Assessments in Forensic Practice

Assessments in Forensic Practice: A Handbook provides practical guidance in the assessment of the most frequently encountered offender subgroups found within the criminal justice system. Topics include:

• criminal justice assessments
• offenders with mental disorders
• family violence
• policy and practice

Kevin D. Browne is Professor of Forensic Psychology and Child Health at the University of Nottingham.

Leam A. Craig is Director of Forensic Programmes at Forensic Psychology Practice Ltd, and an Honorary Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Birmingham.

Anthony R. Beech, D.Phil, FBPsS, C.Psychol (Forensic) is Professor of Criminological Psychology,University of Birmingham.

About the Editors vii

Contributors ix

1. Introduction 1
Kevin D. Browne, Anthony R. Beech, Leam A. Craig and Shihning Chou

Part One Criminal Justice Assessments 5

2. Case Formulation and Risk Assessment 7
Peter Sturmey and William R. Lindsay

3. Assessment of Violence and Homicide 28
Kerry Sheldon and Kevin Howells

4. Sexual Offenders 52
Franca Cortoni, Anthony R. Beech and Leam A. Craig

5. The Assessment of Firesetters 76
Lynsey F. Gozna

6. Forensic Psychological Risk Assessment for the Parole Board 103
Louise Bowers and Caroline Friendship

7. Behavioral Assessment in Investigative Psychology 122
Eleanor M. Gittens and Kate Whitfield

Part Two Offenders with Mental Disorders 137

8. Assessing Risk of Violence in Offenders with Mental Disorders 139
James McGuire

9. Assessing Mental Capacity and Fitness to Plead in Offenders with Intellectual Disabilities: Implications for Practice 172
Leam A. Craig, Ian Stringer and Roger B. Hutchinson

10. Offenders with Personality Disorder Diagnoses 198
Lawrence Jones and Phil Willmot

11. Offenders and Substance Abuse 217
Simon Duff

Part Three Family Violence 233

12. Community Approaches to the Assessment and Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment 235
Kevin D. Browne, Shihning Chou and Vicki Jackson-Hollis

13. Psychological Assessment of Parenting in Family Proceedings 265
Karen Bailey, Eugene Ostapiuk and Taljinder Basra

14. Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence 295
Louise Dixon

Part Four Policy and Practice 317

15. Assessment of Hostage Situations and Their Perpetrators: In the Context of Domestic Violence 319
Carol A. Ireland

16. Assessing the Sexually Abused Child as a Witness 333
Kevin D. Browne

17. Working with Young Offenders 354
Clive R. Hollin and Ruth M. Hatcher

18. The Ethics of Risk Assessment 370
James Vess, Tony Ward and Pamela M. Yates

Index 387