摘要:

Purpose and method. A locus of control (LC) scale was given to a child molester sample before and after treatment for sexual offending. The scale measures the extent to which a person feels that events are contingent on their behaviour or the extent to which they feel events are externally controlled. It was hypothesized that LC would become more internal through treatment and those with a more internal LC prior to treatment would respond better in therapy. The relationship between LC, childhood sexual or physical abuse and offending patterns was also examined. It was hypothesized that victims of abuse would have a more external LC than individuals who had not been abused.Results. It was found that LC became more internal in men who had benefited from treatment and having an internal LC prior to treatment was an important predictor of ‘treatment success’. In contrast, men who did not benefit from treatment either did not change or became more external. Offenders who had been physically abused as children were more externally controlled than those who were not. No difference was found between those who had been sexually victimized and those who were not. External LC was found to be related to higher risk of reconviction for future sexual offending.Conclusions. The findings that there was a significant improvement on LC in men who had responded to treatment, and that having an internal LC prior to treatment was an important predictor of ‘treatment success’, indicate that owning responsibility for actions is an important component of treatment change. This suggests that one of the tasks of treatment with externally controlled men is to encourage them to take responsibility for their behaviour. The finding that it is physical abuse rather than sexual abuse which leads to a more external locus of control may be because sexual abuse victims often report feeling responsible for their abuse. It is likely that this is a function of the messages given by abusers who seek to silence victims by placing blame and responsibility on

ISSN:1355-3259    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00348.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1998

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives. The Scottish legal system differs from that which pertains in the rest of the United Kingdom, for example, there is no standard police caution to administer to suspects in Scotland. The absence of a standardized caution may result in suspects being presented with a caution which is both semantically and syntactically complex. Over the last 30 years the central role given to an individual's appreciation that he/she has the right to remain silent has diminished when evaluating whether a confession has been obtained fairly. This study examines the extent to which offenders understand the caution and the factors which influence their level of comprehension.Methods. A Scottish Comprehension of Caution instrument was developed. One hundred convicted young offenders were assessed using this instrument, a short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised and a range of measures of criminal experience and attitudes.Results. The overall level of comprehension was low: while 89 per cent claimed to fully understand the caution only 11 per cent were considered to have a complete understanding. Level of understanding was linked to cognitive functioning and not linked to demographic or criminal justice variables.Conclusions. It is argued that the semantic and syntactic complexity of the caution is a significant barrier to understanding. This may reflect the fact that the archival function of legal language takes precedence over its communicative function.

ISSN:1355-3259    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00349.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1998

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives. To examine the degree of association between newspaper readership and perception of crime and whether a causal relationship favouring a top‐down model (i.e. media shapes public opinion) of media‐audience interaction found support rather than a bottom‐up model (i.e. media responds to public opinion).Methods. The study involved the triangulation of three methods. Study 1 was a quantitative analysis of 2000 newspaper articles involving crime. Study 2 was a number of semi‐structured interviews with newspaper crime correspondents. Study 3 was a two‐part experimental investigation of the causal model.Results. Study 1 demonstrated a correspondence between misperception of crime and key quantitative measures of crime presentation in four newspapers. Study 2 found a correspondence between the newspaper values of crime journalists and the views of their readers. The experimental work in Study 3 did not demonstrate one‐off presentation effects as predicted by a simple top‐down model.Conclusions. There appeared to be evidence confirming an association between readers' views and the presentation of crime in their newspapers. However, the results of the experimental study do not permit an exclusive top‐down interpretation of t

ISSN:1355-3259    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00350.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1998

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Purpose. The aim of this study was to explore whether police personnel are more correct in their observations of a violent crime in comparison to civilians. It was hypothesized that if policemen have a talent for and interest in observation, recruits and experienced police officers should be more accurate than civilians (the selection for admittance hypothesis). Alternatively, if policemen during their education and experience as police officers, improve their ability for observation, then police personnel should perform better than recruits and civilians (the hypothesis of professionalization).Methods. Sixty‐one university students, 31 teachers, 60 police recruits and 59 police officers with at least three years' professional experience were presented with a series of slides depicting a simulated crime (a woman going for a walk in a park and eventually being assaulted by a man with a knife). After the presentation of the slides, the four groups were tested on what they remembered of different aspects of the crime and their ability to recognize the perpetrator.Results. The overall results showed that police officers were more accurate at remembering details of the crime than police recruits, civilian students, and teachers. This difference was not related to age, general working experience, or a better memory capacityper seamong the police officers.Conclusions. It is suggested that police officers, on the basis of their professional knowledge and experience of violent crime events, might have acquired an improved ability to sort out and analyse information from a crime‐relevant situat

ISSN:1355-3259    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00351.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1998

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

It is hypothesized that there will be behavioural consistencies in the actions of arsonists when committing a crime that characterize them. The themes underlying these observable differences can be used to help us understand the nature of the offence. With arson, one such observable difference is hypothesized to relate to the target or focus of the attack. The study tested whether consistencies could be found that distinguish person‐oriented from object‐oriented arsons. A second proposed facet of arson actions relates to the motivational category underlying the act, being either instrumental or expressive. It was also hypothesized, therefore, that there would be a distinction in the arson actions between fires set for a clear instrumental purpose, and those which may be regarded as emotional acting‐out. The hypothesis that these four themes would differentiate arsonists was tested by analysing 175 solved arson cases from across England. The case files were content analysed to produce 42 behavioural variables taken from both the crime reports and witness statements. In order to test the hypotheses of differentiation a smallest space analysis was carried out.The results support this framework giving rise to four distinct themes to arson from which scales with reasonable alpha scores could be derived. Two relate to expressive acts, (a) those that are realized within the arsonist's own feelings, being analogous to suicide, and (b) those that are acted on objects, like the burning of symbolic buildings. The other two relate to instrumental acts, (c) those that are for personal indulgence, similar to personal revenge, and (d) those that have an object focus such as hiding evidence from a crime. A further test of the validity of these four themes was to examine the typical characteristics of the people who committed the different types of arson. Four scales of arsonists' characteristics were developed. These were found to have appropriate, statistically significant correlations with the four themes.The implications of these findings for understanding the varieties of arson as revealed through the actions that occur are discussed, as well as the implications for arson investigations. It is speculated that this framework may provide a general model for considering a wide range of c

ISSN:1355-3259    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00352.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1998

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The Hare Psychopathy Checklist‐Revised (PCL‐R) and its screening version, the Hare PCL:SV, provide reliable and valid assessments of the traditional clinical construct of psychopathy. They are used widely for research purposes and for making decisions in the mental health and criminal justice systems. They are strong predictors of recidivism and violence in offenders and psychiatric patients, form a key part of current risk assessment procedures, and play an important role in many judicial decisions. However, problems arise when the PCL‐R and PCL:SV are used improperly. In this article I briefly describe these instruments, with emphasis on their use in the criminal justice system. I then discuss some of the concerns I have about their m

ISSN:1355-3259    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00353.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1998

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Purpose. There is growing evidence that psychopathic (dissocial) personality disorder is associated with violence. The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of psychopathy in clinical assessments of risk for violence.Arguments. Risk assessments are conducted for the purpose of preventing, not predicting, violence. Yet, most research on risk for violence is conducted and interpreted within the framework of a simplistic prediction paradigm, thus underestimating the practical importance of risk factors. Despite this bias, violence predictions based on psychopathy are only slightly less accurate than predictions that cognitive behavioral therapy will reduce symptoms of depression or cardiac bypass surgery will reduce angina pain; and more accurate than predictions that smaller class sizes will lead to improved academic achievement or cardiac bypass surgery will reduce mortality.Conclusion. Information about psychopathy can be used to make relatively accurate predictions of violence. Of course, decisions concerning if and how such information should be used are another matter. The paper concludes with recommendations concerning the appropriate role of psychopathy in violence risk assessments and avenues for future research.

ISSN:1355-3259    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00354.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1998

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Psychopathy is defined by a constellation of interpersonal, affective and behavioural characteristics that should, in principle, be strongly related to risk for recidivism and violence. We reviewed the literature on The Hare Psychopathy Checklist‐Revised scales (PCL‐R; Hare, 1980, 1991) and recidivism. We found that the PCL‐R consistently was an important predictor across inmate samples and was consistently among the best predictors of recidivism. Average correlations between the PCL‐R and recidivism, weighted by their degrees of freedom, were .27 for general recidivism, .27 for violent recidivism, and .23 for sexual recidivism. Relative risk statistics at one year indicated that psychopaths were approximately three times more likely to recidivate—or four times more likely to violently recidivate—than were non‐psychopaths. The correlation between general recidivism and PCL‐R Factor 2 (a measure of the social deviance facet of psychopathy) was stronger than the correlation between general recidivism and PCL‐R Factor 1 (a measure of the interpersonal/affective facet of psychopathy). Both PCL‐R factors contributed equally to the prediction of violent recidivism. The PCL‐R routinely made a significant contribution towards predicting recidivism beyond that made by key demographic variables, criminal history, and personality disorder diagnoses. Across studies, PCL‐R scores were as strongly associated with general recidivism, and were more strongly associated with violent recidivism, than were actuarial risk scales designed specifically to predict reoffending. Taken together, these findings indicate that the PCL‐R should be considered a primary instrument for guiding clinical assessments of risk for criminal rec

ISSN:1355-3259    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00355.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1998

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:1355-3259    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00356.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1998

数据来源: WILEY