Forensic Risk Assessment in Women

When assessing risk in women, mental health professionals should remain aware of gender’s influence on risk factors — both their presence and relevance to the overall picture of risk. They should keep in mind that when women commit crime and violence, these actions are often related to their unique experiences and social roles.

Women and girls differ from men and boys in many aspects of criminal and violent behaviour, said Dr. Stephanie Penney in a presentation for the International Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series. Women’s and girls’ development before committing violence can differ. There are differences in who their victims are, the pathways they take to justice involvement, and the motivations for crime and violence.

Effective Communication Strategies in Forensic Risk Assessment

Forensic mental health professionals often ask how effective risk assessments are. However, if the results are not clearly communicated to the specific audience, they lose their significance.

In her presentation for the International Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series, Dr. Ilvy Goossens discussed her research on effective forensic risk communication strategies.

Risk Assessment Tools Are More Accurate than Unstructured Judgments in Predicting Reoffending

Decisions about treatment, supervision, or detention often depend on how well forensic mental health professionals can predict the risk of reoffending. Although risk assessment tools have been developed to guide professionals in this important query, some professionals continue to assess these risks using unstructured professional judgment.
A meta-analysis shows that these tools can help predict various types of reoffending more accurately than unstructured professional judgments.

Feasible Risk Screening for Violence and Criminality

When evaluating a person’s risk and protective factors, it is not always possible to complete a comprehensive risk assessment. If so, risk screening is often more feasible. This support tool offers an initial evaluation of the most important risk and protective factors to determine a person’s level of concern for violence and criminal behaviour.

Improving Rehabilitation Outcomes for Older Adults in Ontario’s Forensic Psychiatry System While Maintaining Public Safety

Historical factors consistently outweighed dynamic and protective factors, but risk assessments for older adults need to be rebalanced.

Dangerous People and Risky Solutions

Over the years, violence risk assessment has evolved from descriptive, unstructured clinical judgment to predictive, actuarial risk assessment formulas and now to explanatory, structured professional judgment that helps clinicians formulate risk management safety plans.

During the International Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series, Dr. Michael Doyle discussed the three generations of violent risk assessments and his recommendations for forensic mental health professionals.

Risk Assessment for Group-Based Violence

Groups have a powerful influence on the behaviour of individuals through norms and values, modelling, and group identification. When the group becomes violent — whether it is gangs, organized crime, extremists, or even sports fans — there are unique and changing risk factors and systemic processes that need to be considered.

Unfortunately, there is no consensus or professionally accepted way to approach risk assessments for group-based violence. The challenge is that the research in this area is limited. And no surveys have been conducted on how professionals approach these assessments.

Assessment Approaches for Adolescent Problematic Sexual Behaviour

Assessing inappropriate sexual behaviours in adolescents should be developmentally and trauma informed. Best practice standards require that evaluators understand adolescent sexual development and stay current on risk assessment principles, areas of inquiry, and the reliability of risk assessments.

Investigating Racial Disparities in Risk Assessments Using Structured Professional Judgment

Summary risk ratings from structured professional judgment (SPJ) are not immune to racial disparities. However, these disparities are not proof of bias. All risk assessment tools may reflect societal disparities more than be a source of them.

Terrorism Typologies and Considerations for Clinical Practice in Psychiatry

Typology development entails systematically clustering related attributes among individuals or groups to examine trends that might explain complex human interactions and behaviours. This approach has demonstrated its usefulness in behavioural sciences with important implications for policy, etiology, course, and treatment. Our review article provides an overview of terrorism typologies and examines their implications for clinical practice. We argue that the theoretical nature and heterogeneity of existing terrorism typologies limit their clinical usefulness, highlighting the need to develop empirically driven typologies.