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There is increasing recognition that, wherever clinically appropriate, the needs of mentally disordered offenders should be met by health and social services rather than the criminal justice system (Cohen & Eastman, 1997). Many trusts now make separate service provision for this client group, but there has been little research into the role of applied psychology in these services. This study consists of an exploratory audit of the referrals to applied psychology in a multidisciplinary mentally disordered offenders team. Client characteristics as well as referral characteristics were explored. One of the main results of the audit was that clients referred for outpatient groups (who were not normally known to the team prior to referral) had significantly higher rates of non‐attendance and drop‐out than clients referred for other reasons. Outpatients in general also had higher rates of non‐attendance and dropout than inpatients. The main conclusion of this study is that applied psychology resources may be best used in the provision of services to clients known to the team and that, as inpatient work may be more productive, it should perhaps be the priority for psychologists working with this client group.

A neologism (new word) has crept into forensic practice: the word ‘absconsion’, which is used instead of the correct form of ‘abscondment’ to mean the act of running away or escaping. The author speculates that forensic practitioners' reliance on previous reports has led to its appearing in current usage.

A community team for mentally disordered offenders in a London borough was reviewed three years after its inception. As this term covers a broad spectrum of people, a profile of the team's clients was compiled and there is some discussion of what might constitute suitable measures of progress for the client group. In view of this, details are provided of reconviction and re‐arrest, hospital re‐admission, Health of the Nation Outcome (HONOS) scales and the views of clients themselves. Low rates of reconviction and re‐arrest were found, and improvements were evident on all other measures.

This article considers the literature on threats made by individuals, with particular reference to threats made by patients against health care workers. It is in two parts. The first part considers the definitions and classification of threats, the prevalence of threat‐making and suggestions for assessment and management. The second part concerns the characteristics of those who threaten and the impact of the threats on the victims, and considers threats as predictors of, and part of, the escalating process which leads to further violence.

An audit of 100 referrals made to anger management groups provided by a forensic community mental health team over a four‐year period was carried out to help identify the characteristics of those who benefit from the group programme. It was hypothesised that certain factors might predominate in unsuitable referrals. Only 43 individuals actually attended the initial assessment, and 17 completed the group. Chisquare tests of association established no association between attendance and any of the variables identified. Clinical assessment suggested some differences between those who completed the groups and those who did not, but the numbers were small. Given the low completion rate and the fact that variables which characterise unsuitable referrals have not been identified, it is concluded that it may be more useful to use resources in other ways.

This article considers the literature on threats made by individuals, with particular reference to threats made by patients against health care workers. This is the second of two parts, and concerns the characteristics of those who threaten and the impact of the threats on the victims. It considers threats as predictors of, and part of, the escalating process which leads to further violence.

This chapter discusses some issues of diversity in hazard mitigation when just recovery is considered or not. Justice in hazard mitigation becomes crucial considering unequal distribution of resources, systemic racism, and social vulnerability to hazards. While there has been research on just recovery, there is little or no evidence of research that examines the issue of equity and justice in hazard mitigation, This chapter discusses what hazard mitigation is, the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 focusing on the planning process, public involvement in the planning process, some planning theories on vulnerability, and building the case for achieving and striving for justice and equity in promoting diversity in hazard mitigation. The chapter makes some recommendation on how to achieve diversity in hazard mitigation.

Corporate governance plays a decisive role in the financial performance of a firm. While the majority of the firms in China and India are owned and managed by its promoters, the present study attempts to examine the impact of ownership structure and board characteristics on firm value for these two economies. The study employs panel data methodology with industry and time fixed effects on a sample of 1,042 firms listed in National Stock Exchange of India and 450 firms listed in Shanghai Stock Exchange of China. The study finds promoter ownerships to positively impact a firm’s value creation process, while institutional investors exert a negative influence. Although CEO duality enhances firm value in China, the results show otherwise for Indian firms. Additionally, while board independence is positively correlated to firm value in India, it has a negative effect on firms in China. Finally, the study finds that larger board size contributes favorably toward better decision making.