Citation

Boccaccini MT, Harris PB, Trupp GF, Varela JG. Sex. Offender Treat. 2019; 14(1): e185.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Pabst Science Publishers)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

This study examined risk measure scores, diagnoses, and evaluator opinions for 51 sexual offenders who were evaluated for civil commitment as sexually violent predators (SVP), released, returned to custody, and reevaluated for SVP commitment (M = 5.45 years between evaluations). Most of the offenders had been released on parole or mandatory supervision and had returned to custody for violating the terms of their release. Although there was no evidence of a consistent increase or decrease in risk measure scores or diagnoses over time and only three of the offenders had been arrested for a new sexual offense, evaluators were somewhat more likely to conclude that offenders met criteria for commitment upon reevaluation (81.8%) than upon initial evaluation (60.7%). Despite the average of more than 5-years between evaluations, test-retest reliability estimates for instrument scores and diagnoses were similar to those from field studies of SVP evaluations conducted much closer together in time.

Keywords: sexually violent predator, risk assessment, civil commitment, PCL-R, psychopathy

Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) laws in the United States allow states to civilly commit certain sex offenders for an indefinite period of time, even after they complete their criminal sentences. Most SVP commitment laws follow the criteria that the Supreme Court set forth in Kansas v. Hendricks (1997) and require four elements for commitment: (a) a history of sexual offending, (b) a mental abnormality (sometimes defined as a mental disorder, personality disorder, or "behavioral abnormality"), (c) a volitional impairment rendering him less able to control his sexual behavior (Kansas v. Crane, 2002), and (d) a likelihood of future sexual offending (Miller, Amenta, & Conroy, 2005). SVP referral and commitment procedures routinely involve evaluation results from forensic psychologists and psychiatrists, who conduct risk assessments and evaluate offenders' eligibility for commitment...

Language: en