Assessments in Forensic Practice (eBook)

Kevin D. Browne is Professor of Forensic Psychology and Child Health at the University of Nottingham. Leam A. Craig is Director of Forensic Programmes at Forensic Psychology Practice Ltd, and an Honorary Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Birmingham. Anthony R. Beech, D.Phil, FBPsS, C.Psychol (Forensic) is Professor of Criminological Psychology,University of Birmingham.

TITLE PAGE 5
COPYRIGHT PAGE 6
CONTENTS 7
ABOUT THE EDITORS 9
CONTRIBUTORS 11
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 21
STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK 22
PART ONE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ASSESSMENTS 25
CHAPTER 2 CASE FORMULATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT 27
INTRODUCTION 27
RISK ASSESSMENT 28
CASE FORMULATION 35
CONCLUSIONS 44
REFERENCES 44
CHAPTER 3 ASSESSMENT OF VIOLENCE AND HOMICIDE 48
VIOLENCE: DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTIONS 48
CONCLUSIONS 64
REFERENCES 64
CHAPTER 4 SEXUAL OFFENDERS 72
INTRODUCTION 72
ASSESSING RISK OF RECIDIVISM AND TREATMENT NEEDS 72
SPECIAL POPULATIONS 78
CONCLUSIONS 88
REFERENCES 88
CHAPTER 5 THE ASSESSMENT OF FIRESETTERS 96
INTRODUCTION 96
UNDERSTANDING THE BEHAVIOR 97
ARSON 97
OFFENDER MOTIVATION 98
CONSIDERATION OF INTENT 108
ASSESSMENT LOGISTICS 109
ABC ANALYSIS 112
CONCLUSIONS 119
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 120
NOTES 120
REFERENCES 120
CHAPTER 6 FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT FOR THE PAROLE BOARD 123
INTRODUCTION 123
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE PAROLE BOARD 124
PAROLE BOARD REVIEWS 125
WHO DOES THE PAROLE BOARD ASSESS? 126
PAROLE BOARD POWERS IN RELATION TO INDETERMINATE SENTENCED PRISONERS 128
RISK ASSESSMENT REPORTS 131
HOW THE RISK WILL BE ASSESSED 132
BACKGROUND AND CRIMINAL HISTORY 133
CLINICAL RISK FORMULATION 133
PROGRESS IN TREATMENT AND CUSTODIAL BEHAVIOR 134
COMMUNICATING THE RISK ASSESSMENT 135
HAS THE TEST FOR RELEASE OR TRANSFER TO OPEN CONDITIONS BEEN MET? 136
ETHICAL AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS 136
CONCLUSIONS 138
APPENDIX 139
NOTES 140
REFERENCES 140
CHAPTER 7 BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT IN INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY 142
THE ORIGINS OF OFFENDER PROFILING 143
THE EMERGENCE OF INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY 145
WHAT IS INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY? 146
AREAS OF RESEARCH IN INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY 149
OFFENDER PROFILING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM TODAY 150
REFERENCES 152
PART TWO OFFENDERS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 157
CHAPTER 8 ASSESSING RISK OF VIOLENCE IN OFFENDERS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 159
STIGMA, SOCIAL DISTANCE, AND RISK PERCEPTION 159
RISK ASSESSMENT AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION 160
MENTAL DISORDER AND VIOLENCE RISK 161
DEVELOPMENT OF RISK ASSESSMENT 163
METHODOLOGY OF RISK ASSESSMENT RESEARCH 166
SPECIFIC ASSESSMENTS 172
RISK ASSESSMENT IN PRACTICE 176
COMMUNICATING RISK INFORMATION 178
ETHICAL ISSUES IN RISK ASSESSMENT 179
WIDER IMPLICATIONS 182
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 182
REFERENCES 182
CHAPTER 9 ASSESSING MENTAL CAPACITY AND FITNESS TO PLEAD IN OFFENDERS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE 192
INTRODUCTION 192
PREVALENCE OF OFFENDERS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES 192
DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA 194
FITNESS TO PLEAD AND STAND TRIAL 197
IMPLICATIONS OF THE PRICHARD CRITERIA FOR PSYCHIATRIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 201
POLICE AND CRIMINAL EVIDENCE ACT (PACE) 1984 205
THE MENTAL CAPACITY ACT 2005 207
SUPPORTING DECISION?MAKING 210
CONCLUSIONS 213
NOTE 214
REFERENCES 214
CHAPTER 10 OFFENDERS WITH ‘PERSONALITY DISORDER’ DIAGNOSES 218
THE ROLE OF CASE FORMULATION IN IDENTIFYING DOMAINS FOR ASSESSMENT 219
STANDARDIZED BATTERIES OF PSYCHOMETRICS 220
ASSESSMENT METHODS 221
VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF CASE FORMULATION 227
THE ASSESSORS 230
REFERENCES 232
CHAPTER 11 OFFENDERS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE 237
SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND OFFENDING 239
DRUG USE AS A TRIGGER FOR OFFENDING 239
OFFENDING AS A TRIGGER FOR DRUG USE 242
OFFENDING AND DRUG USE ARE INDEPENDENT OF ONE ANOTHER (I.E., THERE IS NO RELATIONSHIP) 243
THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE/OFFENDING RELATIONSHIP IS MORE COMPLEX 244
PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS 245
CONCLUSIONS 247
REFERENCES 247
PART THREE FAMILY VIOLENCE 253
CHAPTER 12 COMMUNITY APPROACHES TO THE ASSESSMENT AND PREVENTION OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE AND CHILD MALTREATMENT 255
INTRODUCTION 255
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE 259
CHILD MALTREATMENT 263
CONCLUSION 278
REFERENCES 278
CHAPTER 13 PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF PARENTING IN FAMILY PROCEEDINGS 285
INTRODUCTION 285
REASONS FOR REFERRAL 290
THE FPP SURVEY 294
PARENTING INTERVENTIONS 301
CONCLUSIONS 306
REFERENCES 307
CHAPTER 14 PERPETRATORS OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE 315
INTRODUCTION 315
DEFINITIONS OF IPV 316
PREVALENCE OF IPV 317
THEORETICAL DEBATE 318
UNDERSTANDING IPV USING A NESTED ECOLOGICAL MODEL 321
CHARACTERISTICS OF PERPETRATORS 323
CHARACTERISTICS OF COUPLES 326
RISK ASSESSMENT TOOLS 327
CONCLUSION 331
REFERENCES 331
PART FOUR POLICY AND PRACTICE 337
CHAPTER 15 ASSESSMENT OF HOSTAGE SITUATIONS AND THEIR PERPETRATORS: IN THE CONTEXT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 339
MODEL OF CRISIS NEGOTIATION 340
PERPETRATOR MOTIVATIONS 342
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS IN RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 344
CONSIDERATIONS IN RESPONSE TO PERPETRATORS’ BEHAVIOR, CHARACTERISTICS, AND TRAITS 345
CONCLUSIONS 351
REFERENCES 351
CHAPTER 16 ASSESSING THE SEXUALLY ABUSED CHILD AS A WITNESS 353
INTRODUCTION 353
EXTENT OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE 355
RELATIONSHIP WITH PERPETRATOR 356
LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE 358
VALIDITY OF THE CHILD’S DISCLOSURE 359
NON-DISCLOSURE OF SEXUAL ABUSE AS A CHILD 364
CONCLUSIONS 367
REFERENCES 368
CHAPTER 17 WORKING WITH YOUNG OFFENDERS 374
INTRODUCTION 374
WHO BECOMES DELINQUENT? 375
LIFE-COURSE PERSISTENT OFFENDERS 378
RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE 378
ASSESSMENT 380
TREATMENT DESIGN 382
TREATMENT MANAGEMENT 384
CONCLUSION 384
REFERENCES 385
CHAPTER 18 THE ETHICS OF RISK ASSESSMENT 390
INTRODUCTION 390
ETHICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS 391
RISK ASSESSMENT MEASURES 392
THE RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS 399
CONCLUSIONS 402
REFERENCES 403
INDEX 407
EULA 426

Assessment in Forensic Practice: A Handbook is an interesting compilation of theme-based chapters by British psychologists. It is a wonderful primer on doing criminal assessments and provides an in-depth review of many standard assessment tools, such as the Historical Clinical Risk Management-20 (HCR-20) and the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG). It also includes informative chapters concerning specific conditions, such as pyromania. The book is very good at covering large concepts that are often discussed in the psychiatric and psychological literature on criminal forensic assessment. Over the course of the book, many important areas are discussed, such as ethical concerns when doing forensic assessments, how to present opinions related to forensic assessment, and some of the inherent problems in forensic assessment, such as unknown base rates for malingering and difficulty with predicting the future.
Journal of Psychiatric Practice
"An eclectic collection of chapters which cover all aspects of scholarly understanding concerning sex offenders, Assessment and Treatment of Sex Offenders: A Handbook will prove invaluable to researchers, practitioners and students interested in furthering their understanding of this often complex offender group.

"This book will prove an essential text to professionals and students who are involved in the study of, assessment, treatment and/or management of sex offenders. A book which covers the area so comprehensively has been a significant omission for some time, and thus this text is timely and fulfils a significant gap in the academic market."
--Professor Jane L. Ireland, University of Central Lancashire