Drug Court through the Lenses of African American Women: Improving Graduation Rates with Gender-Responsive Interventions

Drug courts began in the United States in 1989, and nearly three decades of evidence has shown that drug courts are more effective than other criminal justice interventions at reducing criminal recidivism. There has, however, been a trend in some drug courts where African Americans are less likely to graduate than their White counterparts, which is concerning because evidence has also shown that graduating the program reduces the odds of recidivating. Little is known about African Americans’ experiences in drug court, and this is the first known qualitative study to ask African American women (N?=?8) about the most helpful aspects of drug court that support them in graduating and how the drug court could be more helpful in supporting them to graduate. The women felt that the drug court judge was their advocate and understood the unique challenges they faced with balancing the demands of drug court with motherhood. Conversely, the women felt that they were not receiving effective, gender-responsive treatment for their substance use disorders, which was a barrier to them graduating drug court. The findings are discussed in reference to drug court practice and future research.     

Bestiality in Forensically Committed Sexual Offenders: A Case Series

Although bestiality has occurred since prehistoric times, it remains a poorly understood aspect of human sexuality. Prevalence studies in the mid‐20th century suggested that bestiality was a relatively common phenomenon. Since that time, researchers have studied bestiality among specific populations, including self‐identified “zoophiles” and inmates who report a history of bestiality. Findings from inmate research suggest that bestiality may represent a risk factor for future interpersonal violence. This study presents a case series of bestiality among sexual offenders committed under forensic commitment schemes. The case series demonstrates the range of animal partners, sexual acts, and comorbid paraphilic and nonparaphilic diagnoses in individuals who report a history of bestiality. In addition, it helps clarify potential motivations for sex with animals and how such motivations may influence the forensic psychiatric assessment of offenders who have sex with animals.     

How do professionals experience working with offenders diagnosed with personality disorder within a prison environment?

To explore the different experiences of a Multidisciplinary Team working with offenders diagnosed with personality disorder (PD) and produce a substantive model of the Offender PD Pathway strategy from a staff perspective. Fourteen participants were recruited from ‘Unit A’ located within a high security prison. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants and the data collected were analysed using constructivist grounded theory. A model was constructed depicting the experiences of those working with offenders with PD. Main themes identified were: prison environment; synergy of the workforce; understanding of the client; individual perceptions; support; and personal change. Although there was enough similarity within the participants’ responses to consider them to be a homogenous population, there were some noticeable differences in trends of responses evident between the two sub-groups of health service-based clinical staff and prison staff as expressed in the model. There is interplay between factors which influence an individual’s experience of working with offenders with PD. How a member of staff experiences working with offenders with PD depends on more than just the nature of the client and the challenges they pose. These factors external to the client group appear to have a significant impact on the professional and their emotional experiences of their work.     

Finding our way: early learning from the Compass Project,an Intensive Intervention Risk Management service for women

Abstract

Intensive Intervention Risk Management (IIRM) services are commissioned under the Offender Personality Disorder strategy to contribute to a psychologically informed pathway by supporting individuals ‘through the gate’. This paper reports some of the learning from the first IIRM service for women and outlines how those involved have sought to understand the challenges that were faced by this project in its early days. This paper argues that these challenges help to clarify the role of IIRM services for women and that the ambition for these services should be to facilitate coherent, holistic management. We suggest that IIRM services for women offenders are likely to be most effective if they are well integrated and responsive to the social context, underpinned by a partnership approach and have clear processes for service delivery. Finally, we argue that IIRM services for women should be characterised by a commitment to involvement at every level.     

Personality disorder and violence in the national household population of Britain

Background: Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is strongly associated with violence but the effects of other personality disorder (PD) categories are uncertain. Purpose: To investigate associations between 10 DSM-IV PD categories and effects of co-occurring disorders on self-reported violence. Method: Cross-sectional survey of 8397 adults aged 16–74 years in households in Great Britain. Results: ASPD contributed strongly to the burden of violence in the British population. Paranoid and obsessive–compulsive PD made additional independent contributions, and narcissistic PD contributed to intimate partner violence. The prevalence of violence correlated with the number of PD categories. Comorbid alcohol dependence further increased the risk. Conclusions: Risk of violence increases with increasing severity of PD, measured by the number of PD categories, and with co-occurring alcohol dependence. Not all PD categories are associated with violence, and avoidant PD was protective. Identification of targets for future interventions may be obscured using a classification based solely on severity.     

Sudden and Unexpected Death in Three Cases of Ehlers‐Danlos Syndrome Type IV*

Abstract: Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS) type IV is a connective tissue disorder characterized by the inability to produce sufficient amounts of collagen or a defect in the structure of collagen. The most serious complications include a rupture of a viscus or vascular rupture with or without mural dissection. Death may result from internal hemorrhage. This report describes three cases of sudden and unexpected death caused by EDS type IV. Two cases involved hemothorax as a result of dissection of the subclavian artery and aorta, respectively. The third case represented spontaneous pulmonary rupture and hemorrhage. A detailed family history should be sought, and additional specimens collected to confirm the diagnosis, including skin fibroblasts for collagen testing and blood for DNA testing. The forensic pathologist should consider the possibility of EDS type IV upon discovery of spontaneous visceral or arterial rupture and should alert the family members of this hereditary and potentially fatal condition.     

人身损害赔偿中精神障碍者民事行为能力评定

目的寻求并确证人身损害赔偿中精神障碍者民事行为能力评定的考量指标。方法回顾性收集司法部司法鉴定科学技术研究所2003--2005年的关于人身损害赔偿中精神障碍者民事行为能力评定案例中被鉴定人的相关材料,提炼出6个考量指标：处境认识、争端理解、结果认识、信息利用、环境功能和决定交流进行评定,并用SPSS11．5软件进行统计分析。结果考量指标与专家鉴定结论间的相关系数在0．632～0．876,考量指标间的相关系数在0．575～0．911。结论提炼的6个考量指标在人身损害赔偿中精神障碍者民事行为能力评定具有代表性,可以此为基础深入开展民事行为能力标准化评定及量化研究。