Midterm 2 - Risk assessment, psychopathy and homicidal offenders

What are the 2 components to risk assessment and what should the emphasis of risk prediction be on?

The 2 components of risk assessment are prediction (identifying risk factors and assessing reoffending risk) and management (developing strategies to reduce risk level). Risk prediction should emphasize violence prevention rather than violence predictionand rehabilitation of offenders.

Discuss the criminal settings of risk assessment (5 pts.)

generally, pre-trial, sentencing, release; help judge to determine sentence; help parole board to determine eligibility; particularly important in Dangerous Offender sentencing; public safety outweighs client-solicitor privilege (when there is a clear, imminent, serious danger; balance public safety with offender needs)

What are the 4 prediction outcomes and who is affected by false predictions?

true positive: predict violence, does violently reoffend;

true negative: predict nonviolence, does not violently reoffend;

false positive: predict violence, does not violently reoffend;

false negative: predict nonviolence, does violently reoffend;

False positives affect the offender and false negatives affect the community and potential future victims.

What are the challenges to predicting violence?

Violence is a complex construct that is linked to many factors; but, limited factors are studied because many crimes go unreported, so important factors may not be known;

unclear as to what variables are actually trying to be measured;

trying to define ‘violence’ : by degree of injury, severity of violent act, location, or type of victims being targeted?

What are the 5 judgment errors and biases, and how do they affect accuracy rates?

Illusory correlation: thinking 2 things are related when they’re actually not;

ignoring base rates: failing to consider statistical data;

reliance on salient or unique cues: relying on delusions (in psychotic disorders);

overconfidence in judgments: failure to take caution and review assessments properly;

rater biases: confirmation bias, cross-cultural considerations, racial stereotyping;

errors and biases result in lower accuracy rates

What is the unstructured professional judgment approach and what are its strengths and weaknesses?

Unstructured professional judgement is an approach that is based solely on the professional and their experience, education, place of work, training and discretion.

Strengths: it allows for consideration of dynamic risk factors; is less rigorous (this could be good and/or bad)

Weaknesses: no clear guidelines for decision-making; lacks specifics in risk factors; too subjective

What is the actuarial prediction approach and what are its strengths and weaknesses?

Also called ‘mechanical’ approach; relies solely on static risk factors, with a set list of factors selected based on empirical data

Strengths: more accurate than unstructured professional judgement approach; doesn’t allow for biases;

Weaknesses: does not account for dynamic risk factors

What is the structured professional judgment approach and what are its strengths and weaknesses?

Structured professional judgment combines the first 2 approaches, using a pre-determined set of risk factors to guide the professional’s judgment.

Strengths: allows for professional discretion to consider dynamic risk factors as well as evaluating static ones

Weaknesses: requires more research into accuracy rates

Name and describe the 3 types of factors in risk assessment?

Static: factors that are historical and cannot change (i.e., age of first crime committed, hx of abuse in childhood)

Dynamic: factors that are changeable (i.e., education, SES level)

Protective: factors that mitigate or reduce risk

Describe the Static-99

An actuarial assessment instrument that evaluates sexual offence recidivism; a 10-item scale that considers static (historical) factors like gender of victims, past offences, etc.

Describe the HCR-20

a structured professional judgment assessment instrument that predicts violent recidivism; considers both past and future factors.

Name and provide examples for the 4 different risk factor categories

Historical: past events, such as hx of abuse, past offences, age criminal activity started, past probation successes or failures

dispositional: individual traits tendencies and styles, such as gender or impulsivity

clinical: mental illness, substance use, psychosis, bipolar disorder, etc.

contextual: situational and changeable, such as lack of social support, fired from job, eviction

What is the coping-relapse model of recidivism?

looks at environmental triggers, individual influences, coping and response mechanisms and appraises cognition to evaluate risk;

situations affect cognition and emotional appraisal, which impacts our individual influences and available coping and response mechanisms which influences criminal behaviour; all of these dynamics affect each other

List how female offenders differ in criminality

they engage in less crime

they are arrested for different types of crime

they receive higher rates of conditional release

they have higher prevalence of childhood victimization

they have higher prevalence of mental disorders

they have higher rates of hx of self-injury and self-esteem problems

there are more similarities than differences between female and male offenders.

What assessment instrument is considered to have good predictive validity of female offender recidivism?

LSI-R: level of service inventory, revised

Discuss how indigenous offenders differ from nonindigenous offenders?

they are overrepresented in the justice system

they have different risk factors than nonindigenous offenders

have lower accuracy rates of risk assessment, which means they are less likely to be released, incarcerated for longer and less likely to receive parole

What are protective factors and what are some examples?

protective factors are things that help buffer against negative outcomes. They help explain why high-risk individuals don’t commit crimes.

examples:

pro-social/community involvement

strong social support/attachments

employment stability

positive social orientation

intelligence (could also be considered a risk factor)

What is desistance from crime?

Desistance is the process of ceasing to engage in criminal behaviour; there is little research on why offenders stop commiting crime; factors related to desistance are age, employment and marital relationships

What is psychopathy and it’s characteristics?

an informal dx (not in DSM) personality disorder defined by a collection of interpersonal, affective and behavioural characteristics including manipulation, lack of remorse, impulsivity, etc.

considered to be intraspecies predators because they charm their victims, then manipulate and use violence to control them.

they are attuned to sense vulnerability in people to selectively choose their victims.

considered to be genetic and have a deeper level of emotional and interpersonal dysfunction than APD

What is Antisocial Personality Disorder and it’s characteristics?

APD - formal dx in DSM that focuses on behaviours that violate the rights of others; characteristics include:

risk taking

being deceitful

having little guilt

engaging in criminal activity

behaviour does not occur in a psychotic symptoms (delusions) such as with schizophrenia or bipolar

How do APD offenders differ from psychopathic offenders?

Almost all psychopathic offenders fit the criteria for APD but not all APD offenders fit the criteria for psychopathy; must be 18 to be diagnosed. Younger receives dx of conduct disorder

What is sociopathy and it’s characteristics?

another informal dx (not in DSM); sociopaths are generally more impulsive than psychopaths; considered to be ‘made’ (nurture, not nature); rarely used in imperial literature; no instruments developed to measure sociopathy

What is the PCL-R and what are it’s characteristics?

an instrument that measures psychopathic traits; a 20-item scale with answers ranging from 0-2 for a highest possible score of 40; dx occurs at 30;

assesses interpersonal, affective and behavioural domains;

uses review of file information and semi-structured interview;

strengths: measures attitudes and emotions that are not easily observable; inexpensive and easy to administer and score; can detect lying and faking

weaknesses: psychopaths often lie, manipulate and malinger, may lack insight into their own traits, have a hard time reporting on emotions that they have not experienced

What are the challenges of interrogating a psychopath?

psychopaths like to:

try to outwit

enjoy being the focus of attention

attempt to control the interrogation

are not fooled by bluffs

attempt to shock others

What must an interviewer keep in mind when interrogating a psychopath?

ensure familiarity with the case

convey experience and confidence

avoid conveying emotion

avoid criticism

show liking and admiration

Discuss psychopaths and violence (8 pts.)

account for a large amount of crimes committed

start their criminal careers at a young age

engage in a greater variety of crimes

more violent and more likely to reoffend

more instrumental than reactive

do not commit homicide at higher rates than nonpsychopaths but when they do, it’s more violent

less strongly connected with sexual violence but when they sexually offend, it’s more related to sexual sadism

report more positive feelings prior to sexually offending than nonpsychopaths who report anxiety and alienation

Why do many consider psychopathy to be untreatable?

treated psychopaths have a recidivism rate of 77%, compared to treated nonpsychopaths (22%); this is thought to be because treatment gives the psychopath more material and insight into how to manipulate and trap their victims or perhaps how to get away with their crimes.

What cautions exist around labeling youth as psychopathic?

stigma could result in harsher treatment in the criminal justice system; youth personalities are less stable than adults - they can still change; youth respond better to treatment than adults

Define the 4 types of homicide and state their penalties

1st degree murder: planned, intentional, premeditated; hardest to prove beyond a reasonable doubt; penalty - mandatory life sentence; parole eligible after the first 25 years have been served; parole conditions for life.

2nd degree murder: intentional, but not planned; penalty - mandatory life sentence; parole eligible after the first 10 - 25 years have been served; parole conditions for life.

Manslaughter: unplanned, unintentional; penalty - if firearms involved, min. 4 years; without firearms, no minimum sentence - could be anywhere from probation to life sentence.

Infanticide: killing of a baby within the first year of life by biological mother - female only charge; penalty - no min., max 5 yrs.

What is the prevalence allocation for reactive and instrumental homicides?

reactive homicides account for about 80% of murders and instrumental homicides account for about 20%.

Describe reactive homicide

affective

impulsive and unplanned

response to provocation

victims usually relatives

linked with aggression

Describe instrumental homicide

predatory

proactive and premeditated

motivated by a goal

victims usually strangers

falls under first degree murder

Define filicide and the 2 subtypes and state the motives

filicide: the killing of children by the parents (step or biological)

motive: 0-6 - frustration; parents unable to cope with high needs and temper tantrums; 12 - 17 - anger; result of an escalated argument or revenge of some sort

neonaticide: killing of a baby within the first 24 hrs. after birth by biological mum; motive - hormones

infanticide: killing of a baby within the first year after birth by biological mum; motive - hormones

Discuss the considerations of battering mothers

abuse of children; impulsive in response to child’s behaviour; high stress - poverty, single parent, high violence in the home, poor coping skills

What are the 3 infanticide mental illnesses?

post-partum blues - 85% of women

post-partum depression - 7-19% of women

post-partum psychosis - 1-2 / 1000 births; most severe; include delusions and hallucinations, suicidal and homicidal thoughts within the first 3 months after birth

Define the spousal killers and state their motives

femicide: killing of women

androcide: killing of men

uxoricide: killing of wife by husband; motive - jealousy/anger; close contact methods (strangulation, stabbing); high correlation of murder-suicide; associated with use of excessive force

mariticide: killing of husband by wife; motive - fear for herself or her children

familicide: killing of spouse and children; motive;

despondent, non-hostile: thought to be depressed; usually limited history or limited reported history of violence

hostile, accusatory: often past violence toward kids/spouse/others; hostility toward others; sexually violent offenders usually have history of violence in the family; higher murder-suicide

Name the 3 youth homicide typologies and identify the most common

psychotic, crime and conflict - crime is the most common.

Describe the differences between mass murder, serial murder and spree murder

Mass murder: 4+ victims; one location/event; offender profile: depressed/angry, feel they have not succeeded in life, socially isolated/lacking interpersonal skills, select targets they blame for their problems

serial murder: 2+ victims; separate events; cooling off period between events

spree murder: 2+ victims; one continuous event; multiple locations; no cooling off period

Name and describe the 4 typologies of serial killers

visionary: in response to voices telling them what to do (hallucinations/delusions); psychotic

mission-oriented: targets a group they consider to be undesireable

hedonistic: self-gratification

• lust: sexual gratification

• thrill: pleasure/enjoyment at victim’s pain/terror

• comfort: financial or material gain

power/control: not sexual gratification; about having absolute dominance over victim

What are the 3 serial murder theories?

social learning theory: aggression is learned, the same as non-aggression, through reinforcement, vicarious learning - family, media, organized crime

evolutionary theory: all about adaptation and survival; aggressive to ensure survival and pass on genes; thought to occur due to competition for resources

general aggression model: biological, environmental, psychological and social inputs influence internal states (affect, cognition, arousal), which in turn influence outcomes (thoughtful or impulsive), which in turn influence the next social encounter

What are the differences between male and female serial killers?

prior criminal history:

• M: yes

• F: no

accomplice:

• M: 25%

• F: 50%

murder method:

• M: firearms, strangulation, stabbing

• F: poison

murder motive:

• M: sexual gratification, control

• F: money

Victim type:

• M: strangers

• F: family members

Geographic type:

• M: geographically mobile

• F: one location