Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Sexually Violent Predator Evaluations: Empirical Evidence, Strategies for Professionals, and Research Directions

Sexually Violent Predator Evaluations: Empirical Evidence, Strategies for Professionals, and... Several states have passed civil commitment laws that allow the precautionary detention of sex offenders who have completed their criminal sentences. Over 2,500 sex offenders have been committed across states with such statutes and several thousand more sex offenders have been evaluated. Most statutes call for an evaluation of risk by a mental health professional and, although each state statute is worded differently, three main elements common to sexually violent predator evaluations are used to guide evaluators: mental abnormality, volitional capacity, and likelihood of future sexual violence. The current article presents empirical evidence for the main tenants of these forensic evaluations, provides recommendations for evaluators in light of current limitations of evidence, and offers suggestions for future research in this area of forensic assessment. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Law and Human Behavior American Psychological Association

Sexually Violent Predator Evaluations: Empirical Evidence, Strategies for Professionals, and Research Directions

Loading next page...
 
/lp/american-psychological-association/sexually-violent-predator-evaluations-empirical-evidence-strategies-vFK58Vm3Wc

References (108)

Publisher
American Psychological Association
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 American Psychological Association
ISSN
0147-7307
eISSN
1573-661X
DOI
10.1007/s10979-005-1398-y
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Several states have passed civil commitment laws that allow the precautionary detention of sex offenders who have completed their criminal sentences. Over 2,500 sex offenders have been committed across states with such statutes and several thousand more sex offenders have been evaluated. Most statutes call for an evaluation of risk by a mental health professional and, although each state statute is worded differently, three main elements common to sexually violent predator evaluations are used to guide evaluators: mental abnormality, volitional capacity, and likelihood of future sexual violence. The current article presents empirical evidence for the main tenants of these forensic evaluations, provides recommendations for evaluators in light of current limitations of evidence, and offers suggestions for future research in this area of forensic assessment.

Journal

Law and Human BehaviorAmerican Psychological Association

Published: Feb 1, 2005

There are no references for this article.