In 1999, policymakers in England and Wales advanced controversial proposals for the preventive detention of a group they termed 'dangerous people with severe personality disorders'. Against a background of uncertain scientific knowledge, legal and policy actors have long faced challenges in reconciling the need to prevent crime with the need to respect the rights of the 'dangerous'. Ailbhe O'Loughlin's book, Law and Personality Disorder, situates contemporary debates about 'dangerous' offenders within this decades-old battle between the proponents of liberal legal principles and advocates of social defence. Law and Personality Disorder deconstructs competing images of offenders with personality disorders and the dilemmas they present, combining insights from criminology, psychiatry, psychology, and law. The book thus critically engages with an alluring narrative: the state has a duty to protect the public from 'dangerous' individuals, but it can also protect the human rights of the 'dangerous' by providing them with rehabilitation opportunities. While human rights law is often invoked as a means of curbing the excesses of preventive justice, O'Loughlin demonstrates that the case law of the European Court of Human Rights tends to legitimise coercive measures. Criminal law, furthermore, enables the punishment of offenders with mental disorders by resisting psychiatric evidence that they may not be fully responsible for their actions. Examining gaps in sentencing law, mental health law, and human rights law, this innovative book offers readers a comprehensive interpretation of the laws governing offenders with personality disorders and puts forward proposals for reform.

Contemporary prison practice faces many challenges, is developing rapidly and is become increasingly professionalized, influenced by the new National Offender Management Service. As well as bringing an increased emphasis on skills and qualifications it has also introduced a new set of ideas and concepts into the established prisons and penal lexicon. At the same time courses on prisons and penology remain important components of criminology and criminal justice degree courses. This will be the essential source of reference for the increasing number of people studying in, working in prisons and working with prisoners. This Dictionary is part a new series of dictionaries covering key aspects of criminal justice and the criminal justice system and designed to meet the needs of both students and practitioners: approximately 300 entries (of between 500 and 1500 words) on key terms and concepts arranged alphabetically designed to meet the needs of both students and practitioners entries include summary definition, main text and key texts and sources takes full account of emerging occupational and Skills for Justice criteria edited by a leading academic and practitioner in the prisons and penology field entries contributed by leading academic and practitioners in prisons and penology.

This book provides a concise introduction to the increasingly important field of forensic mental health. It aims to set out both the key concepts in forensic mental health as well as the way the discipline operates in the broader context of criminal justice and mental health care systems. It will provide an ideal introduction to the subject for students taking courses in universities and elsewhere, for mental health practitioners in the early stages of their careers, and for professionals from other agencies needing an informed and up-to-date account of forensic mental health.

This analysis of the forensic mental health system - how it operates, the people involved, the problems inherent in the system, and the huge ethical dilemmas - brings together a range of specialists, who describe the processes involved in dealing with a mentally disordered offender.

A multidisciplinary account of the reforms in psychiatry and mental health in Britain during 1960-2010 and their relation to society.

Regardless of how a person spends her or his day, in a classroom, in work or outside employment, whatever our thoughts, beliefs and experiences of life, all living is embodied. We are of and within our bodies. During the last thirty years, social scientists have increasingly turned their attention to the body as a site of both theoretical engagement and empirical exploration. Recently, public discourse has also become preoccupied with embodied debates: the obesity crisis and the London 2012 Paralympics have located the body firmly in the realm of public interest. The new essays collected in Corporeality: The Body and Society demonstrate some of the unique advantages attainable through studying the body sociologically. Focusing in on a series of embodied fields related to lifestyle media, war, disability, drugs and mental health, the book re-states the fundamental importance of a body-centred approach in the social sciences. Work by established experts in the field sits side by side with new voices to provide an accessible and stimulating snap-shot of the role of the body in society in the early-twenty first century.

High risk offenders can have a disproportionate impact on their communities because, despite all manner of sentencing options, they continue to commit a wide range of crimes, both minor and serious. It is tempting to throw the book at them, sometimes even to throw away the key. However, anything that helps offenders to change their propensity for re-offending can really make a difference. Over the last 30 years, scientific research has guided the provision of treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration services that lead to reductions in re-offending. Much of what we know, however, comes from work with medium-risk offenders. Although this work is important and valuable, there is a lower level of complexity to working with medium-risk offenders than most high-risk offenders require. This book recognizes the need to research and develop different approaches to rehabilitating high-risk offenders. Each of the contributions takes a different approach, with a different group of offenders, in a different setting. Cumulatively, the chapters provide encouragement for those working with high risk offenders, along with a wide range of ideas about how to develop better services. This book was originally published as a special issue of Psychology, Crime & Law.

It has long been known that the pathway through the criminal justice system for those with mental health needs is fraught with difficulty. This interdisciplinary collection explores key issues in mental health, crime and criminal justice, including: offenders' rights; intervention designs; desistance; health-informed approaches to offending and the medical needs of offenders; psychological jurisprudence, and; collaborative and multi-agency practice. This volume draws on the knowledge of professionals and academics working in this field internationally, as well as the experience of service users. It offers a solution-focused response to these issues, and promotes both equality and quality of experience for service users. It will be essential reading for practitioners, scholars and students with an interest in forensic mental health and criminal justice.

This information-rich volume expands current knowledge about sexually violent predators and critiques SVP laws with the goal of fostering improvements in clinical practice and public policy. It offers a finely detailed evidence base on this problematic class of offenders, including the complex interactions of biophysiological and environmental factors that contribute to criminal sexual behavior. Chapters discuss a wide range of assessment issues and instruments central to SVP evaluation, and the possibilities for developing interventions that address individual motivations and behaviors to reduce the risk of reoffending. And throughout, careful attention is paid to ongoing legal, ethical, and logical concerns regarding sexually violent offenders, their treatment and confinement, and their post-confinement placement. Among the topics covered: · Civil commitment of sex offenders. · The physiological basis of problematic sexual interests and behaviors. · Sexually violent predator evaluations: problems and proposals. · Cultural considerations in the assessment of sexually violent predators. · Management of sex offenders in community settings. · Effective use of an expert in sexually violent predator commitment hearings. Offering numerous issues for discussion and debate with considerable implications for clinical practice, policy, and the judicial system, Sexually Violent Predators will interest and enlighten forensic psychologists and psychiatrists as well as social workers, policy-makers, and legal professionals.

Experienced legal academics and mental health professionals explore the current approaches to “dangerousness” and preventive detention. The defining characteristics of those deemed dangerous by society vary according to culture, place, and time, and the contributors to this text have gathered to analyze the policies and practices related to current out-groups such as sex offenders, suspected terrorists, and young offenders in the United States, Scotland, England, and Australia. Dangerous People is the result of their research, workshopping, and writing. The text is organized logically and begins with a section on Parameters that explores the international human rights and legal limitations related to preventive detention schemes. It moves on to Policy, where contributors examine legislative policy, and Prediction, or risk assessment, especially in terms of violent crimes in youth. The section on Practice focuses on recent schemes to prevent re-offending. This text is indispensible as a resource that deals with the practical issues surrounding preventive detention and supervision schemes, the assessment of the risk of future harm in offenders, and different programs and sentencing options for high-risk offenders with mental illnesses. It contains case examples that bring real-life issues to light and sets forth an agenda to provide effective ways to protect communities from harm.