The Andrews’ principles of risk, needs, and responsivity as applied in drug treatment programs: meta-analysis of crime and drug use outcomes

Objectives

The purpose of the present meta-analysis was to answer the question: Can the Andrews principles of risk, needs, and responsivity, originally developed for programs that treat offenders, be extended to programs that treat drug abusers?

Methods

Drawing from a dataset that included 243 independent comparisons, we conducted random-effects meta-regression and ANOVA-analog meta-analyses to test the Andrews principles by averaging crime and drug use outcomes over a diverse set of programs for drug abuse problems.

Results

For crime outcomes, in the meta-regressions, the point estimates for each of the principles were substantial, consistent with previous studies of the Andrews principles. There was also a substantial point estimate for programs exhibiting a greater number of the principles. However, almost all the 95 % confidence intervals included the zero point. For drug use outcomes, in the meta-regressions, the point estimates for each of the principles was approximately zero; however, the point estimate for programs exhibiting a greater number of the principles was somewhat positive. All the estimates for the drug use principles had confidence intervals that included the zero point.

Conclusions

This study supports previous findings from primary research studies targeting the Andrews principles that those principles are effective in reducing crime outcomes, here in meta-analytic research focused on drug treatment programs. By contrast, programs that follow the principles appear to have very little effect on drug use outcomes. Primary research studies that experimentally test the Andrews principles in drug treatment programs are recommended.     

‘So what about the stories?’ An exploratory study of the definition,use, and function of Narrative Child Sexual Exploitation Material

The legal and psychological research surrounding online Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) is focused on visual depictions of children, either as still images or movies. Narrative CSEM (N-CSEM) describes an under-researched area, resulting from difficulties surrounding its conceptualisation, both legally as well as concerning the function for its users. The current study describes an initial attempt in defining N-CSEM in comparison to visual material, based on interviews with users of CSEM and N-CSEM and professionals working with this user group. Thematic Analysis resulted in three super-ordinate themes. All themes were analysed and enriched from the perspectives of user- and service-representatives. The study provides insight into N-CSEM as a separate entity from visual CSEM, challenging and informing legal decision-making and assessment and treatment providers for users of CSEM.     

An exploratory study of women prisoners’ attitudes towards their self-harm and the use of medical skin camouflage

Self-harm is a growing problem in UK prisons with women self-harming more than men. Self-harm can leave permanent scarring. Research on scarring suggests that living with scars can lead to psychological difficulties; however, there is little research on the specific effects of self-harm scars. Medical skin camouflage (MSC) can be used to cover numerous skin conditions. The use of MSC for women in prison with self-harm scars has not been examined previously. A focus group involving 10 women prisoners aimed to (1) explore feelings about self-harm scars, (2) examine effects that scars have on life in prison and (3) examine thoughts on using MSC in prison. This group formed part of a larger project designed to test the feasibility and acceptability of MSC for women who self-harm in prison. A topic guide was created with two service user researchers with experience of self-harm in prison. The results have been divided into three themes: (1) feelings about self-harm scars, (2) covering self-harm scars and (3) attitudes towards MSC. Our findings indicate that women in prison tend to feel embarrassed and self-conscious about their scars, and the presence of scars affects their relationships within prison. The women were enthusiastic about MSC, suggesting that it has the potential to affect women’s well-being and ability to engage with others.     

Bureaucracy, “domesticated” elites, and the abolition of capital punishment. Processes of state-formation and the number of executions in England and Habsburg Austria between 1700 and 1914

The paper argues that the introduction of bureaucracy civilized death penalty and brutal punishment. The study bases on a quantitative analysis of the numbers of death sentences and executions in England and Habsburg Austria from 1700 to 1914 and on a qualitative analysis of historical literature about the death penalty in both countries. The paper shows that professional law enforcement specialists, bureaucrats, civil servants, and detached juridical stuff formed a new class of “domesticated middlemen elites”. In strong states, this new class becomes the dominating group. In weak states, however, old elites that combine economic and political power preserve their privileged positions. For them capital punishment is the most proper mean to deter criminals because old elites fear the alternative: the introduction of strong-state institutions. Beside obvious power struggles between central and local elites—which effects penal policy pro and con capital punishment—there is a civilizing process going beneath the surface of rationality and political interests. In strong states, the formation of a “habitus” averse to brutal punishment is initiated amongst “domesticated middlemen elites” who are acting in peaceful living- and working conditions.     

Students’ Feelings of Safety,Exposure to Violence and Victimization,and Authoritative School Climate

Although many students feel unsafe at school, few malleable factors have been identified to increase students’ feelings of safety. Drawing on criminological behavior control theories, this study posits authoritative school climate as one such factor. With data from two nationally representative datasets, this study uses path analysis to examine the relationship between authoritative school climate and feelings of safety, as well as the extent to which this relation is explained by exposure to violence and victimization. Across both datasets, a more authoritative school climate was associated with increased feelings of safety at school. Both models also indicated that this relationship was explained in part by reduced exposure to violence and victimization, although the strength of this indirect effect varied across models. These findings suggest that strengthening students’ relationships with adults and increasing the fairness and consistency of rules in the school may both reduce exposure to violence and victimization and help students feel safer at school.     

Synthesis, characterisation and detection of γ-hydroxybutyrate salts

Sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium salts of gamma-hydroxybutyrate have been synthesised from gamma-butyrolactone and the corresponding group 1 or 2 hydroxide. Although the group 2 salts are non-hygroscopic, FT-IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis revealed them to be hydrated. X-ray powder diffraction was found to be a quick, non-destructive method of discriminating between the four salts. The Smith and the chlorophenol red/modified Schweppes reagent presumptive colour tests gave positive results regardless of the salt tested. Microcrystalline tests for NaGHB were in accordance with previous literature reports, but results for the other three salts were not reliable.     

Racial composition,sentencing reforms,and rates of incarceration, 1970–1980

Association with delinquent peer groups is one of the most salient predictors of delinquent behavior. Despite the widespread documentation of these effects, little is known about whether the delinquent peer effect is conditioned by individual‐level characteristics. Using data from a multi‐wave survey of Mexican‐American adolescents, this study explored the interactive effect of susceptibility to peer influence and differential association with delinquent peers on delinquent outcomes. Results suggested that the delinquent peer effect on self‐reported delinquency is amplified when an adolescent is highly susceptible to peer influence. Analyses also indicated that this moderating effect varies according to offense seriousness. Specifically, the conditioning effect is most important when considering acts of serious delinquency.     

The use of telepsychiatry within forensic practice: a literature review on the use of videolink – a ten-year follow-up

In the last decade, telepsychiatry – the use of telecommunications technologies to deliver psychiatric services from a distance – has been increasingly utilised in many areas of mental health care. Since the review by Khalifa and colleagues in 2007 the body of literature relevant to the forensic applications of telepsychiatry has grown substantially, albeit not by much in the United Kingdom. In the current review, we aim to provide an update summary of the literature published since 2007 to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of increasing telepsychiatry utilisation in forensic practice. The literature reviewed provides some encouraging evidence that telepsychiatry is a reliable, effective and highly acceptable method for delivering mental health care in forensic settings. There are also a number of papers that indicate the use of telepsychiatry may be cost effective for health providers in the longer term. Further research is required to consider the potential legal and ethical implications of using telepsychiatry in forensic settings.     

‘The Enemy of God and His Church’: James Hobart,Praemunire, and the Clergy of Norwich Diocese

Praemunire was the offence of undermining royal authority. Despite its antipapal origins, by 1500 praemunire was being used to inhibit the exercise of ecclesiastical jurisdiction within England. Notorious from 1529 as a royal instrument for intimidating the clergy, praemunire was already contentious at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Historians of the common law have identified a growing number of praemunire cases in these years; at the same time, ecclesiastical historians have detected a decline in the business of most church courts. A causal relationship has often been assumed, but not examined in the manner attempted here. A spate of praemunire cases within his diocese provoked from Bishop Nykke of Norwich a famous letter of complaint, in which he censured the attorney-general Sir James Hobart. This article examines the praemunire cases to which Nykke referred and also Hobart's role in promoting them. The interaction between church and common law courts and between their personnel and litigants is explored. New light is shed on relations between leading churchmen and common lawyers and also on the Crown's attitude to praemunire. The evidence presented deepens our understanding of the decline of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in this period.     

Law,language, and the power of ‘invisible threats’ of violence against women

Violence, and the threat of violence, is a pervasive feature of women's lives. From high-profile threats in politics to everyday harms such as domestic abuse, violence, threat, and intimidation control women's behaviour and silence their voices. Yet in many cases the pernicious and harmful effect of threat is not captured by the law. Drawing on the work of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and empirical research undertaken in Northern Ireland, this article analyses the ways in which both objective and ‘incorporated’ social structures generate invisible forces of fear and threat that the law does not see, but that women feel and structure their lives around. The article develops the novel conceptual tool of ‘invisible threats’ to capture threat as harm, to show the relation between threat and gendered (in)securities, and to challenge institutions of the law to respond better to invisible threats as perceived and articulated by women.     

Effect of Psychopathy, Abuse, and Ethnicity on Juvenile Probation Officers’ Decision-Making and Supervision Strategies

Probation officers exercise substantial discretion in their daily work with troubled and troubling juvenile offenders. In this experiment, we examine the effect of psychopathic features, child abuse, and ethnicity on 204 officers’ expectancies of, recommendations for, and approach to supervising, juvenile offenders. The results indicate that officers (a) have decision-making and supervision approaches that are affected by a youth’s psychopathic traits and history of child abuse—but not ethnicity; (b) view both abused youth and psychopathic youth as highly challenging cases on a path toward adult criminality; and (c) have greater hope and sympathy for abused youth than psychopathic youth. For abused youth, officers are likely to recommend psychological services and “go the extra mile” by providing greater support, referrals, and networking than is typical for their caseload. For psychopathic youth, officers expect poor treatment outcomes and are” extra strict,” enforcing rules that typically are not enforced for others on their caseload.     

Chasing two hares at once? Effect of joint institutional change for promoting commercial use of university knowledge and scientific research

The Journal of Technology Transfer - Stimulating the university’s scientific research while encouraging the commercial use of the resulting knowledge is one of the foremost missions to...     

‘Disband,Disempower, and Disarm’: Amplifying the Theory and Practice of Police Abolition

Critical criminologists have challenged the utility of efforts to reform the criminal justice system for decades, including strong calls to abolish the prison system. More recently, the rebellions in Ferguson, Baltimore, Milwaukee, and Charlotte have made racialized police violence and police reform issues of national concern. In this article, we examine abolitionist claims aimed at law enforcement institutions in the aftermath of Ferguson and other subsequent rebellions. We consider the implications for abolitionist organizing when the institution of law enforcement, rather than prisons, becomes the explicit target of our movement(s). How are groups theorizing and practicing police abolition and how does this align with, challenge, or expand past conceptualizations of abolition? To answer this question, first we sketch the broad parameters of abolitionist thought, particularly as it is taken up in the disciplines of political theory and criminology. Second, we analyze an emergent praxis of police abolition that revolves around the call to disband, disempower, and disarm law enforcement institutions. We argue that by attacking the police as an institution, by challenging its very right to exist, the contemporary abolitionist movement contains the potential to radically transform society. In this spirit, we amplify abolitionist praxis that (1) aims directly at the police as an institution, (2) seeks to dismantle the racial capitalist order, (3) adopts uncompromising positions that resist liberal attempts at co-optation, incorporation, and/or reconciliation, and (4) creates alterative democratic spaces that directly challenge the legitimacy of the police.     

Adding Security,but Subtracting Safety? Exploring Schools’ use of Multiple Visible Security Measures

In response to continued concerns over crime and violence, schools are increasingly employing visible security measures such as cameras, metal detectors, and security personnel. These security measures are not mutually exclusive, but few studies have considered the relationship between the use of multiple forms of security and youth’s exposure to drugs, fighting, property crime, and firearms at school. To address this issue, we analyzed nationally representative school administrator-reported data from the School Survey on Crime & Safety, using a quasi-experimental design with propensity scores to adjust for potential confounding factors. The results indicated that utilization of multiple security measures reduced the likelihood of exposure to property crime in high schools, but most other security utilization patterns were associated with poorer school safety outcomes. Our findings provide guidance to policymakers in considering whether to use – or expand – visible school security measures in schools.     

The Consequences of Social Inequality for the Health and Development of India’s Children: The Case of Caste,Sanitation, and Child Height

Social Justice Research - The links among social inequality, economic inequality, and health have long been of interest to social scientists, but causal links are difficult to investigate...