Sex offender (re)integration into the community: realities and challenges

Abstract

This paper explores the benefits of engaging with self-defined communities in Northern Ireland on the issue of sexual offending and argues the case for building on existing community structures, by identifying people with leadership skills and by empowering them with the knowledge, and with connections to statutory services, that will support public protection. We address the historical context in terms of the impact of the conflict on these communities and describe the role and experience of NIACRO working in Northern Ireland, in particular its Base2 project supporting people under threat. We reference the development of current statutory arrangements for Public Protection Arrangements for Northern Ireland (PPANI) and argue the case for preparing people in the community to receive and understand the messages promoted through PPANI on the basis of our belief that public education is most effective when the people receiving it are receptive.     

Community-based forensic child and adolescent mental health services in England,Scotland and Wales: a national mapping exercise

Aim: We sought to ascertain the current nature of specialist community mental health provision for young people presenting with risk of harm to others or involvement with the youth justice system in England, Wales and Scotland. Methods: Questionnaire-based survey. Results: Fifty-five services were contacted, 48 responded and 35 of these were found to be providing some form of community mental health provision to high-risk young people. Thirteen services provided comprehensive community forensic child and adolescent mental health (FCAMH) services, whilst the remainder offered more ad hoc clinical input. Amongst the comprehensive FCAMH services, staffing, function, commissioning arrangements and population served varied widely. Conclusions: There is patchy geographical provision of comprehensive community FCAMH services across England, Scotland and Wales with heterogeneous commissioning arrangements, staffing and function. Development of a national commissioning strategy for community FCAMH services is required to ensure that the complex needs of high-risk young people are adequately addressed.     

Sexually violent predators and civil commitment: is selection evidence based?

Sexual offenses represent an alarming proportion of crimes committed yearly. To address these concerns, several states, including South Carolina (SC), have enacted laws requiring sexually violent predators (SVPs) to be civilly committed to treatment. To date, no published study has examined sexual offenders recommended for treatment in SC. This study used a specially designed statewide database (SC-SVP research database) to determine which offender and offense characteristics were associated with increased likelihood of being recommended for civil commitment. Factors correlated with being more likely to be recommended included: being of a younger age at time of evaluation, prior sex convictions, having related and unrelated victims, a higher number of victims, frequent substance use, and a history of suicide attempts. Prior sex convictions, having both related and non-related victims, and a higher total number of victims align with characteristics associated with sexual recidivism. Frequent substance abuse and a history of suicide attempts do not mirror previous findings regarding sexual recidivism. These findings present new information regarding the civil commitment process of offenders being committed to the SC-SVP treatment program, characterize types of offenders committed to SC-SVP treatment program, and provide a foundation for using a computerized database in conducting sex offender research.     

INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD: NARRATIVES OF PERSISTENCE AND DESISTANCE

Prior research on patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV) has documented changes over time, but few studies have focused directly on IPV desistance processes. This analysis identifies unique features of IPV, providing a rationale for the focus on this form of behavior cessation. We develop a life‐course perspective on social learning as a conceptual framework and draw on qualitative interviews (n = 89) elicited from a sample of young adults who participated in a larger longitudinal study (Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study). The respondents’ backgrounds reflected a range of persistence and desistance from IPV perpetration. Our analyses revealed that relationship‐based motivations and changes were central features of the narratives of successful desisters, whether articulated as a stand‐alone theme or in tandem with other potential “hooks” for change. The analysis provides a counterpoint to individualistic views of desistance processes, highlighting ways in which social experiences foster attitude shifts and associated behavioral changes that respondents tied to this type of behavior change. The analyses of persisters and those for whom change seemed to be a work in progress provide points of contrast and highlight barriers that limit a respondent's desistance potential. We describe implications for theories of desistance as well as for IPV prevention and intervention efforts.     

Is There an Association Between the Body Mass Index and Interpersonal Violent Behavior?

An inverse relationship between the body mass index (BMI) and the risk of completed suicide was shown in several studies. Furthermore, it is suggested that obesity might be associated with a lower risk for violent criminality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze whether a higher BMI is associated with a lower risk for being arrested due to violent behavior in a sample of 43,992 male offenders. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the relationship between different BMI categories and categories of committed crime as outcome variable by including various covariates. Our results indicated that compared to a normal BMI a higher BMI was associated with a significantly lower risk for being arrested in different crime categories associated with interpersonal violence, such as crimes against life and limb (for example: odds ratio = 0.60, CI 95%: 0.52–0.69 for 30–34.9 kg/m²).     

“入世”与农村青年人力资源的开发

我国农村青年人力资源总量丰富,质量欠佳,尤其缺乏懂经营、善管理的高层次人才.我国要进入全面小康社会,关键在农村,而开发农村青年人力资源,是实现农村产业结构优化、保证农村经济增长质量和速度的核心.为此,要通过转变农村青年的观念,建立农村青年人力资本支撑体系,完善农村卫生保障服务,加快农村青年人力资源的开发.     

试论全面提高年轻干部队伍的素质

全面提高年轻干部队伍素质是一项关系全局的战略任务,年轻干部应具备良好的思想政治素质、优良的道德品质和较高的科学文化水平、优良的作风和较强的工作能力,要有法纪观念。提高年轻干部队伍素质需要组织的教育培养,这就需要人事部门创新用人机制,完善培养措施,为人材培养营造良好氛围。     

培养青少年"尊重他人"品行初探

“尊重他人”是青少年必备的品行。“尊重他人”教育对青少年品行培养具有重要作用。青少年“尊重他人”体现为尊重父母、尊重同学及尊重其他与自己交往的人。青少年“尊重他人”的途径是经常反省自己的行为,克服嫉妒心理和培养宽容意识。     

论我国未成年犯罪人社区矫正的必要性与可行性

针对未成年人犯罪的成因及特点,除了对一部分社会危害性大的未成年犯罪人实行监禁矫治而外,对那些确实有悔改表现,不再危害社会的未成年犯罪人,社会能够对其进行有效控制的实行社区矫治,这种做法不仅震慑了犯罪,同时也挽救了一大批确有悔罪表现的失足青少年,使他们重新步入社会,开始新的生活。有效地对未成年犯罪人进行社区矫治不仅具有现实意义而且具有战略意义,本文仅就实行未成年犯罪人社区矫正的必要性与可行性加以探讨。     

A Comparison of Men and Women Arrested for Domestic Violence: Who Presents the Greater Threat?

Recent increases in the number of women arrested for domestic violence raise important questions about implementation of proarrest policies, equivalency of intimate partner aggression across genders, and management of female domestic violence offenders. This study compares demographic characteristics, criminal history variables, and the past domestic violence history of men (n = 5,578) and women (n = 1,126) arrested for domestic assault against a heterosexual intimate partner. Using victim reported information and data collected by local criminal justice agencies, we found that female arrestees were significantly less likely than males to have histories that warrant concern regarding the potential for future violence. Implications of these findings are discussed.