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Research suggests that whilst not more likely to offend, autistic people are overrepresented within the Criminal Justice System. To date, prevalence estimates are available only for male autistic offenders. Thus, this research aimed to provide the prison-reported rate of autistic female prisoners currently residing in the female prison estate in England. All 12 of the female prisons in England were contacted to request the following information: (1) the total number of autistic females; and (2) the total female prison population. Findings show an English female prison-reported rate of autism of 4.78% indicating that autism is approximately 13.7 times higher in female prisons compared to the general population. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first research article to focus exclusively on female autistic offenders. Further research is needed to understand the risk factors for offending, offender characteristics, offence types/patterns and autistic experience of the Criminal Justice System for female autistic offenders. What is already known about the topic? Autistic people are reported to offend at lower or comparable rates to non-autistic people. However, autism is overrepresented within male prisons due to a number of suggested reasons including an increased chance of being caught and a lack of autistic sensitive interventions which lead to longer stays in prison. To the authors' knowledge, no papers currently exist focussing on autistic females in prison. What does this paper add? To the authors' knowledge, this is the first piece of research to solely include autistic females in prison settings. This research provides an estimate of how many autistic people are in female prisons. All 12 female prisons in England were contacted. Data provided indicate a prison-reported female autism rate of 4.78%. This prison-reported female autism rate is 13.7 times higher than the prevalence of autistic females in the general population. Implications for practice research or policy? Autism is overrepresented in female prisons; however, to the authors' knowledge no current research exists on this group to understand their needs or experience. Autistic females often have differing requirements to males and the lack of research highlights the need for future research to investigate areas such as factors which increase the risk of offending, offences typically committed and the female autistic experience of the Criminal Justice System. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Research suggests that antisocial lifestyles constitute significant health risks. However, there are marked individual differences in the stability of antisocial behaviour. These different offending pathways may bear differential risks for adult health.Design: Injury and illness data were collected prospectively in the longitudinal Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development.Setting: Working-class inner-city area of South London.Participants: Participants included the 411 men from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, with interview data collected at ages 18, 32 and 48 years for each individual.Main Outcome Measures: Organic illness, hospitalisation and injuries.Results: By age 48, adjusted odds ratios showed that the incidence of organic illness was higher among Life-Course-Persistent, Late-Onset offenders and offenders in general. Based on adjusted odds ratios at age 32, the incidence of hospitalisations was higher for Late-Onset offenders. Adjusted odds ratios at age 48 also showed that the incidence of hospitalisations was higher for all three offender types and offenders in general. Our results also provide evidence that offenders were more likely to suffer injuries than non-offenders.Conclusions: The findings of this study imply that preventing individuals from offending is likely to have substantial benefits for health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder estimated to have elevated prevalence in forensic populations (approximately 4.5%). It has been suggested that offenders with autism spectrum disorder engage more frequently in crimes against the person and sexual offences than other types of offences such as property, driving and drug offences. To date little is empirically known about the reasons why autistic individuals engage in sexual offences, yet understanding the motivation(s) for offending are key to developing and implementing effective interventions to help reduce both initial offending and also re-offending. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine autistic sexual offenders in prisons and probation services across England and Wales. Thematic analyses revealed five main themes (social difficulties, misunderstanding, sex and relationship deficits, inadequate control and disequilibrium). Analyses indicated that social skills difficulties, lack of perspective/weak central coherence, misunderstanding the seriousness of their behaviours and a lack of appropriate relationships were the main reasons for offending reported by this group of autistic sexual offenders. Findings highlight a need to develop sex and relationship education interventions which are tailored to the needs of autistic individuals, to address both their reported reasons for offending and their reported lack of sexual knowledge and awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Literature suggests that mentally disordered offenders are considerably more difficult to treat and slower to respond to psychological treatment. Less is known about the particular factors that can contribute to this resistance. A more comprehensive understanding of the factors that treating psychologists feel can promote or inhibit progression through rehabilitative treatment may increase the likelihood of positive clinical outcomes. This paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach Four practising psychologists employed within a male medium- and low-secure forensic unit in the North East of England took part in a semi-structured interview. Their views, opinions and experiences regarding patient progression through treatment pathways were recorded, transcribed and analysed.Findings This thematic analysis identified that numerous patient-specific parameters influenced perceived progression, and environmental and external factors had a significant impact on the patients’ expressed attitude towards treatment.Practical implications Alongside issues of motivation and engagement, participants identified external factors that influence perceived treatment success with their forensic patients.Originality/value Additional research is needed to identify the factors that are the most influential in promoting or inhibiting perceived and actual progress. This will hopefully optimise treatment engagement and the motivation to change problematic behaviours in mentally disordered offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ex-armed forces represent the largest occupational subset of offenders in prison in England yet we know little about their offending behaviour. One-hundred-and-five veterans in prison were interviewed and their offending histories reviewed. Most were serving their first custodial sentence, predominantly for violent and sexual crimes and had previous convictions recorded: a number had offended before their service. High levels of alcohol misuse and pre-service adversity were found. There were significant differences between offence types: violent offenders were more likely than sexual or other offenders to have offended before service. Findings suggest that interventions should focus on violent behaviour and alcohol misuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An online survey gathered the experiences and views of 394 police officers (from England and Wales) regarding autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Just 42 % of officers were satisfied with how they had worked with individuals with ASD and reasons for this varied. Although officers acknowledged the need for adjustments, organisational/time constraints were cited as barriers. Whilst 37 % of officers had received training on ASD, a need for training tailored to policing roles (e.g., frontline officers, detectives) was identified. Police responses are discussed with respect to the experiences of the ASD community (31 adults with ASD, 49 parents), who were largely dissatisfied with their experience of the police and echoed the need for police training on ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007 the Department of Foreign Affairs published a report on Irish Prisoners abroad (Flood, 2007) which identified between 800 and 1,000 Irish citizens incarcerated in prisons overseas. This report was one of the first pieces of research undertaken on the topic of Irish prisoners overseas. Since its publication there has been a dearth of further research. This paper is based on a presentation given at the 13th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology in 2013. It considers the position of Irish prisoners in prisons in England and Wales. It provides a statistical analysis of these prisoners as well as examining them in the context of the overall prison population and as a sub-group of the foreign national prison population. Statistical data on gender, offences and sentences is considered. The position of Irish Travellers in the prison system in England and Wales is examined, and services available to Irish prisoners are considered. The need for further study and research on the experience of Irish prisoners in custody in England and Wales is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following article reports upon and discusses the results of part of the author's Ph.D. study, the focus of which was young people's perceptions of the factors that contribute to them coming to the attention of the youth justice system while resident in children's homes in England. The study ultimately confirmed that a complex interplay of factors contribute to youth justice involvement and, as such, it is argued that a continued primary focus upon the individual responsibility and disposition of the young people in terms of how we respond to offending and troublesome behaviour in residential children's homes will only ever address part of the problem. There is the clear necessity to employ a holistic approach which both recognises and focuses on the contribution of values and identities formed by the young people prior to entering residential care, the importance of peer relationships, the impact of staff–resident relationships, along with the institutional culture and environment. Only in this way can we hope to make realistic progress towards addressing the issue in a way which will be of benefit to the greatest number of children and young people. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – During 2011, the Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) coalition supported three pilots to better coordinate existing local services for people facing multiple needs and exclusions. These individuals experience a combination of problems such as homelessness, substance misuse, mental health problems and offending. Many face difficulties consistent with dual diagnosis in its broadest sense. The purpose of this paper is to summarise the evaluation of the pilots, undertaken by FTI Consulting/Compass Lexecon in partnership with Pro Bono Economics. Design/methodology/approach – The evaluation examined the three pilots, which took place in Cambridgeshire, Derby and Somerset in England. The study looked at two main effects as individuals engaged with better coordinated services: changes in wellbeing and, changes in the use and cost of wider local services. Primary wellbeing data were collected from clients and primary service use data were collected directly from relevant local agencies (police, health, housing etc). The study followed 39 individuals across the pilot sites. The average period between initial and final measurements was nine months.Findings – The findings show significant improvements in wellbeing for nearly all clients across three quantitative measures. The evaluation also recorded changes in the use and cost of local services. Some costs decreased in the first year of the pilot, for example, criminal justice costs in the Cambridgeshire and Somerset pilot areas. Other costs increased in the first year as people accessed the help they needed. In Cambridgeshire, the reduction in crime costs (£100,000 or 31 percent) was large enough to lead to an overall cost reduction. The total cost of service use in the first year increased in the other two areas. Originality/value – Collecting primary data on clients' actual service use directly from local agencies provides a strong methodological base. The evaluation will continue for a further year to examine the longitudinal impact of the pilots. The evaluation findings are of relevance to service providers, commissioners and policy makers interested in improving services for people facing multiple needs and exclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coerced drug treatment has become a common route for drug users to enter drug treatment in the UK and has been shown to be effective in reducing drug use and offending. This article presents the non-self-report measures of offending and drug use for one such treatment. The results support the findings of other studies in that those with lower offending rates prior to starting treatment and lower drug use during treatment show reduced offending following treatment commencement. More serious drug-using offenders showed limited changes in their offending following drug treatment. Possible explanations for this are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined 94 serious further offences (SFOs) committed by offenders managed by the London Probation Area over a 14-month period between 2004 and 2006. Data was collated on background and criminogenic variables for the sample, as well as retrospectively administering a range of validated actuarial measures of risk prediction. The predictive validity of key variables embedded within the probation OASys tool were also examined, specifically the utility of the DSPD variables and the OGRS and OGRS-2. The SFO offender characteristics -- in keeping with previous studies -- were wide ranging, as were the risk profiles of the offenders, the majority of whom fell into the medium risk range. The risk assessment and personality-based assessment tools routinely available to the probation service -- that is, DSPD and OGRS scores -- were found to be at least as accurate as other actuarially based methods of risk prediction. There were no clear identifying features of this sample of offenders which seemed to differentiate them from a much wider sample of the probation caseload, although the research was not designed to provide a comparison study. However, examination of the nature of the SFOs suggested there were some key situational contexts which were associated with serious harm to others (rather than simply likelihood of re-offending). These contexts included pervasive weapon use, unexpected victim responses during acquisitive crimes, and disputes occurring within an anti-social male subculture. Recommendations included a greater emphasis on harm reduction approaches to probation interventions in terms of risky lifestyles and weapon use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the views of young people regarding their involvement with a specialist mental health service for adolescents who offend or are at risk of offending. The main aims are to shed light on means of engaging this group in therapeutic work, and to illustrate the use of qualitative techniques in the evaluation of health services. Twenty clients and ex-clients were interviewed using a semistructured schedule. Responses were analysed using a thematic indexing technique. Findings show that the majority felt the service had helped them to some extent, despite initial resistance to referral. Five factors which helped practitioners overcome this resistance were identified: (1) A manner which demonstrates respect and commitment; (2) being able to operate flexibly and offer outreach appointments; (3) clinical effectiveness; (4) making therapeutic sessions seem personally relevant; and (5) explaining clearly the role of the service. Attention should be paid to these areas if mental health services are to support this challenging client group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to describe the demographic details, offence details, and psychiatric details and outcomes of individuals referred for court reports to the Tayside Area Forensic Psychiatry Service between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2001. Information was extracted by a review of the psychiatric casenotes of individuals referred during this period. In all, 232 referrals were received on 172 individuals; 58% of those seen received an Axis I diagnosis while 39% were felt to require inpatient psychiatric treatment. Twelve individuals were considered by the assessing psychiatrist to be unfit to plead and eight were insane at the time of the alleged index offence. One was considered to meet the criteria for diminished responsibility on grounds of mental disorder. A clinically inappropriate placement occurred in nearly 10% of cases, most commonly related to insufficient availability of forensic admission beds. These findings are discussed in the context of the need for expansion of Scottish forensic services to include medium secure units, in line with similar services in England and Wales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Offenders with personality disorder experience significant co-morbid mental health problems and present with an increased risk of offending. The evidence for the effectiveness of interventions for personality disordered offenders in the community is limited. This study was a pilot study to determine the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of an intervention known as Resettle for personality disordered offenders and to explore the possible effects of this intervention., Methods: Potential participants were recruited from referrals of male prisoners to Resettle. Those consenting underwent baseline assessments before being randomised to Resettle or treatment as usual. Officially recorded and self-report offending was assessed over two years following release from custody. Of the 110 eligible participants, 72 (65%) participated in the study of whom 38 were randomised to Resettle and 34 to treatment as usual. The two groups had a similar psychiatric and offending profile., Results: Analysis of officially recorded offences at two years found mixed results, but whether adopting an intent-to-treat approach or including only those who received the intervention there was no clear evidence of an effect of the intervention. A comparison of self-report offending found no effect of Resettle in an intent-to-treat analysis, but there was an effect when the analysis involved only those participating in the intervention., Conclusions: This study demonstrated that with some adjustments it was possible to carry out an RCT of a complex intervention for personality disordered offenders in a criminal justice setting. Some, but not conclusive, evidence was found in favour of the intervention., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)