Search results

The purpose of this paper to synthesise much of the existing research on autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and offending behaviour.

It considers three key areas, namely, first, a discussion about the nature of ASD and how it might be related to offending behaviour; second, a brief commentary about the prevalence of this population; and, finally, an exploration of the effective management and possible treatment outcomes.

Methodological limitations have resulted in variable findings which has hindered our understanding of this population. Some of the research is based on small, highly specialist samples making prevalence difficult to measure. The link between ASD and offending is still not well understood, and despite advances in staff training, awareness amongst practitioners remains an underdeveloped area, thus yielding variable treatment outcomes.

This review continues to demonstrate the urgent need for robust research in order to better understand the link between ASD and offending behaviour, to provide tailored, needs-led interventions, and reduce the risk of offending amongst this group as a whole.

De‐institutionalisation and resettlement have had a significant impact on offenders with learning disabilities (LD) who are now more visible in the wider community than before. Perhaps because of the challenges presented by people who were previously contained in institutions, there has been a growth of interest in their characteristics, the services and clinical interventions required to support them.This narrative review presents and discusses recent developments concerning offenders with LD. It looks at the historical association between crime and low intelligence, and then examines the evidence concerning the prevalence of offending by people with LD and recidivism rates. Recent research concerning service pathways for this population is summarised and progress in the development of actuarial, dynamic and clinical assessments of the future risk of offending is outlined.The second half of the paper focuses on a review of the evidence for and recent developments in the treatment of offending behaviour (anger/aggression, sexual offending and fire‐setting), utilising broadly cognitive behaviourally‐based approaches. Finally, future directions for research and practice innovation are proposed.

This study aims to builds upon the hypothesis that “gang” offenders have greater mental health vulnerabilities than both the offender and the general population. This study aims to determine whether there is a difference between the mental health difficulties experienced by young people who may be committing offenses or who may be non-offenders while exploring the interplay of conduct disorder (CD).

Secondary data analysis was conducted of a cross-sectional survey of 449 young people in two secondary schools and the data was compared to the scores on the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). A diagnosis of CD was given to the respondents scoring “abnormal” for conduct on the SDQ and the findings were compared to the total difficulties score of those without a diagnosis of CD.

Those committing offenses both alone and within a group setting had significantly higher scores across all domains of the SDQ, indicating the prevalence of inattention and hyperactivity, emotional problems, lower prosocial behaviors and peer problems over other offending groups. The total difficulties scores on the SDQ were significantly higher for the offending groups that had a diagnosis of CD.

The results suggest that offending patterns are included within the screening for CD subtypes and support the need for further research into tailored interventions that involve multi-agency collaboration. This research offers a new approach to the identification of severe CD with callous and unemotional traits by examining offensive behavior.

A wealth of research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has led to increased understanding and identification of each of these developmental disorders. Existing literature has sparked controversial discussions regarding whether aspects of ASD and ADHD predispose individuals to criminality. The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between these conditions and offending.

A review of the literature on ASD, ADHD and offending was undertaken. This paper looks at the particular focus of the literature on the involvement of individuals with ADHD and ASD within the criminal justice system.

There is some evidence of a link between ADHD and criminality. However, the relationship between ASD and offending is a little more difficult to ascertain. Complicating this further is the relatively unexplored subject of comorbid ASD/ADHD and criminal behaviour. This paper found that additional cognitive deficits and conduct problems are associated with comorbid ASD/ADHD, highlighting the need for further research and development of interventions.

This paper seeks to examine whether predictions can be made with regards to what offending behaviour may look like in an individual with comorbid ASD/ADHD. This paper reviews the literature on offending in relation to both disorders to examine whether predictions can be made with regards to what the offending behaviour of an individual with ASD and ADHD may look like.

This study was carried out as part of a larger study commissioned by the UK Department of Health to investigate the service pathways for offenders with learning disabilities (LD). The study covered three health regions in the UK and included 477 people with LD referred to services because of antisocial or offending behaviour during a 12‐month period. Data were collected concerning demographic, individual, offending behaviour and service characteristics. The findings of the study are broadly consistent with contemporary research concerning this population, particularly in relation to the nature and frequency of offending, history of offending, psychopathology, age and gender distribution. However, very few of those referred had any form of structured care plan, despite having significant offending histories, and this may have compromised early identification of their needs and communication between the health, social and other services involved.

This study aims to investigate the influence of social camouflaging on victimisation and offending in relation to autism and pathological demand avoidance (PDA) traits. Camouflaging aims to overcome or conceal difficulties in social and communication skills. Autistic individuals report camouflaging in response to threat and being verbally and physically assaulted when they have not camouflaged. Thus, camouflaging could be associated with victimisation. Camouflaging could also impact on specialist support available to an individual, potentially increasing the risk of victimisation or offending.

Cross-sectional study was conducted using 220 participants from the general population who completed online questionnaires measuring victimisation and offending, autism and PDA traits, camouflaging and symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Correlational analysis found positive associations between camouflaging and victimisation, and camouflaging and lifetime offending. Greater camouflaging and PDA traits predicted greater offending, whereas greater autism traits predicted fewer offending behaviours. While correlated, camouflaging was not significantly predictive of victimisation. Victimisation was predicted by symptoms of depression and PDA traits.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider camouflaging as an influencing factor on offending and victimisation in autistic and PDA individuals.

Using a sample of 271 students from four schools in the southeast region of Missouri, this paper evaluates the impact of school resource officers (SRO) on young people’s views and attitudes about the police and offending. The results suggest that the use of an SRO in schools does not change students’ view of the police in general or offending. This weak impact is, at least in part, attributable to the negative contact that young people may have with the police and their SRO. This study concludes that, since the SRO has no significant impact on students’ perception of police or offending, then it would behoove school administrators to utilize their financial resources for counseling, student‐faculty crime prevention programs or delinquency awareness programs.

This review collates the empirical evidence on the behavioural effects of media violence. It assesses the content of different forms of media to which patients in secure services could be exposed. Numerous explanations for behaving aggressively are examined, using a variety of theoretical backgrounds. The effect of viewing different forms of violence on individuals' behaviour is also examined. The review includes positive influences of exposure to media violence, though the main findings are that exposure to aggressive and violent material increases aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviour. The review presents research on violence depicted in films, video games, comic books and song lyrics, and assesses its impact on aggressive and inappropriate behaviour; it also addresses exposure to weapons. We conclude by outlining how this research could influence policy on the resources made available to forensic populations, advocating assessment of the suitability of presenting a particular piece of media violence to the individual rather than a whole population, and the possibility that individual responses to media violence can be a useful assessment tool.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the initial development of a framework to assist in clinical case formulation for individuals diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) who have been convicted of violent and other offences.

The proposed framework obtains information on the presence of ASD features from an individual’s developmental history, index offence and offence paralleling behaviours. Through obtaining information across these three domains the framework helps the practitioner make an informed assessment of the possible contribution of ASD to offending.

The framework aims to assist the practitioner to develop a clinical formulation based on hypothesised linkages between these domains for use in forensic assessment reports and to aid treatment planning. The use of the proposed framework is illustrated through a reference formulation based on a fictive case example.

The framework is still in the early stages of development and has not been tested. The next stage is to utilise case information data to assess the validity of the items. This does not preclude the use of the framework by practitioners as an aid to generating clinical hypotheses about the possible link between autism and offending as the development of the tool has been informed by research on ASD and offending.

The framework may be used in conjunction with structured professional judgement tools. For example, the recently published third version of the HCR-20 includes pervasive developmental disorders as a historical risk item. This possible relevance of this item in terms of forensic risk could be presented using information obtained from the framework outlined in this paper. This in turn could be used to inform the formulation section of the HCR-20 and in the generation of treatment plans. In the longer term, the framework may help inform our understanding of possible relationships between violence risk and ASD and therefore aid effective assessment and treatment planning.

In the longer term, the framework may help inform our understanding of possible relationships between violence risk and ASD and therefore aid effective assessment and treatment planning.

Although there is an emergent body of research on ASD and offending this has not yet been translated into a tool to help practitioners. This paper sets out an approach to do this and therefore makes an original contribution to the literature.

While prior research has established that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a risk factor for violent offending, there is little understanding of mechanisms that may underpin this relationship. This is problematic, as a better understanding of these mechanisms could facilitate more effective targeting of treatment. This study aims to address these gaps in the extant literature by examining TBI as a predictor of violent offending and test for mediation effects through cognitive constructs of dual systems imbalance and hostility among a sample of justice-involved youth (JIY).

The Pathways to Desistance data were analyzed. The first three waves of this data set comprising the responses of 1,354 JIY were analyzed. Generalized structural equation modeling was used to test for direct and indirect effects of interest. A bootstrap resampling process was used to compute unbiased standard errors for determining the statistical significance of mediation effects.

Lifetime experience of TBI was associated with increased violent offending frequency at follow-up. Hostility significantly mediated this relationship, but dual systems imbalance did not. This indicated that programming focused on reducing hostility among JIY who have experienced TBI could aid in reducing violent recidivism rates.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study was the first to identify significant mediation of the relationship between TBI and violent offending through hostility.