David L. Shapiro – författare

This compact reference makes the case for a middle ground between clinical and actuarial methods in predicting future violence, domestic violence, and sexual offending. It critiques widely used measures such as the PCL-R, VRAG, SORAG, and Static-99 in terms of clarity of scoring, need for clinical interpretation, and potential weight in assessing individuals. Appropriate standards of practice are illustrated--and questioned--based on significant legal cases, among them Tarasoff v.Regents of the State of California and Lipari v. Sears, that have long defined the field. This expert coverage helps make sense of the pertinent issues and controversies surrounding risk assessment as it provides readers with invaluable information in these and other key areas: 

Risk Assessment offers its readers--professionals working with sex offenders as well as those working with the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide and Sex Offender Appraisal Guide--new possibilities for rethinking the assessment strategies of their trade toward predicting and preventing violent criminal incidents.

This timely brief resource introduces a new evidence-based model for treatment of mentally ill individuals in jails, with emphasis on community-based options. Forensic mental health experts review police alternatives to arresting mentally ill persons in confrontations, the efficacy of problem-solving courts, and continuity of care between jail and community. The book''s best-practices approach extends to frequently related issues such as addiction, domestic violence, juvenile considerations, and trauma and describes successful programs coordinating judicial and clinical systems. These guidelines for decriminalizing non-violent behaviors and making appropriate services available to those with mental problems should also help address issues affecting the justice system, such as overcrowding. 

Included in the coverage: 

With its practical vision for systemic improvement, Best Practices Model for Intervention with the Mentally Ill in the Criminal Justice System is progressive reading for practitioners in the mental health field, especially practitioners working with inmates, as well as for stakeholders in the law enforcement and justice systems.

This book retrospectively analyzes the notorious 1924 case of Leopold and Loeb, in which two college students murder a young boy just to prove they could do it. In the almost hundred years since that trial, the field of neuroscience along with neuropsychology have expanded tremendously, and there are now much more sophisticated tools that could be used to evaluate the perpetrators of this crime.  Although deemed mentally ill at the time, there was not much scientific evidence that could be brought to bear on the defendants’ and their behavior.  Now a legal psychologist and a neuropsychologist team up to tackle the case from a modern viewpoint. Using contemporary knowledge of the brain and behavior they map out the way the case might be handled today.  Not just of historical interest, this volume serves as a case study for students and professionals alike, and a review of procedures used in such difficult cases.