Contemplations and discussions on the quality of forensic assessment in sentencing:Puzzling pieces for decision makers

In essence, forensic assessment is labour of a diagnostic nature. This chapter discusses the origins of forensic assessment, types, and measures of quality and possible biases that come with the legal context. It focuses on the most common psycholegal concepts relevant for the quality of forensic assessment in sentencing will be described respectively: mental disorder, criminal responsibility, and dangerousness. Risk assessment is often informed by the Risk-Needs-Responsivity model. Structured guidelines for risk assessment exist in various forms. Roughly two main categories of tools can be divided: actuarial measures and those following a structured professional judgement (SPJ) approach. Both kinds of tools include a list of factors that have empirically been shown to be related to an increased likelihood of future offending. Generally, personalised interventions and risk-management as offered in a forensic treatment setting are much more effective in terms of recidivism reduction than harsh punishments and lengthy prison sentences

Ontwikkelingsprincipes voor de Inrichting van de Informatievoorziening over de Curatieve zorg

Political Scienc

The Risk Screener Violence (RS-V): retrospective prediction of violent and aggressive incidents within the prison setting

Introduction: Physical and verbal violence toward staff or other detained individuals is a reoccurring problem within correctional facilities. Screening for violence risk within the prison setting could provide a valuable first step in the prevention of institutional violence. The brief and compact Risk Screener Violence (RS-V) has shown to be an efficient new method for assessing concerns regarding post-release violent offending for incarcerated persons. This study aimed to find out whether the RS-V is also able to predict future violent and aggressive incidents during imprisonment.Methods: The predictive validity of the RS-V for future violent and aggressive incidents during a follow-up time of 4 months within prison was analyzed, using a file-based design. Violent incidents toward staff and other inmates (physical violence and violent threats), other aggressive incidents (aggression toward objects and verbal disruptive behavior), and both categories combined, were included as outcome measures based on disciplinary reports.Results: The RS-V showed medium to large predictive values for both violent and aggressive behavior during prison stay. In particular, good predictive values of the RS-V were found for violence toward prison staff.Discussion: This study shows that, besides post-release violent recidivism, the RS-V is able to accurately predict future violent and aggressive incidents during prison stay. By correctly differentiating between low concern and high concern individuals, the RS-V aims to contribute to more personalized interventions and risk management and, subsequently, to improved prison safety. Future studies using prospective prison practice data are needed to further support the validity of the RS-V regarding institutional violence.Education and Child Studie

High Resolution Imaging and the Formation of Stars and Planets

Understanding the formation of stellar and planetary systems is one of the great challenges of contemporary astrophysics. This thesis describes progress towards understanding these processes, through advancement of techniques to enable high resolution imaging of faint companions and other structures in the immediate environs of young stars. To ensure optimal performance in an era of large segmented telescopes, techniques to precisely cophase the mirror segments are required. In this thesis we propose the Fizeau Interferometric Cophasing of Segmented Mirrors algorithm, and present the results of testing both numerically and through experiment. We help to rectify a lack of observational evidence with which to test brown dwarf evolutionary models, by laying the foundation for an orbital monitoring survey of 19 brown dwarf binary systems and reporting the discovery of an additional 7 low mass companions to intermediate mass stars. We perform a Non-Redundant Masking (NRM) survey targeting the 1\,Myr old Ophiuchus star forming region. Both binary statistics and the relationship between multiplicity and the presence of a circumstellar disk are explored, providing many results similar to those from older regions. This helps frame the time evolution of effects related to dynamical interactions in binary systems, and the timescale of disk dissipation, with profound implications for giant planet formation. In thesis we also present the results of commissioning for the Gemini Planet Imager Non-Redundant Masking mode. These results indicate that the addition of an Extreme Adaptive Optics systems has substantially improved the performance of NRM compared to previous instruments. Finally, the transition disk T Cha is studied with multi-epoch NRM data, showing that the signal previously interpreted as a planetary companion is more likely to be the result of forward scattering from the inclined outer disk

An Exploration of Protective Factors Supporting Desistance From Sexual Offending

This article considers factors that support or assist desistance from sexual offending in those who have previously offended. Current risk assessment tools for sexual offending focus almost exclusively on assessing factors that raise the risk for offending. The aim of this study was to review the available literature on protective factors supporting desistance from sexual offending. This article discusses the potential value of incorporating protective factors into the assessment process, and examines the literature on this topic to propose a list of eight potential protective domains for sexual offending. The inclusion of notions of desistance and strengths may provide additional guidance to the assessment and treatment of those who sexually offend. Further research investigations are recommended to consolidate the preliminary conclusions from this study regarding the nature and influence of protective factors in enabling individuals to desist from further offending. </jats:p

Criminal History and Adverse Childhood Experiences in Relation to Recidivism and Social Functioning in Multi-problem Young Adults

This study examines the relationship between criminal history and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and how they collectively predict (a) recidivism and (b) positive social functioning among multi-problem young adults. Criminal records and self-report data regarding ACEs and adult education/employment and quality of life (QoL) were collected for 692 multiproblem young adults (18–27 years). Results indicated that an extensive criminal history was related to non-violent and violent recidivism and lack of involvement in education/employment in young adulthood. On the contrary, a higher number of ACEs was related to lower QoL later in life, while this was not associated with recidivism or education/employment. These findings highlight again that past criminal behavior is a strong predictor of future criminality, particularly within this group of young adults with multiple problems. Furthermore, experiencing negative events in childhood shows to have long-term negative effects on QoL even for these individuals who already experience multiple life problems. Implications are discussed