Book•
The Psychology of Criminal Conduct
01 Jan 1994-
TL;DR: For instance, the authors investigates the relationship between the beginning and maintenance of criminal activity and diverse risk predictors (singular and social, static and dynamic) in the development of criminal behaviour.
Abstract: Throughout the last decades the so-called Psychology of criminal conduct, which agglutinates scientific knowledge surrounding criminal phenomena, has been taking shape. We can find among the principal fields of interests an explanation for antisocial behaviour where learning theories, analyses of individual characteristics, strain-agression hypotheses, studies on social vinculation and crime, and the analyses of criminal careers are relevant. This last sector, also denominated ‘developmental criminology’, investigates the relationship between the beginning and maintenance of criminal activity and diverse risk predictors (singular and social, static and dynamic). Their results have had great relevance in the creation of crime prevention and treatment programs. Psychological treatments of offenders are aimed at the modification of those risk factors, known as ‘criminogenic needs’, which are considered to be directly related to their criminal activity. In particular, treatment programs attempt to provide criminals (whether juveniles, abusers, sexual aggressors, etc.) with new repertoires of prosocial behaviour, develop their thinking, regulate their choleric emotions, and prevent relapses or recidivisms in crime. Lastly, nowadays the Psychology of criminal conduct places special emphasis on the prediction and management of the risk for violent and antisocial behaviour, a field which will be addressed in a subsequent paper of this same monograph.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a presentation entitled "What Works in Probation" based on a much more extensive and separately published report about the effectiveness of offender supervision, and argue that despite the apparently technical nature of questions of effectiveness, in fact any considered and critical analysis of the empirical evidence about desistance, rehabilitation and what works? compel us to consider the moral character and context of criminal justice interventions.
Abstract: This paper is based on a presentation entitled ‘What Works in Probation’, delivered to an Invitational Conference for Directors of Probation Services in Europe organised by the Council of Europe, the Conference Permanente Europeenne de la Probation and the French Ministry of Justice at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg (26 th -28 th November, 2008). Drawing on a much more extensive and separately published report about the effectiveness of offender supervision (McNeill, 2009), I try to argue here that, despite the apparently technical nature of questions of effectiveness, in fact any considered and critical analysis of the empirical evidence about desistance, rehabilitation and’ what works?’ compel us to consider the moral character and context of criminal justice interventions.
106 citations
Cites background from "The Psychology of Criminal Conduct"
...Most probation managers will be, by now, very well aware of the principles of risk, need and responsivity; the principles that make up the RNR model (Andrews and Bonta, 2003) that continues to dominate approaches to offender rehabilitation in the English-speaking world....
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TL;DR: In both the United States and Canada, a community protection approach to the perceived enduring dangerousness of sex offenders has emerged since the 1980s, in response to several high profile cases involving the sexual assault and murder or mutilation of young children as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In both the United States and Canada, a community protection approach to the perceived enduring dangerousness of sex offenders has emerged since the 1980s, in response to several high profile cases involving the sexual assault and murder or mutilation of young children. The key elements in this community protection approach are sex offender registration and tracking, community notification, and post-sentence controls in the form of civil commitment, peace bonds, and community surveillance. This paper compares the different trajectories community protection has taken in the United States and in Canada and offers an explanation for the relatively slower and more cautious approach taken by the Canadian federal government, compared to the rapid, aggressive approach taken in the United States at both a federal and state level.
105 citations
Cites background from "The Psychology of Criminal Conduct"
...Canadian federal corrections policy (largely built on the Andrews and Bonta model of criminogenic needs, risk, and responsivity), in contrast with corrections policy in most American states, places considerable emphasis on offender rehabilitation, as well as incapacitation, retribution, and deterrence (Andrews and Bonta 2003; CBC Ideas 2000)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined recidivism rates associated with the pilot project of Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) in South-Central Ontario, Canada and found that the offenders who participated in the COSA pilot project had significantly lower rates of any type of reoffending.
Abstract: This study represents an examination of recidivism rates associated with the pilot project of Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) in South-Central Ontario, Canada. A group of 60 high-risk sexual offenders involved in COSA after having been released at the end of their sentence were matched to a group of 60 high-risk sexual offenders who had been released at the end of their sentence, but who did not become involved in COSA. Results show that the offenders who participated in the COSA pilot project had significantly lower rates of any type of reoffending than did the offenders who did not participate in COSA. Specifically, offenders who participated in COSA had a 70% reduction in sexual recidivism in contrast to the matched comparison group (5% vs. 16.7%), a 57% reduction in all types of violent recidivism (including sexual 15% vs. 35%), and an overall reduction of 35% in all types of recidivism (including violent and sexual - 28.3% vs. 43.4%). Further, a considerable harm reduction function was noted in the COSA sample, in that sexual reoffences in this group were categorically less severe than prior offences by the same individual. This function was not observed in the matched comparison group.
104 citations
TL;DR: The authors developed a theoretical underpinning for mentoring practice with ex-offenders that would identify appropriate targets of mentoring, including the development of social capital or connectedness, and used data from research on a women's mentoring program in Victoria, Australia, to understand how one key dimension of desistance - social capital - is recognised by women as a domain of need and those women's perceptions of the way mentoring may deliver gains in social connectedness and capital.
Abstract: Mentoring ex-prisoners is an increasingly popular tool in the burgeoning field of offender reintegration and resettlement. Yet surprisingly little is known about what makes mentoring effective and indeed even whether it can be effective within the domain of criminal justice. This article proceeds in two parts. First, drawing upon desistance theory it attempts to develop a theoretical underpinning for mentoring practice with ex-offenders that would identify appropriate targets for mentoring practice, including the development of social capital or connectedness. Part two of the article utilises data from research on a women's mentoring program in Victoria, Australia, to understand how one key dimension of desistance - social capital - is recognised by women as a domain of need and those women's perceptions of the way mentoring may deliver gains in social connectedness and capital. The article concludes with a discussion of the distinctly gendered nature of women's postprison experiences and the way in which these factors shape both the process of desistance and the nature of mentoring interventions.
104 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the relation between psychopathic features and treatment progress in a group of 86 delinquent boys and found that on admission to a specialized intensive treatment program, Psychopathic Check-out, the psychopathic check-out rate increased with the number of delinquent boys.
Abstract: This study examined the relation between psychopathic features and treatment progress in a group of 86 delinquent boys. On admission to a specialized intensive treatment program, Psychopathic Check...
104 citations
References
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TL;DR: It is suggested that delinquency conceals 2 distinct categories of individuals, each with a unique natural history and etiology: a small group engages in antisocial behavior of 1 sort or another at every life stage, whereas a larger group is antisocial only during adolescence.
Abstract: This chapter suggests that delinquency conceals two distinct categories of individuals, each with a unique natural history and etiology: A small group engages in antisocial behavior of one sort or another at every life stage, whereas a larger group is antisocial only during adolescence. According to the theory of life-course-persistent antisocial behavior, children's neuropsychological problems interact cumulatively with their criminogenic environments across development, culminating m a pathological personality. According to the theory of adolescence-limited antisocial behavior, a contemporary maturity gap encourages teens to mimic antisocial behavior in ways that are normative and adjustive. There are marked individual differences in the stability of antisocial behavior. The chapter reviews the mysterious relationship between age and antisocial behavior. Some youths who refrain from antisocial behavior may, for some reason, not sense the maturity gap and therefore lack the hypothesized motivation for experimenting with crime.
9,425 citations
28 Jul 2017
TL;DR: In Causes of Delinquency, Hirschi attempts to state and test a theory of delinquency, seeing in the delinquent a person relatively free of the intimate attachments, the aspirations, and the moral beliefs that bind most people to a life within the law.
Abstract: In Causes of Delinquency, Hirschi attempts to state and test a theory of delinquency, seeing in the delinquent a person relatively free of the intimate attachments, the aspirations, and the moral beliefs that bind most people to a life within the law. In prominent alternative theories, the delinquent appears either as a frustrated striver forced into delinquency by his acceptance of the goals common to us all, or as an innocent foreigner attempting to obey the rules of a society that is not in position to make the law or define conduct as good or evil. Hirschi analyzes a large body of data on delinquency collected in Western Contra Costa County, California, contrasting throughout the assumptions of the strain, control, and cultural deviance theories. He outlines the assumptions of these theories and discusses the logical and empirical difficulties attributed to each of them. Then draws from sources an outline of social control theory, the theory that informs the subsequent analysis and which is advocated here. Often listed as a "Citation Classic," Causes of Delinquency retains its force and cogency with age. It is an important volume and a necessary addition to the libraries of sociologists, criminologists, scholars and students in the area of delinquency.
3,690 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2005TL;DR: Haug, Sorensen, Gruber, Song, Relapse Prevention for Opioid Dependence, and Wheeler, George, Stoner, Enhancing the Relapse prevention model for Sex Offenders: Adding Recidivism Risk Reduction Therapy to Target Offenders' Dynamic Risk Needs.
Abstract: Marlatt, Witkiewitz, Relapse Prevention for Alcohol and Drug Problems. Blume, de la Cruz, Relapse Prevention among Diverse Populations. Kadden, Cooney, Treating Alcohol Problems. Shiffman, Kassel, Gwaltney, McChargue, Relapse Prevention for Smoking. Carroll, Rawson, Relapse Prevention for Stimulant Dependence. Haug, Sorensen, Gruber, Song, Relapse Prevention for Opioid Dependence. Roffman, Stephens, Relapse Prevention for Cannabis Abuse and Dependence. Kilmer, Cronce, Palmer, Relapse Prevention for Abuse of Club Drugs, Hallucinogens, Inhalants, and Steroids. Collins, Relapse Prevention for Eating Disorders and Obesity. Shaffer, LaPlante, Treatment of Gambling Disorders. Wheeler, George, Stoner, Enhancing the Relapse Prevention Model for Sex Offenders: Adding Recidivism Risk Reduction Therapy to Target Offenders' Dynamic Risk Needs. Zawacki, Stoner, George, Relapse Prevention for Sexually Risky Behaviors.
2,866 citations
01 Jan 1989
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a theory of criminality, heredity, and environment for criminality and apply it to the problem of illegal behavior in the United States.
Abstract: 1. Introduction.- 2. The Constitutional Theory of Criminality.- 3. Crime and Personality.- 4. Criminality, Heredity, and Environment.- 5. A Biological Theory of Criminality.- 6. The Function and Effectiveness of Sentencing.- 7. The Prevention and Treatment of Illegal Behavior.- 8. Sexual Deviations.- 9. Summary and Conclusions.- References.
404 citations
Book•
27 Apr 1993
TL;DR: The Measurement and Distribution of Crime, Criminology, and Psychology as mentioned in this paper The Measurement of and distribution of crime, crime, and mental health disorders, and the effectiveness and ethics of intervention with offenders.
Abstract: Crime, Criminology, and Psychology. The Measurement and Distribution of Crime. Classification of Offenders. Social and Environmental Theories of Crime. Individually Oriented and Integrated Theories of Crime. Biological Correlates of Antisocial Behavior. Familial and Social Correlates of Crime. Personal Attributes of Offenders. Aggression and Violent Crime. Crime and Mental Disorder. Sexual Deviation and Sexual Offending. Forensic Psychology and the Offender. Psychological Interventions with Offenders. Treatment of Dangerous Offenders. The Effectiveness and Ethics of Intervention. References. Index.
373 citations