetry between male and female offenders, and that childhood experiences of maltreatment increase the likelihood of membership in the most serious offending group for both males and females. Implications for theory and policy as well as directions for future research are highlighted.     

The Effects of Dog-Training Programs: Experiences of Incarcerated Females

Dog-training programs (DTPs) in prisons have grown increasingly popular throughout the United States, but very little is known about their effects on both prisons and their participants. Furthermore, with increasing rates of female imprisonment, the demand for programs that address the needs of female offenders is high. Using interview data from female offenders, program coordinators, and prison staff (N = 27), this study examined the effect of DTPs on how female offenders experience prison. The present study found that DTP participation alleviated the pains of imprisonment that women offenders face, including problems in psychological and emotional health, motherhood, transferable skills, security, trust, and serving time. An assessment of which female offenders appear to benefit the most is outlined, and the broader implications of these findings are discussed.     

监狱服刑人员回归社会方式改革之探索

党的十七大报告指出：“在新的发展阶段继续全面建设小康社会、发展中国特色社会主义，必须坚持以邓小平理论和“三个代表”重要思想为指导，深入贯彻落实科学发展观。”科学发展观的提出是我们党对“三大规律”（共产党执政规律、社会主义建设规律、人类社会发展规律）认识深化的基本标志，是我们党理论创新的又一重大成果。我国已进入改革发展的关键时期，中共中央《关于构建社会主义和谐社会若干重大问题的决定》中对我国这一关键时期的阶段性特征概括为“四个深刻”和“两个前所未有”，     

Correctional outcomes of offenders with mental disorders

While there is now a considerable literature on the extent of mental disorder (MD) within correctional settings, there is much less research on the correctional outcomes of offenders with a mental disorder (OMDs). This study contributes to that knowledge base by comparing the profiles and institutional and community outcomes of federally-sentenced Canadian offenders with, and without, a MD and examines the correctional response to their management. Results showed that OMDs had higher risk and need ratings and were more likely to be serving their current sentence for a violent offense. Outcomes for OMDs were poorer as reflected by higher rates of institutional charges and transfers to segregation, and higher rates of recidivism on release. This difference holds for the recidivism analysis, even when variables related to risk are controlled. The results demonstrate the complex needs of OMDs and points to the requirement for correctional agencies to provide specialized interventions that address both their mental health and criminogenic needs. Future research is required to examine whether type of diagnosis, particularly the degree of antisocial orientation, contribute to these poorer outcomes.     

Arbitrary decision making in the absence of evidence: an examination of factors related to treatment selection and recidivism for female sexual offenders

ABSTRACT

As criminal justice professionals are asked to assign risk levels and treat females who sexually offend, identifying risk factors for recidivism prediction and treatment targets is important. Although the majority of risk and treatment studies have focused on males, general female offender research and developing research with female sex offenders both provide some evidence for possible factors related to sexual offending behaviour in women. The purpose of this study was to explore what possible factors were related to treatment selection in a sample of 506 females serving prison sentences for a sexual offense, and, in turn, to examine which factors predicted non-sexual and sexual recidivism. Results demonstrated that exploratory variables were significantly related to treatment selection, as opposed to variables previously supported in research. Furthermore, living with a significant other for more than two years, and prior sexual offending arrests predicted sexual recidivism, while decreased age and treatment participation predicted non-sexual recidivism. These findings indicate that while similarities between male and female sexual offenders exist, females still demonstrate gender-specific risk factors.     

The Complex Relationship Between Motherhood and Desistance

Using a sample of 118 drug-involved women originally released from prison in the 1990s and re-interviewed between 2010 and 2011, this paper examines the role motherhood played in the desistance process from crime and substance abuse. Interview narratives revealed that motherhood rarely functioned as a turning point per se that activated desistance, but caring for children did serve to solidify prosocial identities once offenders had transformed their addict/criminal identities. Despite their identity transformations, however, the journey of desistance for the majority of mothers was still a long and arduous path. The reality for these mothers most often resembled a hostile terrain marked by the competing demands of battling addiction, finding employment and suitable housing with a criminal record, establishing visitation and custody rights in family court, and regaining the trust of children and family members who had long ago lost faith in their commitment to their families. This research illuminates the complexities inherent in the desistance process for a contemporary sample of drug involved adult women entrenched within the criminal justice system.     

我国外国籍罪犯管理方针与政策探讨

一、我国外国籍罪犯规模的日益扩大及其监管现状近些年来，随着全球化浪潮席卷世界各国以及交通方式的革新，国家与国家之间的往来越来越密切，外国籍罪犯数量在世界多数国家呈现出较快增长的趋势。例如，英国监狱中的外国籍罪犯，在过去的4年中增加了一倍，     

当前罪犯分类工作的现状及研究

一、我国罪犯分类的现状和原因罪犯分类对中国监狱来说并不是新课题。1954年,政务院公布并实施的《中华人民共和国劳动改造条例》规定:“对已判决的犯人应当按照犯罪性质和罪犯轻重,分设监狱、劳动改造管教队给以不同的监管。”1962年,公安部制定的《劳动管教工作细则(试行)》进一步规定:“监狱、劳改队应当对各类罪犯分别编队、分别关押、区别对待,并对不同性质的罪犯分别地、有步骤地进行政治、文化和技术教育”。1991年,《司法部劳改局对罪犯实施分押、分管、分教的试行意见》提出对罪犯试行分押、分管、分教的实施意见,明确“横向分类、…     

The Protection of Prisoners’ Rights in England and Wales

The system in England and Wales for the protection of prisoners’ rights relies on three institutions: a prisons inspectorate with right of entry to all prisons at any time, a prisons and probation ombudsman, and local independent monitoring boards. This contribution focuses on the Prisons Inspectorate and discusses its methodology and criteria for inspection, based on international human rights standards; the effectiveness of the inspectorate; its independence and relationships with other monitoring bodies, the government and the prison service; the application of the methodology to other countries outside the UK; and future developments and threats.     

A Special Youth Sanction

Under the label ‘youth sanction’ (ungdomssanktion) a new type of sentence for juvenile offenders has been enacted by a 2001 amendment to the Danish Penal Code. The study reported here is an analysis of the 55 sentences imposed over the first year. Widespread disparity and disproportionality in sentencing was found. Statutory requirements regarding the seriousness of the individual case have not in all instances been satisfactorily established. The emergence of the new sanction implies a considerable increase in the intensity of intervention. Being based on a revitalized treatment ideology, the new criminal sanction legitimizes a vast widening of the control measures directed against troubled youth, in particular such offenders who has another ethnic background than Danish. No comprehensive programme or coherent vision regarding treatment methods has been stipulated, and professionals are bewildered and in disagreement regarding such issues. Nothing indicates that the costly efforts will prove to be adequate as rehabilitative and crime preventive tools. The introduction of the youth sanction is part of a contemporary criminal policy agenda dominated by a broad political coalition with an urge to demonstrate ability and readiness to cope with juvenile street crime by employing more ‘consequent’ measures, involving tougher and swifter punishment combined with coerced rehabilitation.     

Executive functioning profiles of adult and juvenile male sexual offenders: A systematic review

Evidence regarding biological correlates of sexual offending, which might enhance the understanding, research, and treatment of these offenders, is rather emerging or in the embryonic stage. In this study, our main objective is to identify specific executive functioning (EF) processes that are commonly impaired in sexual offenders, and to further determine whether these differ as a function of offender subtypes. A search is conducted in ProQuest, Criminal Justice Abstract, EBSCOhost, and Social Science Citation Index electronic journal databases for studies published spanning the period 1990–2015. Google Scholar and Google search engines were also searched and the reference lists of the retrieved papers were searched for additional papers. A total of 1303 papers were retained for consideration. After removing duplicates, and subjecting the retrieved papers to inclusion and exclusion criteria, 24 papers (19 published and 5 unpublished) were deemed appropriate for the review. While several EF processes have been investigated, the available evidence implicates deficits in cognitive flexibility and inhibition of interference as commonly reported among adult male sexual offenders. This finding may be due to the sensitivity of tests of cognitive flexibility (e.g. the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) and inhibition of interference (e.g. the Stroop Test) to frontal lobe lesions, and also because these tests are among the most frequently administered EF tests as revealed by this study. Juvenile sexual offenders, however, exhibit no distinct EF profiles. The findings of the study, implications for treatment, and recommendations for future studies are succinctly discussed.     

戒毒人员的社区康复态度及衔接对策

实现戒毒人员从解除强制隔离戒毒到社区康复的顺利过渡,对巩固阶段性戒毒成果,系统推进生理康复、心理康复和社会康复有着承上启下的独特作用。为了给强制隔离戒毒与社区康复衔接工作提供支持,课题组自拟问卷,随机抽取524名浙江省本省籍、执行强制隔离戒毒满一年、不久将进入社区康复的戒毒人员,开展戒毒人员的社区康复态度调查和分析,并提出强制隔离戒毒与社区康复衔接工作对策。