Sexual predator civil commitment: a comparison of selected and released offenders

This study compared two groups of sex offenders who were considered for civil commitment under Florida's Jimmy Ryce Act: Two hundred twenty-nine sex offenders who were recommended by forensic evaluators to be civilly committed and 221 sex offenders who were recommended for release. It was hypothesized that selected offenders would be more likely to display risk factors for sex offense recidivism than those who did not meet criteria. Data analyses revealed that selected offenders, as a group, scored significantly higher on actuarial risk assessment instruments. There were also significant differences between the groups on other risk factors that have been empirically correlated with sexual recidivism. Selected offenders had higher frequencies of paraphilia diagnoses and antisocial personality. These findings supported the hypotheses and suggested that evaluators are correctly selecting for civil commitment those sex offenders who have a mental abnormality predisposing them to sexual violence and who are at higher risk for reoffense.     

Psychiatric disorders and management of sexual offenders in the prison psychiatric consultation unit of Marseille

Since 2017, complaints of sexual violence have increased in France. At the same time, the management of sexual offenders has been at the center of international public health policies. The prevalence of mental disorders among sexual offenders is an essential field of research. There are some published studies on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in sexual offenders in detention, but there are few recent published studies among French individuals who were detained. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among persons detained for sexual offenses and the level of care received according to their diagnosis. For this purpose, we carried out a retrospective observational study from January 2017 to October 2021 of all adult sexual offenders, whether accused or convicted, who were seen in the psychiatric consultation unit of Les Baumettes prison, Marseille, France. The primary outcome measure was the psychiatric diagnosis entered in the medical records. One hundred forty-two patients were included in analysis. All patients were men, and the majority (n = 97, 68.3%) of these patients presented with at least one psychiatric disorder, principally a personality disorder (31.7%). 10.6% presented with a schizophrenic disorder, 4.9% a bipolar disorder, 3.5% a depressive disorder, 5.6% pedophilic paraphilia, and 25.4% an addictive disorder. Their management and comorbid addictions were analyzed in subgroups for each psychiatric disorder. Patients appeared to receive an appropriate level of care for their diagnosed disorder. It seems important to develop structured assessment of recidivism risk for better management of sexual offenders.     

Lifetime criminal history of sex offenders seen for psychological assessment in five decades

A sample of 2,190 sex offenders seen between 1966 and 2009 was compared on lifetime sexual and all offending, using charges, convictions, court appearances, and self-report as criteria. Of these various criteria, between 47.4% and 81.1% reoffended. Canadian child abuse reporting laws, which came into effect in the 1980s, were associated with increased charges and convictions for offenders, who victimized children, and with a reduction in their longer term reoffense rates. Immigration and population mobility, use of aliases, study follow-up time, and self-reported undetected sex crimes influenced reoffense rates. Results indicate that sex offenders continued to have short prison sentences and/or spend little or no time incarcerated during the latter part of the 20th century.     

The impact of sex offender residence restrictions: 1,000 feet from danger or one step from absurd?

Several states have enacted public policies that prohibit sex offenders who have abused children from living within close proximity to a school, park, day care center, or school bus stop. The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe the impact of residence restrictions on sex offender reintegration and to better understand sex offenders' perceptions of these laws. A survey of 135 sex offenders in Florida was conducted. Most of the molesters who responded to the survey indicated that housing restrictions increased isolation, created financial and emotional stress, and led to decreased stability. Respondents also indicated that they did not perceive residence restrictions as helpful in risk management and, in fact, reported that such restrictions may inadvertently increase triggers for reoffense. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

THE IMPACT OF MEGAN'S LAW ON SEX OFFENDER RECIDIVISM: THE MINNESOTA EXPERIENCE*

Although Megan's Law was passed more than 10 years ago, very little is known as to whether it reduces sex offender recidivism significantly. Using a retrospective quasi‐experimental design, we examine whether community notification has a deterrent effect by comparing the recidivism rates of 155 level 3 (“high public risk”) sex offenders released from Minnesota prisons between 1997 and 2002 who were subject to broad notification with two separate control groups who were not. The first control group (referred to as the prenotification group) contained 125 sex offenders released between 1990 and 1996 (the 7 years preceding the implementation of the Community Notification Act) who likely would have been subject to broad community notification had the law been in effect at the time of their release. The second control group (referred to as the non‐notification group) was composed of 155 offenders (37 level 1 and 118 level 2) released between 1997 and 2002 who were not subject to broad community notification. The results from the Cox proportional hazards models reveal that broad community notification significantly reduced the risk of time to a sex reoffense (rearrest, reconviction, and reincarceration) compared with both control groups. The findings were mixed, however, for both non‐sex and general reoffending. Whereas broad community notification significantly reduced the risk of timing to both non‐sex and general recidivism compared with the prenotification group, no such effects were found in the non‐notification group analyses. We discuss the implications of these results and attempt to explain why Megan's Law seems to reduce sex offense recidivism in Minnesota.     

Risk of harm: inmates who harm themselves while in prison psychiatric treatment

In this study, 242 randomly selected male offenders who were receiving psychiatric treatment in prison were administered psychological and neuropsychological evaluations and were followed during their treatment in a prison psychiatric hospital. Offenders who harmed themselves in treatment were compared to those who did not harm themselves. Eighteen percent of offenders harmed themselves, the severity of which required medical intervention. Young age, drug abuse, absence of Axis I mental disorder but presence of Axis II borderline personality disorder identified offenders who harmed themselves. Psychopathy checklist-revised (PCL-R) total rating > or = 30 and PCL-R Factor 2 (antisocial lifestyle) rating also identified offenders who harmed themselves. Additionally, offenders who harmed themselves also were 8.36 times more likely than their cohorts to harm treatment staff. Theoretical understanding of offenders who harm themselves, the importance of considering the environmental context in identifying risk factors for self-harm, and implications for treatment are suggested.     

Forecasting Recidivism in Mentally Ill Offenders Released from Prison

Little research has focused on assessing the risk of mentally ill offenders (MIOs) released from state prisons. Here we report findings for 333 mentally ill offenders released from Washington State prisons. Logistic regression identified sets of variables that forecasted felony and violent reconviction as accurately as state-of-the-art risk assessment instruments. Sums of simple recoded versions of these variables predicted reoffense as well as complex logistic regression equations. Five of these 9 variables were found to be relative protective factors. Findings are discussed in terms of the value of stock correctional variables in forecasting risk, the need to base actuarial risk assessments on local data, the importance of protective factors in assessing MIO risk, and the need for dynamic, situational, and clinical variables that can further sharpen predictive accuracy of emergent risk in the community.     

Risk and the preventive detention of sex offenders in Australia and the United States

The development of recent statutory schemes, in both the United States and Australia, aim to keep the most dangerous sex offenders detained beyond the expiration of their prison sentence. In Kansas v. Hendricks (1997), the United States Supreme Court found constitutional Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) legislation that allows for the post-sentence, indefinite civil commitment of a subclass of dangerous offenders. More recently, the Australian High Court in Attorney-General (Qld) v. Fardon (2004) similarly upheld the constitutionality of Queensland's Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act (2003), which allows for the post-sentence preventive detention of sex offenders deemed to be at high risk of serious sexual recidivism. Because an evaluation of a sex offender's likelihood of re-offending is fundamental to these schemes, this article provides an overview of recent advances in the risk assessment literature, discussing base rates of sexual recidivism, the identification of empirically validated risk factors, and the utility of structured risk assessment tools. Although it is recommended that risk assessment measures be utilized to assist the courts in making sound decisions about commitment, the limits of current research knowledge and areas of future research need are discussed.     

How to train your dragon: an introduction to the special issue on treatment programmes for high-risk offenders

The plot of the popular movie How to Train Your Dragon includes several features that are paralleled in the efforts of programme designers and treatment providers who work with the highest risk offenders in criminal justice systems. This introduction to the special feature on programmes for high-risk offenders notes that there are important differences in how treatments are provided for offenders with varying levels of risk, need, and responsivity. It asks if what is known about effective offender intervention – much of it derived from moderately risky offenders – applies to those who are thought to be at high risk of new criminal activity. It observes that the relative lack of intervention theory for these offenders provides an important justification for a feature that focuses primarily on describing a range of these interventions and their theoretical underpinnings. The papers that follow are then introduced.     

Recidivism Rates Among Child Molesters and Rapists: A Methodological Analysis

We address the high variability in sex offender recidivism rates by examining several of the critical methodological differences that underlie this variability. We used a dataset on 251 sex offenders (136 rapists and 115 child molesters) who were discharged over a 25-year period to examine changes in recidivism as a function of changes in dispositional definition of reoffense (e.g., arrest or conviction), changes in the domain of criminal offenses that are considered, and changes in the length of exposure time. The data indicate that: (a) both rapists and child molesters remain at risk to reoffend long after their discharge, in some cases 15–20 years after discharge; (b) there was a marked underestimation of recidivism when calculating a simple proportion (%) consisting of those who were known to have reoffended during the follow-up period, and (c) there was a marked underestimation of recidivism when the criterion was based on conviction or imprisonment. Forensic, clinical and policy implications of this high variability are discussed.     

Recidivism in Stalking and Obsessional Harassment

Despite the rapidly growth of mental health attention focused on the phenomenon of stalking, no empirical research to date has attempted to assess the frequency of repeat offending or attempted to identify predictors of recidivism. A total of 148 stalking and harassment offenders who were court-ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation were followed for a period of 2.5–13 years in order to assess the frequency of repeat offenses and the variables that differentiated high versus low risk offenders. Recidivism data were obtained from a variety of sources, including criminal justice records, mental health records, and reports from probation officers and victims. A number of potential predictor variables were selected on the basis of the existing recidivism literature in other criminal justice populations. Frequency analysis were used to identify variables that significantly differentiated offenders who did and did not reoffend while survival analysis was used to analyze the impact of these covariates on time to reoffense. A total of 49% of the offenders reoffended during the follow-up period, 80% of whom reoffended during the first year. The strongest predictors of recidivism included the presence of a personality disorder, and in particular, a Cluster B personality disorder (i.e., antisocial, borderline, and/or narcissistic). In addition, those offenders with both a personality disorder and a history of substance abuse were significantly more likely to reoffend compared to either of these risk factors alone. Surprisingly, the presence of a delusional disorder (e.g., erotomania) was associated with a lower risk of reoffender. The findings are discussed in terms of the legal system and treatment implications.     

Prevalence of mental disorders among sexual offenders in forensic psychiatry and prison

The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of mental disorders among sexual offenders in forensic psychiatry (SF) with the prevalence of such disorders among sexual offenders in prison (SP) and violent offenders in prison (VP). In a cross-sectional study, 40 of 47 SF detained in forensic psychiatry in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, could be included. They were compared with 30 SP and 26 VP. All study participants were interviewed by means of SCID I and SCID II and assessments of functioning (GAF, BSS). There was a high prevalence of mental disorders (DSM-IV: Axis I) in all three groups (SF: 80%, SP: 63%, VP: 73%). Among SP and VP, this was attributed mainly to substance use disorders. The prevalence and comorbidity of personality disorders was significantly higher in the group of the SF (prevalence: SF: 85%, SP: 27%, VP: 39%). In a psychopathological view, SP were all together more similar to the imprisoned non-sexual delinquent VP than to the SF.     

Predictors of desistance among sex offenders: The interaction of formal and informal social controls

Increasing attention is being given to the issue of desistance or cessation in adult criminal careers. We contribute to this research by considering how informal and formal social controls affect recidivism among 556 sex offenders placed on probation in 1992. We conduct an event history analysis of reoffense, based on the predictions of Sampson and Laub's and Gottfredson and Hirschi's control theories. We build on these perspectives by examining how informal social controls condition the effects of formal social controls generally and across offense types. We find less recidivism among offenders with stable job histories, particularly among those in court-ordered sex offender treatment. The results add both to theoretical formulations concerning desistance and recidivism and to policy formulations directed at growing prison populations.     

MMPI profiles of males accused of severe crimes: a cluster analysis

Abstract

In studies attempting to classify criminal offenders by cluster analysis of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) data, the number of clusters found varied between 10 (the Megargee System) and two (one cluster indicating no psychopathology and one exhibiting serious psychopathology). The latter results raise doubts about the suitability of the MMPI-2 for classification in forensic settings. The present study aimed at deriving an empirical classification system using cluster analysis of 247 MMPI-2 profiles of pretrial criminal defendants in a forensic psychiatric observation clinic. Results indicated only a ‘non-disturbed’ and a ‘disturbed’ profile, differing on general elevation of MMPI-2 profiles but displaying no qualitatively distinct profiles. The clusters differed on age at admission and first conviction, indicating a late onset of criminal activity for disturbed offenders. Also, the clusters differed significantly on Axis I diagnosis and borderline significantly on Axis II diagnosis. The absence of distinct personality profiles between the clusters suggests restricted usefulness of the MMPI-2 in a forensic context of diverse and severe psychopathology and serious crimes. Either the investigated population is in fact extremely homogeneous, truly comprising only two kinds of offenders, or the types of offenders in these populations are not effectively distinguished by the MMPI-2.     

A Family Affair: The Juvenile Court and Family Violence Cases

Little attention has been devoted to studies of adolescent family violence offending, yet research on adult populations show that victim relationship may make a difference in how offenders are treated in the criminal justice system. Given that the intergenerational transmission of violence may operate through adolescent family violence, a detailed examination of these youth is warranted. Through an analysis of detained youth in a small northeastern state, this study examines differences in court treatment between family and non-family offenders. Family violence offenders are significantly more likely to be minor offenders and to be female than are non-family offenders. Results of logistic regression show that, all else being equal, family violence youth are treated more leniently by the court than non-family offenders. Finally, while most youth are released to community dispositions, there are no differences in court-ordered family counseling between family and non-family offenders. These findings point to areas of needed research on adolescent family violence offenders and larger policy questions about how such youth should be treated relative to other youth. A previous version of this paper was presented at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Denver, CO.     

Examining the Criminal History and Future Offending of Child Pornography Offenders: An Extended Prospective Follow-up Study

We examined police occurrence and criminal records data for a sample of 201 registered male child pornography offenders originally reported by Seto and Eke (Sex Abus J Res Treat 17:201–210, 2005), extending the average follow-up time for this sample to 5.9 years. In addition, we obtained the same data for another 340 offenders, increasing our full sample to 541 men, with a total average follow-up of 4.1 years. In the extended follow-up of the original sample, 34% of offenders had new charges for any type of reoffense, with 6% charged with a contact sexual offense against a child and an additional 3% charged with historical contact sex offenses (i.e., previously undetected offenses). For the full sample, there was a 32% any recidivism rate; 4% of offenders were charged with new contact sex offences, an additional 2% of offenders were charged with historical contact sex offenses and 7% of offenders were charged with a new child pornography offense. Predictors of new violent (including sexual contact) offending were prior offense history, including violent history, and younger offender age. Approximately a quarter of the sample was sanctioned for a failure on conditional release; in half of these failures, the offenders were in contact with children or used the internet, often to access pornography again.     

The relationship between physical and sexual abuse and drug use in a sample of juvenile detainees in Florida and a sample of committed youthful offenders in Colorado

The relationships between child physical and sexual abuse and illicit drug use are little understood and underinvestigated. Data gathered from a study of youths located in two different institutions for detained (Florida) and committed (Colorado) youthful offenders permitted an examination of this issue. The results indicate the youths' physical and sexual abuse experiences are significantly and positively related to their use of illicit drugs. The implications of these findings for further research are drawn.     

The factors associated with criminal recidivism in Finnish male offenders: importance of neurocognitive deficits and substance dependence

Neurocognitive deficits and psychiatric disorders are often brought up as risk factors of recidivism. In this study, we investigated how neurocognitive and academic deficits and psychiatric disorders (including substance dependence) are associated with criminal recidivism and prison career among male offenders. In a health survey of Finnish prisoners, 72 sentenced male prisoners were examined in Turku prison using a neurocognitive test battery and psychiatric assessment including a standardized psychiatric interview (SCID-I, II). The neurocognitive and academic tests were chosen to assess domains of cognitive functioning and reading, spelling and mathematical skills. Our results showed that the combination of neurocognitive deficits and substance dependence was connected to recidivism. Axis I diagnosis (major mental disorders) and substance dependence were connected with neurocognitive and academic deficits. Moreover, first-time offenders had fewer neurocognitive deficits and Axis I disorders, less substance dependence and fewer personality disorders than those with several convictions. Rehabilitation of cognitive functions and academic skills, along with intervention for mental health problems and substance dependence could help to prevent the unfavourable circle of criminal career.     

Empathy as a predictor of recidivism among young adult offenders

This longitudinal study examined the role of empathy in predicting recidivism among young adult offenders. During their prison terms, 748 male offenders between the ages of 15 and 28 were administered the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI; Davis, 1980). Official criminal records were used to determine general as well as violent recidivism during the (on average) five years following release from prison. Cox regression models of reoffense rates were calculated using IRI scales as explanatory variables while controlling for age, socioeconomic status, duration of imprisonment, and intelligence. The global empathy score and the subscales of perspective taking and empathic fantasy, but neither empathic concern nor personal distress, contributed to the prediction of recidivism. Furthermore, empathy did not contribute significantly to the prediction of violent reoffending. However, comparing offenders whose index crimes were violent versus nonviolent, violent offenders scored lower on the IRI and recidivated more often with a violent offence than did nonviolent offenders.