Richard J. Boucher

Bio: Richard J. Boucher is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Sex offense & Sexual violence. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 4 publications receiving 524 citations.

Childhood sexual abuse in the lives of sexually aggressive offenders.

Abstract: This study examined the incidence of childhood physical and sexual abuse in a sample of incarcerated rapists ( N =97) and child molesters ( N =54). The four major findings were: (a) the incidence of sexual assault in childhood among child molesters was higher than the incidence of such abuse reported in the literature; (b) the incidence of sexual assault in childhood among child molesters was more than twice as high as the incidence among rapists; (c) rapists were three times more likely to be victimized by a family member than were child molesters; and (d) when a sexual assault did occur, it was associated with many other indices of familial turmoil and instability.

The Diagnosis and Treatment of Dangerousness

Abstract: Dangerousness in criminal offenders can be reliably diagnosed and effectively treated with a recidivism rate of 6.1 per cent. We define dangerousness as a potential for inflicting serious bodily harm on another.This is a report of a ten-year study involving 592 male convict ed offenders. Most of the crimes that brought these offenders to our notice were sex offenses. Several were compounded by ex treme violence including murder, manslaughier, assault with intent to kill, and assault with a dangerous weapon. The staff's initial diagnosis indicated that 304 of these persons were not dangerous, and they were released into the community after completing their sentences. Twenty-six (8.6 per cent) subse quently committed serious assaultive (dangerous) crimes.The courts concurred in our diagnosis of dangerous in 226 cases and committed these offenders to our special "treatment" facility for an indeterminate period of one day to life. Following treatment for an average period of forty-three months, eighty- two pa...

Dangerousness July 2, 1973 TO THE EDITOR:

Abstract: sor John Monahan [Crime and Delinquency, July 1973, pp. 418-20] and suggest that its validity be evaluated by the reader after study of the paper to which it refers [Harry L. Kozol, M.D., Richard J. Boucher, and Ralph F. Garofalo, &dquo;The Diagnosis and Treatment of Dangerousness,&dquo; Crime and Delinquency. October 1972, pp. 371-92]. We submit that Professor Monahan’s letter projects an inac-

Violent offenders: Appraising and managing risk.

Abstract: Federal Abortion Policy and Politics: 1973-1996 Why is Abortion Such a Controversial issue in the United States Barriers to Access to Abortion Services The Impact of Anti-abortion Activities on Women Seeking Abortions Black Women and the Question of Abortion Latinos and Abortion Abortion and Asian Pacific Islander Americans The Acceptability of Medical Abortion to Women Understanding the Relationship of Violence Against Women to Unwanted Pregnancy and it's Resolution Testing a Model of the Psychological Consequences of Abortion Men and Abortion: The Gender Politics of Pregnancy Resolution Abortion Among Adolescents A Cognitive Approach to Patient-Centered Abortion Care Abortion Issues in Psychotherapy Bringing Lessons Learned to the United States Improving Access to Abortion Services Abortion Practice, Policy, and Research: Recommendations for the 21st Century

The accuracy of recidivism risk assessments for sexual offenders: a meta-analysis of 118 prediction studies.

Abstract: This review compared the accuracy of various approaches to the prediction of recidivism among sexual offenders. On the basis of a meta-analysis of 536 findings drawn from 118 distinct samples (45,398 sexual offenders, 16 countries), empirically derived actuarial measures were more accurate than unstructured professional judgment for all outcomes (sexual, violent, or any recidivism). The accuracy of structured professional judgment was intermediate between the accuracy found for the actuarial measures and for unstructured professional judgment. The effect sizes for the actuarial measures were moderate to large by conventional standards (average d values of 0.67-0.97); however, the utility of the actuarial measures will vary according to the referral question and samples assessed. Further research should identify the psychologically meaningfully factors that contribute to risk for reoffending. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessing predictions of violence: Being accurate about accuracy.

Abstract: The prediction of violence occupies a prominent and controversial place in public mental health practice. Productive debate about the validity of violence predictions has been hampered by the use of methods for quantifying accuracy that do not control for base rates or biases in favor of certain outcomes. This article describes these problems and shows how receiver-operating characteristic analysis can be used to solve them. The article also reanalyzes 58 data sets from 44 published studies of violence prediction. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that mental health professionals' violence predictions are substantially more accurate than chance. Short-term (1-7 day) clinical predictions seem no more accurate than long-term (> 1 year) predictions. Past behavior alone appears to be a better long-term predictor of future behavior than clinical judgments and may also be a better indicator than cross-validated actuarial techniques.

Sex offender recidivism: A review.

Abstract: The increasing recognition of the large number of people victimized by sexual assault has focused considerable attention on methods for deterring its perpetrators. In particular, law enforcement and mental health professions alike seek ways to prevent sex offenders from repeating their criminal behavior. Some evidence suggests sex offenders often continue offending even after incarceration or clinical treatment. However, recidivism rates for sex offenders are unusually hard to establish, owing to gross underreporting of sex crimes. This article presents a comprehensive review of empirical studies of sex offender recidivism. It brings together data from a wide variety of studies on both treated and untreated sex offenders of all types. Because of the variety and gravity of methodological problems in these studies, guidelines are discussed for sample selection and description, study design, criterion assessment, and data analysis. With these methodological principles in mind, the results of some 42 studies are examined for what they can tell us about sex offender recidivism and efforts to reduce it.