Overview

What works best for treating sexually violent persons in civil commitment programs? Results from both treatment providers and patients.

Summary

The topic of this journal article is one that is not frequently studied or, perhaps, thought about. 

Dr. Vincent and colleagues, as part of adherence to the Risk Needs Responsivity Model, studied the patient satisfaction of individuals who were civilly committed and thus mandated to treatment in their civil commitment programs.

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Are you looking for more assistance with your sentence mitigation reports? Contact Dr. Jennifer Weeks, a recognized expert witness and forensic psychologist.

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Continue exploring Mitigation Aide for the information on mental health necessary to ensure your clients are treated fairly in the criminal justice system.

The post Patient Satisfaction in Civil Commitment Treatment Programs first appeared on Mitigation Aide.

Overview

Using the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) scale and two risk assessment measures to evaluate likelihood of treatment completion and reduce recidivism with trauma informed care.

Summary

There is a growing trend in treating sexual offenders from a lens of trauma informed care. 

Trauma informed care is a significant break from the traditional manner sex offender treatment has previously been delivered.

As with any culture shift, there are many skeptics. This research article seeks to provide evidence to support the trauma informed care paradigm.  

The Study Evaluating Efficacy of Trauma Informed Care

The current study used the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) scale as a measure of trauma and assessed the relationship between ACE scores, recidivism and treatment completion. 

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Are you looking for more assistance with your sentence mitigation reports? Contact Dr. Jennifer Weeks, a recognized expert witness and forensic psychologist.

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Continue exploring Mitigation Aide for the information on mental health necessary to ensure your clients are treated fairly in the criminal justice system.

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Did you arrive here looking for information about childhood trauma, or adverse childhood experiences? Dr. Weeks offers a free, scientifically-validated, anonymous assessment on her personal blog. Take the Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire.

The post Can Trauma Informed Treatment Affect Recidivism? first appeared on Mitigation Aide.

Overview

How do Internet Only CSAM Offenders (Child Sexual Abuse Material) differ from non-offenders and offenders with a contact offenses?

Summary

While this is an older article (2012), it needs to be included here. It is an oft-cited study that articulates both the psychological and demographic characteristics of men who have been convicted of possessing child sexual exploitation material (CSEM). 

It has provided a great deal of insight into the perpetrators of this type of crime.

Internet Only CSAM Offenders: The Study

The subjects were all men in federal custody with a history of a contact or a CSAM offense. 

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Are you looking for more assistance with your sentence mitigation reports? Contact Dr. Jennifer Weeks, a recognized expert witness and forensic psychologist.

---

Continue exploring Mitigation Aide for the information on mental health necessary to ensure your clients are treated fairly in the criminal justice system.

The post Characteristics of Male Internet Only Child Pornography Offenders first appeared on Mitigation Aide.

Overview

How do these views compare to those of law enforcement, prison staff, and the general public?

Summary

It is commonly accepted that, among individuals who commit crimes, those who commit sexual crimes are considered to be the worst criminals of all. This belief continues despite data that frequently speaks to low recidivism rates. 

The post Does How a Person Feels About Men Who Sexually Offend Effect How They are Treated? first appeared on Mitigation Aide.

Overview

How does a comprehensive, targeted educational program affect outcomes in CSEM offenders?

Summary

While most individuals who are convicted of crimes relating to possessing or distributing Child Sexual Exploitation Materials are court or probation mandated to sex offender treatment, there remains a lack of evidence-based treatment practices specifically targeting these CSEM individuals.  As we know that Internet Only Child Pornography offenders are different than contact or mixed offenders, we know that treatment targets for dynamic risk factors are different as well.  

This study sought to address some of these issues by creating a 10-week psychoeducational group curriculum that combined some traditional offender treatment goals such as offense cycles and sexual fantasies as well as other topics such as addictions, compulsions and relationship skills.

The post Psychoeducational Treatment for CSEM offenders first appeared on Mitigation Aide.

Overview

What types of treatment are most effective at reducing recidivism?

Summary

Individuals who are under investigation for sex crimes are often sent to treatment prior to sentencing as both a means to help the person and to show accountability for mitigation purposes.  Once convicted, they will be mandated to treatment by probation or parole.  

The 2019 study discussed in this summary sheds light on what types of treatment programs may be better than others for producing results, which means decreasing recidivism. 

The post Sexual Offender Treatment: Does Specialized Treatment Matter? first appeared on Mitigation Aide.

Overview

A meta-analysis of studies focusing on the effect of treatment on reoffending.

Summary

Many attorneys recommend that their clients start treatment prior to sentencing both to get the help they need as well as to help with sentence mitigation.  After sentencing, all clients convicted of a sexual crime will likely have to successfully complete sexual offense specific treatment to complete probation.  While this is all common practice, the data on the effectiveness of treatment is not as robust as one might think.

The post What is the Effect of Sex Offender Treatment on Recidivism? first appeared on Mitigation Aide.

Overview

A look at two studies of sexual recidivism in a population of over 2,000 sexual offenders.

Summary

Most of the research assessing the effect of treatment for those committing a sexual crime provides support for the efficacy of treatment in reducing recidivism. Two metanalysis conducted in 2005 and 2009 showed up to a 43% reduction in recidivism risk for those who completed treatment. It is also well known that aging in and of itself reduces engagement in violent and sexual crimes.

The post What is the Effect of Treatment on High Risk Offenders? first appeared on Mitigation Aide.

Overview

A study devoted to evaluating outcomes of recidivism of offenders who volunteer for treatment versus those that don’t and comparing them to Static-99 scores.

Summary

There are several camps when it comes to discussing treatment for individuals who have committed a sex crime.  Some research has suggested that treatment reduces recidivism.  This research is not without criticism, including the hypothesis that those who volunteer for treatment while in prison are different from those individuals who do not, and this skews the data.  In order to address this concern

The post Does Volunteering for Treatment Affect Recidivism? first appeared on Mitigation Aide.