The Probity of Profiling: Opinions of Australian Lawyers on the Utility of Criminal Profiling in Court

Criminal profiling and its investigative utility for policing have been examined at some length despite there being only an embryonic body of robust empirical research. The use of profiling knowledge in assisting the curial process in Australian courts, however, has had much less attention, although a few academics and legal commentators have debated its probative value. At present, profiling evidence is generally not accepted in this country, although some limited aspects have been introduced into court settings. Yet no empirical work has investigated the opinions of lawyers regarding its probative versus prejudicial nature. This preliminary study of lawyers in two states suggests that barristers and solicitors possess little knowledge about profiling; maintain that profiling is not accurate or valid and is of little value in adjudications; and subscribe to the view that the discipline of psychology is the most likely area of expertise to proffer profiling opinions. The following issues are considered: the need for greater training within the legal profession; the elements of profiling processes that might yield utility; and the necessity for further development of the field to generate the greater confidence that will be required if it is ever to be widely accepted in Australian courtrooms.     

Third-party Views of Incarceration: Justice,Desistance, and Offender Reintegration

One potential reason for punishing criminal offenders is so that third parties will become willing to socially reintegrate the offenders after their punishments have been completed. Another reason is simply to satisfy third-party desires that appropriate punishments be issued. In an experimental study, conducted with undergraduate students in South Africa, it was found that increasing the length of incarceration had a causal effect on increasing both reintegration willingness and punishment appropriateness, but the effect on reintegration willingness was substantially smaller. Also, two intermediary punishment goals were tested as mediators: the perceived likelihood of criminal desistance, and the perceived attainment of punitive justice. For the relationship between length of incarceration and reintegration willingness, desistance acted as a mediator but punitive justice did not. The findings indicate that, in order to increase reintegration willingness, policies need to increase the perceived likelihood of desistance rather than the perceived attainment of punitive justice.     

Criminal behaviour,personality disorder,and mental illness: the origins of confusion

The statutory concept of psychopathic disorder has only limited correspondence with clinical concepts of psychopathic personality, and obscures the heterogeneity of personality disorder among the antisocial. This is partly reflected in problems in assessing the treatability of ‘psychopaths’. Admission of ‘psychopaths’ for treatment may be justified when their socially deviant behaviour is a function of an identifiable personality disorder. This requires specification of treatment targets. It is proposed that personality disorder can be conceptualised as inflexible interpersonal styles supported by expectations of others which are self-fulfilling prophecies, and that these cut across the medicolegal categories of mental illness and psychopathic disorder. Data are presented from a special hospital sample which support the model, and which have implications for clinical intervention.     

Sexual Offender Treatment Effectiveness Within Cognitive-Behavioral Programs: A Meta-Analytic Investigation of General,Sexual, and Violent Recidivism

The current sexual offender literature focuses on recidivism reduction in an effort to increase public safety. While cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) programs are considered a mainstream treatment method, it is essential to study recidivism as an indicator of treatment effectiveness. This meta-analysis examines research published since 1970 to determine the overall effectiveness of treatments in reducing recidivism among adult male sexual offenders. Decade of implementation and CBT treatment features are also assessed as moderator variables. The results from the 25 studies identified were converted into 42 weighted effect sizes utilizing a random-effects model. Significant overall effect sizes were found for sexual and violent/combination recidivism; however, multiple indices indicate heterogeneity in the effect sizes. Significant differences were found in the overall effectiveness of the treatments by decade, and the treatments delivered during the 1990s were found to be related to lower levels of sexual and violent/combination recidivism.     

Qualitative Review of Community Treatment With Sex Offenders: Perspective of the Offender and the Expert

Despite growing research in the area, there remains much uncertainty about the effectiveness of community-based treatments for sexual offenders. The present study aims to add to the literature by evaluating an existing Sydney-based group community programme in two ways. First, eight prior participants of the programme were interviewed, and themes that emerged were analysed using qualitative methods. The participants discussed their treatment experiences and personal development following treatment. The eight participants discussed what aspects of the programme they found helpful and unhelpful. These areas were then matched with the opinions of four experts on the effectiveness of sex offender treatment. The findings are reviewed with reference to the current literature available and in terms of implications for future treatment. We conclude by providing some suggestions about how to improve community-based sex offender treatment programmes by focusing on motivational processes within treatment.     

Neuroenhancement,the Criminal Justice System,and the Problem of Alienation

Neuroethics - It has been suggested that neuroenhancements could be used to improve the abilities of criminal justice authorities. Judges could be made more able to make adequately informed and...     

Action monitoring, error detection, and the basal ganglia: an ERP study

The error negativity (Ne or ERN) is an event-related brain potential component, which is assumed to reflect error detection. Recently it has been hypothesized that the basal ganglia are assumed to play a crucial role in error detection. In the present study we ask whether the Ne is altered in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), who have an impaired function of the basal ganglia. We recorded the Ne in patients and in matched controls, while they performed different tasks that require a relatively high cognitive control, which is supposed to pose particular problems on PD. The Ne was in fact smaller in the patients than in the controls in all tasks. Our results suggest an impairment of error detection in PD for different types of demanding tasks. This supports the hypothesis that the basal ganglia do play an important role for error detection in action monitoring.     

Spinal Cord Stimulation: Indications, Mechanism of Action, and Efficacy

Unrelieved pain is costly to the economic fabric of our society; its direct costs to patients and their families is staggering. Spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of chronic pain is cost-effective when used in the context of a pain treatment continuum. Many theories on the mechanism of action of spinal cord stimulation have been suggested, including activation of gate control mechanisms, conductance blockade of the spinothalamic tracts, activation of supraspinal mechanisms, blockade of supraspinal sympathetic mechanisms, and activation or release of putative neuromodulators. Whatever theory or theories of mechanism are correct, spinal cord stimulation has efficacy in the treatment of failed back surgery syndrome, complex regional pain syndromes, intractable pain due to peripheral vascular disease, and intractable pain due to angina.