International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology RSS feedThis is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Procedural Justice in Prison: The Importance of Staff Characteristics
A humane and fair treatment of prisoners is of intrinsic value in itself, and is generally acclaimed to reduce prisoners’ psychological distress and misconduct in prison, and their criminal behavior after release from prison. To create a more just prison climate, scholars have emphasized the importance of correctional staff. However, there is a lack of empirical research on the relationship between correctional officers’ characteristics and prisoners’ perceptions of a just treatment in prison. Our study fills this gap in knowledge. Data were used from (a) the Prison Project, a large-scale study in which p...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - March 9, 2015 Category: Criminology Authors: Beijersbergen, K. A., Dirkzwager, A. J. E., Molleman, T., van der Laan, P. H., Nieuwbeerta, P. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Prison Violence
(Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology)
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - March 9, 2015 Category: Criminology Authors: Noll, T. Tags: Editorial Source Type: research

Disentangling Criminal Profiling: Accuracy, Homology, and the Myth of Trait-Based Profiling
The scholarly literature over the past decade has chronicled a growing problem in the forensic technique colloquially called criminal profiling. The basis of this conundrum appears to originate from a concept referred to as "offender homology," which presumes an inherent uniformity among offenders that is believed to underpin the analytic process incumbent to criminal profiling. Studies thus far conducted have apparently struggled to find evidence of offender homology, and based upon these findings arguments have been promulgated that various approaches to criminal profiling imputably labeled as "trait-based" are therefore...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - February 1, 2015 Category: Criminology Authors: Kocsis, R. N., Palermo, G. B. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Criminality and the 2D:4D Ratio: Testing the Prenatal Androgen Hypothesis
A decade old theory hypothesizes that brain exposure to androgens promotes involvement in criminal behavior. General support for this hypothesis has been provided by studies of postpubertal circulating levels of testosterone, at least among males. However, the theory also predicts that for both genders, prenatal androgens will be positively correlated with persistent offending, an idea for which no evidence currently exists. The present study used an indirect measure of prenatal androgen exposure—the relative length of the second and fourth fingers of the right hand (r2D:4D)—to test the hypothesis that elevated...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - February 1, 2015 Category: Criminology Authors: Ellis, L., Hoskin, A. W. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Intervening to Prevent Repeat Offending Among Moderate- to High-Risk Domestic Violence Offenders: A Second-Responder Program for Men
Clear directions about best strategies to reduce recidivism among domestic violence offenders have remained elusive. The current study offers an initial evaluation of an RNR (Risk, Needs, and Responsivity)-focused second-responder program for men accused of assaulting their intimate partners and who were judged as being at moderate to high risk for re-offending. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare police outcomes for 40 men attending a second-responder intervention program to 40 men with equivalent levels of risk for re-offense who did not attend intervention (comparison group). Results showed that there were s...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - February 1, 2015 Category: Criminology Authors: Scott, K., Heslop, L., Kelly, T., Wiggins, K. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

A Multiyear Follow-Up Study Examining the Effectiveness of a Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy Program on the Recidivism of Juveniles on Probation
This study monitored juvenile delinquents’ recidivism across a 7-year time period, with the average length to follow-up being 39 months. It was hypothesized that program graduates (N = 178) would have a significantly lower recidivism rate than a control group (program nonstarters; N = 66) and program dropouts (whose predisposing factors may have influenced their program participation; N = 150). Analyses controlled for sex, ethnicity, age, prior petitions, highest class of prior petition, and months to follow-up. Results show a general trend indicating the long-term effectiveness of the program as graduates had a lowe...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - February 1, 2015 Category: Criminology Authors: Jewell, J. D., Malone, M. D., Rose, P., Sturgeon, D., Owens, S. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Specific Deterrence, Community Context, and Drunk Driving: An Event History Analysis
This study addressed both individual and community factors, using a cohort of felony-level, driving while intoxicated (DWI) probationers (N = 370) charged in Harris County, Texas. The study investigated specific deterrent effects of sanctions on success or failure of probationers while controlling for the community contexts to observe how informal social control processes contextualize individual-level predictors. Results of a series of event history analyses tracking probationers for a period of 8 years indicated that severity of punishment, swiftness of punishment, criminal history, and completion of DWI education progra...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - February 1, 2015 Category: Criminology Authors: Lee, C.-B., Teske, R. H. C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

The Human Consequences of Ecological Violence and Corporate Victimization: Public Sector Psychology and Green Criminology
(Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology)
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - February 1, 2015 Category: Criminology Authors: Arrigo, B. A., Lynch, M. J. Tags: Editorial Source Type: research

Appraising the Risk Matrix 2000 Static Sex Offender Risk Assessment Tool
This article argues that the addition of dynamic items that have been shown to be predictive of sexual recidivism would further enhance the tool. The paper argues that adding dynamic risk items would fit better with a rehabilitative approach to sex offender risk management and assessment. This would also provide a means by which to effectively plan sex offender treatment and evaluate individual offenders’ progress in treatment; however, difficulties remain in identifying and assessing dynamic risk factors of sexual offending and so further research is required. (Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and C...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - January 5, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tully, R. J., Browne, K. D. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Establishing Construct and Predictive Validity of the Prison Inmate Inventory for Use With Female Inmates
This study establishes the validity of the Prison Inmate Inventory for use among female inmates (N = 628). Contrast groups were used to establish construct validity; negative binomial regression analysis was used to confirm predictive validity. Female inmates who were arrested at a younger age demonstrated more severe problems with violence, antisocial traits, distress, adjustment to prison life, and judgment. Results from the negative binomial analysis revealed that inmate risk (low and severe) predicted expected counts of probation revocations, parole revocation, and escape attempts. Expected counts were not related to r...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - January 5, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Degiorgio, L. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Do Adolescent Drug Users Fare the Worst? Onset Type, Juvenile Delinquency, and Criminal Careers
Although substance abuse often accompanies delinquency and other forms of antisocial behavior, there is less scholarly agreement about the timing of substance use vis-à-vis an individual’s antisocial trajectory. Similarly, although there is extraordinary evidence that onset is inversely related to the severity of the criminal career, there is surprisingly little research on the offense type of onset or the type of antisocial behavior that was displayed when an individual initiated his or her offending career. Drawing on data from a sample of serious adult criminal offenders (N = 500), the current study examine...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - January 5, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: DeLisi, M., Angton, A., Behnken, M. P., Kusow, A. M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Narrative Beyond Prison Gates: Contradiction, Complexity, and Reconciliation
This article reports on qualitative research with Alan, a former resident of the therapeutic communities at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Grendon, England, exploring narrative identity beyond therapy. The study emphasises the complexity inherent in the five identities on which Alan draws—the Achiever, the Liminal Man, the Lucky Man, the Puppet, and the Wise Man. We suggest that narrative identities are adapted and reconstructed as they are taken outside of the therapeutic community into a less supportive social environment. This process continues to present challenges for the ex-resident, who may struggle to recon...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - January 5, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Yardley, E., Wilson, D., Kemp, D., Brookes, M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Reconviction Rates After Suspended Sentences: Comparison of the Effects of Different Types of Suspended Sentences on Reconviction in the Netherlands
This study examined reconviction rates of offenders (N = 1,258) who received fully or partly suspended prison sentences, with or without special conditions, in 2006 in two of the largest court districts in the Netherlands. Cox proportional hazard models revealed no difference in reconviction rates between fully and partly suspended prison sentences, with and without special conditions. However, suspended sentences without special conditions had significantly lower reconviction rates compared with special conditions that were solely control-orientated. Although there are indications that certain types of suspended sentences...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - January 5, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Aarten, P. G. M., Denkers, A., Borgers, M. J., van der Laan, P. H. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Criminal Recidivism of Incarcerated Male Nonviolent Offenders in Hong Kong
Criminal recidivism of the incarcerated population in Hong Kong has rarely been studied. The purpose of this study is to explore the recidivism rates and to identify significant predictors of reoffending among incarcerated male offenders convicted of a nonviolent offense in Hong Kong. Using a self-reported methodological design, 278 offenders were sampled. These offenders’ immediate past incarceration is used as the benchmark for this recidivism study. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year recidivism rates are 21%, 68%, and 87%, respectively. The findings denote that offending history, psychological attributes, interpersonal relati...
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - January 5, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Chan, H. C., Lo, T. W., Zhong, L. Y., Chui, W. H. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Offender Recidivism: An International Dilemma
(Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology)
Source: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology - January 5, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Palermo, G. B. Tags: Editorial Source Type: research