中性业务行为的意义、标准及立场选择

在现代技术环境下,社会分工协作日趋复杂,为保护个人的信赖利益,基于帮助犯免责事由的中性业务行为应运而生。中性业务行为确定了帮助行为可罚与不可罚的边际,是对传统的帮助犯理论的修正和例外,是法益保护与权利保障平衡的产物。     

Mentally ill offenders eligible for diversion at local court in New South Wales (NSW), Australia: factors associated with initially successful diversion

Diversion away from the criminal justice system and into mental health treatment services is a key strategy for addressing the well-established burden of mental illness suffered by those presenting to court. While mental health courts, court liaison and court diversion services have been developed in many jurisdictions internationally, there is limited research evidence to support their effectiveness in identifying those with mental health need and achieving successful diversion. The Statewide Community and Court Liaison Service in New South Wales, Australia, identifies mentally ill offenders likely to meet legal eligibility criteria for diversion at the busiest local courts across the state. Utilising data collected by mental health clinicians working in the service, 8317 individuals were identified as being eligible for court diversion on at least one occasion during the study period (1 July 2008 and the 30 June 2015) and 57.3% were subsequently diverted by Magistrates. Successful diversion at this first step was associated with being female, older, of non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background, and having a serious mental illness, replicated when stratified by sex and by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background. There may be barriers to mental health diversion at court for individuals with particular socio-demographic characteristics which future service developments may need to take into account.     

The community corrections perspective toward sex offender management policies and collateral consequences: does contact with sex offenders matter?

Since the 1990s, numerous policies have been enacted aimed at managing sex offenders in the community. Two of the most prominent management policies are registries for sex offenders and residence restrictions. Community corrections professionals are tasked with enforcing these policies and yet little is known about their perceptions toward sex offenders and the policies in place to manage them. Prior research has suggested that contact with sex offenders may place a significant role in shaping the attitudes of community corrections professionals toward sex offender management policies and collateral consequences. The current study investigates the effect of contact with sex offenders on the perceptions of community corrections professionals (n = 209) toward sex offender management policies and collateral consequences faced by sex offenders. Findings suggest that contact with sex offenders does not influence the attitudes of community corrections professionals, but several other significant factors were revealed including parental status, political orientation, race, tenure, sex, and age.     

Self-reported versus diagnosed paraphilias in outpatient sexual offenders

Literature has repeatedly reaffirmed sexual deviance as a risk factor for sexual recidivism, making it an important subject to examine. Yet, not all studies confirm the relevance of sexual deviance and there is a lack of consensus regarding the assessment of it. In the current study, 499 Dutch adult male subjects, admitted for sexual misconduct (possession of child abuse material, child molestation and other types of inappropriate sexual behaviour) to an outpatient forensic treatment facility, were compared regarding sexual paraphilias using self-reports from clients and official DSM-IV-TR diagnoses assessed by professionals. Analyses revealed a relatively low similarity between self-reports and diagnoses, self-reports generating considerably more information. Furthermore, correlating the paraphilias revealed paedophilia associated minimally with the other paraphilias. Lastly, the different types of offenders varied significantly in number of self-reported and diagnosed paraphilias, with the miscellaneous group presenting the most. Considering these outcomes may help assessment and target treatment goals in forensic psychiatry.     

Gender in the Context of Same‐Sex Divorce and Relationship Dissolution

This article identifies ways that judges, lawyers, researchers, and policy makers may attend to the role of gender and gender dynamics facing same‐sex couples upon divorce or other relationship dissolution. When same‐sex couples marry, the legal system and society at large may project conceptions of gender onto same‐sex couples, often in a manner that conflicts with couples' intentions and practices. Gender and gender dynamics may affect the bases for dissolution, the financial aspects of dissolution, and the determination of child custody. The article also suggests directions for future research on the impact of gender on the dissolution of same‐sex relationships.     

Evaluation of the use of pharmacological treatment with prisoners experiencing high levels of hypersexual disorder

This paper presents an evaluation of the impact of pharmacological treatment in reducing hypersexual disorder in adult males who have been incarcerated following conviction for a sexual offence. The evaluation compares two types of pharmacological treatment, one of which is part of the current NICE guidance for treatment of hypersexuality (Antiandrogens), whilst the other type (SSRIs) is off-label use in the UK for hypersexuality. The participant pool comprised 127 adult male prisoners serving sentences for sexual offences in a UK prison. Participants had been voluntarily referred for pharmacological treatment to manage hypersexual disorder. The results demonstrated a significant reduction of hypersexual disorder pre- and post-medication and contribute to the evidence base for the use of pharmacological treatment with individuals for whom hypersexual disorder may be a salient factor in their offending. Limitations of the current research are discussed.     

Police officer attitudes to the practicalities of the sex offenders’ register,ViSOR and Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure Scheme in England and Wales

This paper examines police officer understandings of and attitudes to the sex offenders’ register, Violent and Sex Offenders’ Register (ViSOR) and Child Sexual Offender Disclosure Scheme (CSODS) in England and Wales – an under-researched area in the management of sexual offenders in the UK. This research is an adaptation of an American study utilising a mixed-methods approach, combining an online questionnaire survey (N?=?227) with a series of semi-structured interviews (N?=?27). The study found that police officers, irrespective of role, were generally supportive of the register, ViSOR and CSODS in principle, but they thought that logistics, practicalities, infrastructure, multi-agency collaboration and public understandings had problematic impacts on the scheme in practice. The participants believed that greater investment was needed in terms of time and resource to make the register, ViSOR and CSODS easier to use and access and thus fit for purpose.     

The Static-99R predicts sexual and violent recidivism for individuals with low intellectual functioning*

A current debate is whether actuarial risk assessment tools predict sexual recidivism in sexual offenders with intellectual disabilities (SOIDs). Since intellectual functioning exists on a spectrum, the present study examined the predictive validity of the Static-99R across the range of intellectual functioning. The sample was comprised of 454 adult sexual offenders assessed at an outpatient clinic and followed for an average of 10 years. Offenders in the extremely low/borderline group had higher scores on the Static-99R than other offenders, largely due to their score on the detachment subscale of the Static-99R, but did not have significantly higher recidivism rates. Calibration analyses suggested that the expected and observed recidivism rates did not differ significantly. Intellectual functioning did not add incremental validity to the Static-99R. Further, there was no interaction between intellectual functioning and actuarial risk score. The results suggested that the Static-99R can be used across the range of intellectual functioning, albeit somewhat more cautiously for those at the lowest and highest end of the intellectual functioning distribution.     

Body- and movement-based interventions with male offenders – a narrative review

Therapeutic and psychosocial accompaniment of offenders is increasingly being understood as a communal responsibility. Apart from recognised treatment batteries, an increasing amount of body- and movement-based interventions is carried out within the prison environment. Extensive literature searches were performed for this review. From a total of 2908, 23 publications were included. An increase in research interest in body- and movement-based interventions during the past 5 years was observed. Such interventions are being flexibly applied in detention contexts across western countries, transnationally. Effects of emotional nature as well as competence are being described. Body- and movement-based interventions may contribute substantially in the supervision within the prison regime and can be applied in different modalities as well as low- and high-threshold treatments. Scientific development in this field still is rudimentary and thus further research is necessary in order to provide more evidence for modification processes and efficacy from validated studies.