Mandatory life sentences for serious sex offenders in England and Wales: tough,but intelligent too?

Abstract

This paper reviews the changes in risk assessment procedures for sexual offenders over the last 15 years from the viewpoint of two active participants in that change. Best practices with this target group have evolved at a dizzying pace, leaving many practitioners and programme managers uncertain about which tests or procedures they should use and, frankly, wondering why things keep changing. We view this ongoing evolution as very positive. Compared to the early 1990s, evaluators now have better knowledge of the static and dynamic factors associated with sexual recidivism, and a number of empirically validated risk assessment tools. We describe the various risk assessment procedures we have introduced (e.g. STATIC-99, SONAR, STABLE-2007/ACUTE-2007), the reasons why practices have changed and the reasons why practices will continue to change.     

国际项目融资中的环境影响评价制度

世界银行等国际金融组织在其项目贷款守则中已将是否进行环境影响评价程序作为其项目可贷性的前提条件,中国作为世行的最大受惠国,应该加强对国际项目融资中环境影响评价制度的研究.本文从多方面论证了二者存在的实质性联系,从风险均衡的角度提出了推行环评审查法人负责制的必要性,认为中国的银行在其贷款守则中应考虑将环评程序纳入项目可贷性的内容并确保当事人诉诸法律,对特定事项请求司法审查权利的实现.     

我国环境影响评价中的公众参与

公众参与是环境影响评价制度的一项重要内容。我国《环境影响评价法》对公众参与做出了较为具体的规定,从而使公众参与更加有法可依。但我国目前环境影响评价中的公众参与现状并不理想,需进一步提高、完善。     

Validity and reliability of the Self-Report Delinquency among a sample of at-risk youths

Self-Report Delinquency scales have formed the basis of much understanding of juvenile delinquency today, but further improvement and extensive measurement research on self-report measures of crime are needed. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the shorter general delinquency scale version of the classic commonly used Self-Report of Delinquency (SRD) measure created for the original National Youth Survey (NYS) using a sample (N = 412) of male (n = 200) and female (n = 212) at-risk Portuguese youths. The shorter version of the SRD demonstrated satisfactory validity and reliability, namely in terms of its latent one-factor structure, internal consistency, convergent validity, divergent validity, concurrent criterion validity and discriminant groups validity that overall justifies its use among this population. The shorter general delinquency scale version of the SRD is a valid and reliable measure from a modern psychometric perspective that can be used with at-risk youths.     

Single-item predictive validity of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) for violent behaviour in outpatient forensic psychiatry

The single-item predictive validity of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) has not been thoroughly investigated, although this has great clinical relevance for the selection of treatment targets. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the characteristic START additions of scoring strengths next to vulnerabilities and selecting key items, add incremental predictive validity. Finally, predictive validity has primarily been studied in inpatient settings and included mainly patients with a psychotic disorder. We analysed data from a mixed diagnostic sample of 195 forensic psychiatric outpatients with a 3-month and 170 patients with a 6-month follow-up period, using logistic regression analysis. The occurrence of violent or criminal behaviour was established based on the case manager’s recordings in the patient’s file. Only 5 of the 20 START items were found to have predictive validity: Impulse Control, Attitudes, Material Resources, Rule Adherence and Conduct. The last three were the only items for which incremental predictive validity was found with respect to scoring it as a strength and a vulnerability. Selection of key items did not add to the predictive validity. While possibly having therapeutic significance, the scoring of strength next to vulnerability and the selection of key items, may not be beneficial for risk assessment.     

Judges’ Perceptions of Screening,Assessment, Prevention,and Treatment for Substance Use, Mental Health,and HIV among Juveniles on Community Supervision: Results of a National Survey

Juvenile Justice‐Translational Research on Interventions for Adolescents in the Legal System (JJ‐TRIALS) National Survey was funded in part to describe the current status of screening, assessment, prevention and treatment for substance use, mental health, and HIV for youth on community supervision within the US juvenile justice system. Surveys were administered to community supervision agencies and their primary behavioral healthcare providers, as well as the juvenile or family court judge with the largest caseload of youth on community supervision. This article presents the findings from the judges’ survey. Survey results indicated juvenile and family court judges were open to innovations for improving the court's performance, rated their relationships with collaborators highly, and appreciated the impact of screening, assessment, prevention, and treatment on judicial practices.     

Predicting daily-life antisocial behaviour in institutionalized adolescents with Transgression-related Implicit Association Tests

This study investigated whether implicit attitude (IA) and implicit self-concept (ISC) towards transgression predicted daily-life antisocial behaviour (ASB) in institutionalized adolescents. Eighty-seven adolescents completed two Implicit Association Tests (IAT) assessing IA and ISC towards transgression, and reported four times a day during eight days the intensity of their ASB. Staff members concurrently reported the intensity of each adolescent’s ASB. Adolescents filled in the Inventory for Callous-Unemotional Traits and answered a semi-structured interview assessing conduct disorder. Multilevel regression analyses confirmed that adolescents’ ISC towards transgression significantly predicted their self - and staff-reported ASB over and above conduct disorder and callous-unemotional traits. However, adolescents’ IA towards transgression did not predict their ASB. Results indicate that ISC towards transgression is a reliable predictor of daily-life ASB in institutionalized adolescents. These results suggest that transgression-related ISC represents a promising target for ASB prevention in institutionalized adolescents.     

脑卒中后吞咽障碍的针灸康复思路探析

针刺治疗结合康复训练对促进脑卒中后吞咽障碍患者吞咽功能的恢复、改善生命质量具有重要意义.中医辨证辨经相结合,吞咽功能及时筛查与系统评估相结合,整体察病,对脑卒中后吞咽障碍患者的全面评估及康复治疗有重要的指导意义.可根据吞咽分期五期模式分期论治:认知期阴阳失调,窍闭神匿,治神为本,取之督脉;口腔准备期和口腔期清窍失养,气...     

通督调神针刺法对血管性轻度认知障碍患者血清脑源性神经营养因子和血浆同型半胱氨酸的影响

目的观察通督调神针刺法对血管性轻度认知障碍患者的疗效,以及对血清脑源性神经营养因子(brain derived neural nutrition factor,BDNF)、血浆同型半胱氨酸(homocysteine,Hcy)水平的影响。方法将61例血管性轻度认知障碍患者随机分为治疗组(31例)和对照组(30例),对照组患者口服药物多奈哌齐治疗2个月,治疗组除口服多奈哌齐外还予通督调神针刺法治疗4个疗程。采用简易智力状态检查(mini-mental state examination,MMSE)量表、蒙特利尔认知评估(Montreal cognitive assessment,MoCA)量表评价患者治疗前后认知水平变化,采用酶联免疫吸附法检测血清BDNF水平,循环酶法检测血浆Hcy水平。结果与治疗前比较,治疗后两组患者MMSE评分、MoCA评分均明显增加(P<0.05);治疗组与对照组MMSE和MoCA评分差值比较,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。与治疗前比较,两组患者治疗后血清BDNF水平显著升高,血浆Hcy水平显著降低,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05);治疗组血清BDNF水平升高程度、血浆Hcy水平降低程度均显著大于对照组(P<0.05)。两组基于MMSE评分的疗效比较,治疗组优于对照组(P<0.05)。结论通督调神针刺能够提升血管性轻度认知功能障碍患者的认知功能评分,提高相关细胞因子的表达水平,降低相关危险因素的影响。     

Addressing the Needs of Survivors of Torture: A Pilot Test of the Psychosocial Well-Being Index

Survivors of torture experience numerous psychosocial stressors that threaten individual well-being in resettlement. This study reports findings from a pilot test that applied the newly developed Survivors of Torture Psychosocial Well-Being Index. The study used a case-level mixed design to assess survivor psychosocial well-being across 16 life domains from intake up to 18 months. Ecological systems theory grounds this study. Participants demonstrated increased well-being as evidenced by statistically significant change on the mean ratings of their total scores. Three case examples illustrate the instrument. Practice applications, lessons learned, study limitations, and future directions are presented.