Shifting the paradigm of prison suicide prevention through enhanced multi-agency integration and cultural change

This study examines an unusually sustained reduction in suicide rates in a local London prison during the three year period 2008–2011. The likelihood of this reduction taking place by chance was <2:100,000, and its perceived success was such that the prison service recommended an evaluation of its characteristics. This study arose from that recommendation, and it used a retrospective case study multi-method approach (including factor identification, qualitative interviews and triangulation with official documentation) to identify factors which had been associated with the reduced suicide rates. The results endorsed a number of factors which have already been internationally identified as best practice, along with some local innovation factors. Two further pivotal factors emerged through analysis, and they are the key to service improvements. These factors – senior management support for cultural change and cross-professional collaborative working – indicate that positive leadership and multi-agency integration are vital ingredients.     

Is PCL-R psychopathy associated with either type or severity of personality disorder?

The extent to which assessment of personality disorders (PDs), and trans-diagnostic measures of PD severity, can capture the variance in psychopathy measured by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) was examined in 100 forensic patients with a history of violent offending. Correlational and linear regression analyses were carried out to establish whether (i) combinations of PDs would predict PCL-R scores for each of its two factors, interpersonal–affective (F1) and antisocial deviance (F2); (ii) ‘acting out’, a putative measure of externalising maladjustment that transcends PD categories, would predict PCL-R scores. Results showed that narcissistic and avoidant PDs contributed significantly to the prediction of F1, but only antisocial PD contributed to the prediction of F2. ‘Acting out’ predicted both F1 and F2, suggesting that core features of PCL-R psychopathy are embedded within and across different PD diagnoses. Results are discussed in relation to different sub-types of psychopathy described in the literature.     

PTSD symptom reporting and persistent malingering in recipients of state compensation for violent crime victimization: an exploratory study

Previous research suggests that victims of violent crime who have applied for state compensation may persist in malingering after conclusion of the application process. To further explore this topic, the current study investigated differences in PTSD symptomatology between violent crime victims who had received compensation from the Dutch state and those who had been denied such compensation. Potential participants were approached through the Dutch Violent Offences Compensation Fund. Eventually, 125 victims agreed to participate and filled out a set of paper-and-pencil questionnaires. Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that recipients of compensation had reported higher symptom levels, than non-recipients but only when they could be qualified as probable malingerers. If compensation recipients could not be qualified as probable malingerers, they had reported lower symptom levels than non-recipients. This suggests that some victims will emotionally benefit from compensation, while others will unconsciously accept it as a validation of initially malingered symptoms. Results were discussed in terms of directions for future research and study limitations.     

The problems of liminal states,line drawing,and false dichotomies

This commentary focuses on the tenuous line between health and disease and the conflicting characterizations of genetic predisposition that sometimes place it on one side of that line, and sometimes on the other. For example, GINA uses the line between health and disease to distinguish between, respectively, the healthy (including, those with genetic predispositions), who are shielded from discrimination, and those with ‘manifested illness,’ who are not. At the same time, some have argued that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects individuals with genetic predispositions, relying on a label akin to disability, as opposed to health, to characterize this group. Similarly, courts have described genetic predisposition as a disease of sorts to justify insurance payment for medical intervention. Attempts to fit genetic predisposition neatly into the binary world of health or illness can be problematic because this dichotomy doesn''t capture the complex continuum between those states. Some individuals reside in yet another ‘liminal’ state when they develop mild symptoms or biomarkers, placing them somewhere between genetic predisposition and actual disease manifestation. As a result, they may be unprotected under existing frameworks. Liminal states are therefore problematic not only with respect to insurance reimbursement, but in other areas as well.     

我国青少年犯罪及其防治探讨

本文认为由于对青少年犯罪问题没有足够重视,致使青少年教育工作存在不少问题:青少年违法犯罪增多,且呈低龄化、团伙化、暴力化,手段残忍,社会危害大。在此,笔者探讨了青少年犯罪率上升的原因,并提出了防治犯罪的几点对策。     

Understanding a New Typology of Batterers: Implications for Treatment

This article reviews early theories of the phenomenology of battering as well as more recent empirical research on batterer personality and behavioral characteristics. These studies yielded inconsistent findings. Most recently, Chiffriller and Hennessy (Chiffriller, 2002; Chiffriller & Hennessy, in press) conducted an extensive study that attempted to expand and correct for the methodological limitations of previous research. Cluster analysis yielded five distinct profiles of men who batter women. Based on the behavioral and personality characteristics that defined each cluster, the following five labels were chosen: (a) pathological batterers, (b) sexually violent batterers, (c) generally violent batterers, and (d) psychologically violent batterers, and (e) family-only batterers. These five profiles, and the implications for understanding battering and developing appropriate interventions, are discussed.     

德国防暴警察的行动战术

政治动乱和社会骚乱是德国这个老牌资本主义国家经常面临的问题。德国边防警察部队作为联邦德国一支重要的警察力量 ,由于其训练有素、装备精良和高度军事化、机动化等特点 ,被确定为德国机动防暴警察部队。德国边防警察部队不负重望 ,根据防暴警察联合行动的特点和要求 ,不断开发和利用更加先进的防暴武器和装备 ,并且十分重视防暴警察处置游行示威、处置球迷骚乱、保卫大型运动会、打击抢劫银行犯罪以及要人警卫等行动战术的总结、研究和应用 ,取得了惊人的效果     

地震灾后社会治安防控——以“5.12”汶川大地震为例

汶川地震造成了重大人员伤亡和经济损失,对社会公众的心理造成了巨大冲击。随着恢复重建工作的展开,灾区治安形势将趋于复杂,公安机关应加强灾后防控机制建设,采取有效的治安防控对策和措施,从人、时间、空间要素中以全方位、立体化形态对社会面加以控制,做好灾后治安防控重点工作,维护社会秩序,保持社会持续稳定,确保有序推进灾后恢复重建工作。