Assessment of Offenders and Inmates

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Assessment of Offenders and Inmates
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I. Fitness to Stand Trial

• Two elements that must be present for criminal
  guilt
• A wrongful deed actus reus
• Criminal intent mens rea
• Must be found beyond a reasonable doubt.

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A defendant is unfit to stand trial if

• Unable on account of mental disorder to
• a) understand the nature or object of the
  proceedings
• b) understand the possible consequences of the
  proceedings
• c) to communicate with counsel.
• (Bill C-30 of the Criminal Code)

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Public Misperceptions of the Insanity Defense
(Melton et al.)

• That it is common
• That it is often successful
• That those acquitted with this defense are
  usually released
• That such individuals are extremely dangerous

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How many fitness evaluations?

• Approximately 5000 annually in Canada (Webster et
  al., 1982)

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Who Can Assess Fitness?

• In Canada, only medical practitioners.

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Who Can Assess Fitness?

• In Canada, only medical practitioners.
• In 47 of the U.S. states psychologists can
  conduct fitness and criminal responsibility
  evaluations.

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The Fitness Interview Test RevisedFIT-R
(Roesch et al., 1998)

• Understand the nature or object of the
  proceedings
• Understand the possible consequences of the
  proceedings
• Communicate with counsel

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Key Processes in Involving Fitness

• See Figure 9.1

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II. Mental State at Time of the Offence

• Three British cases
• 1. Crazy Ned shot and wounded Lord Onslow?
  Wild Beast Test
• 2. James Hadfield who in 1800 tried to
  assassinate King George III
• ? Criminal Lunatics Act
• 3. Daniel McNaughten in 1843 attempted to murder
  Prime Minister Robert Peel

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II. Mental State at Time of the Offence

• McNaughton Rules
• defect of reason, from a disease of the mind.
• Did not know the nature and quality of the act
  he was doing
• Must not know that what he was doing was wrong

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II. Mental State at Time of the Offence

• Bill C-30 enacted in 1992
• Not guilty by reason of insanity changed to
  not criminally responsible on account of mental
  disorder (NCRMD)

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Mental State at Time of the Offence

• Bill C-30 enacted in 1992
• No person is criminally responsible for an act
  committed or an omission made while suffering
  from a mental disorder that rendered the person
  incapable of appreciating the nature and quality
  of the act or omission or of knowing that it was
  wrong.

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Mental State at Time of the Offence

• Bill C-30 enacted in 1992
• Review boards were created.

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Mental State at Time of the Offence

• A change occurred in 1999
• A defendant who is NCRMD should only be detained
  if he or she poses a criminal threat to the
  public otherwise, the defendant should receive
  an absolute discharge.

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Raising the Issue of Insanity

• Two situations in which the Crown may raise the
  issue of insanity
• Following a guilty verdict, if the Crown believes
  that the defendant requires psychiatric treatment
  and a mental facility is best suited to the
  defendants needs.
• The defence states that the defendant has a
  mental illness, the Crown can then argue it.

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Assessing Insanity

• The Rogers Criminal Responsibility Assessment
  Scales (R-CRAS Rogers, 1984).
• Patient reliability
• Organicity
• Psychopathology
• Cognitive control
• Behavioural control

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What Happens to a Defendant Found NCRMD?

• See Figure 9.2
• Absolute discharge
• Conditional discharge
• Sent to a psychiatric facility

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Prevalence Rates of Psychiatric Disorders in an
Edmonton Sample of Defendants

• 87 Substance abuse
• 57 antisocial personality disorder
• 16 anxiety/somatoform disorders
• 2 schizophrenia

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Why are there such high rates of mental illness
in offender populations?

• Individuals with a mental illness are
• Arrested at a disproportionately high rate
• Less adept at committing crime and therefore more
  likely to get caught
• More likely to plead guilty

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Dangerous Offenders

• Person poses a substantial risk or harm to others
  in the future
• This person will serve an indeterminate sentence
• Sentence ends when the individual in question has
  been deemed a manageable risk to society.

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What is risk assessment?

• Prior to the 1990s was viewed as a dichotomy
• Dangerous or not
• Nowadays, risk is viewed as a range
• -prediction and management component

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Approaches to the Assessment of Risk

• Unstructured clinical judgment
• Actuarial prediction
• Structured professional judgment

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Types of Predictors

• Static--------------------------------------Dynami
  c
• Risk Factors Risk Factors

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Important Risk Factors

• Dispositional Factors
• Demographics
• Personality characteristics

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Important Risk Factors

• Historical Factors
• Past behaviour
• Age of onset
• Childhood history of maltreatment
• Past supervision failure

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Important Risk Factors

• Clinical Factors
• Substance use
• Mental disorder

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Important Risk Factors

• Contextual Factors
• - lack of social support
• - access to weapons or victims

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Protective Factors

• Prosocial involvement
• Strong social supports
• Positive social orientation
• Intelligence