This paper presents the results of a survey of 169 psychologists and psychiatrists about their experiences of conducting forensic assessment and treatment work from home during workplace restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular attention to self-care and threats to wellbeing. Although most participants (80.2%) reported that they liked working from home, and a range of benefits were identified, many (42.5%) participants reported that working from home had been difficult. A range of problems, including a worsening in the frequency and quality of contact with colleagues, difficulties in establishing a work-life balance, experiences of unpleasant interactions with clients, and an increase in fear of managing clients in crisis were reported. These results suggest that care is required to ensure that threats to the well-being of psychologists and psychiatrists are identified and remedial actions introduced, particularly with regard to the provision of supervision and peer support to prevent distress.

Workplace restrictions associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have resulted in increased tele-service use by forensic psychologists and psychiatrists This article describes the results of a survey of 295 psychologists and psychiatrists concerning their experiences and opinions of forensic tele-service work Participants identified a range of benefits to using audiovisual (AV) conferencing technologies, including efficiency, convenience, ease of access, safety, client comfort, and flexibility However, issues were also reported, including concerns that some aspects of the mental status examination, specifically appearance and behavior and affect, may be difficult to assess There were also some clinical conditions that were considered by participants to be unsuitable for tele-servicing Although most participants believed that the therapeutic relationship was less satisfactory when using AV conferencing as compared with face-to-face interactions, on average, participants were satisfied with the therapeutic relationship that was developed Further, some participants (n = 38, 27 1%) reported that clients had expressed a preference for remote engagement, but a similar number reported that some had expressed concerns about receiving treatment remotely (n = 38, 26 4%) Although recent training and experience were associated with confidence, perceived confidence, and satisfaction with tele-services, fewer than half of participants (n = 112, 44 8%) had received training in tele-service use Overall, there appears to be a range of benefits to using tele-services for remote forensic assessment and treatment practice, but there are issues that need to be considered, and best-practice guidelines require development (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

This study explored the intersection between Indigenous status, gender, and age in relation to law enforcement responses to offending in 53,632 first-time juvenile offenders in Australia. Findings demonstrated that Indigenous offenders were more likely to receive a court summons (rather than diversionary alternative) following their first offense compared with non-Indigenous offenders when controlling for gender, age, and the nature and number of charges processed at first offense. No interactions were observed between Indigenous status, age, and gender. Indigenous status predicted receiving a court summons; however, the strength of this relationship diminished when offenders had one-to-two violent charges and when offenders' first contact occurred after the commencement of the Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW), which formalized police responses to diversion. Stronger efforts are needed to prevent initial justice system contact and formal processing among Indigenous youth with a focus on community-led early intervention strategies.

This study describes the rationale, development, and validation of the Victoria Police Screening Assessment for Family Violence Risk (VP-SAFvR). The actuarial instrument was developed on a sample of 24,446 Australian police reports from 2013-2014. Information from each report and criminal histories of those involved were collected with 12-month follow-up, and binary logistic regression used to develop an improper predictive model. The selected VP-SAFvR cut-off score correctly identified almost three quarters of cases with further reports, while half of those without were accurately excluded. It was effective for frontline police triage decision-making, with few screened-out cases reporting further family violence, while those screened-in required additional risk assessment. Predictive validity was adequate and consistent across family relationships and demographic groups, although it was less effective in predicting future family violence reports involving same-sex couples or child perpetrators. Further evaluation in a field trial is necessary to determine the validity of the VP-SAFvR in practice.

This study assessed the reliability and validity of the Guidelines for Stalking Assessment and Management (SAM), a structured professional judgment measure for assessing stalking risks. The SAM was completed retrospectively from file review for 146 adult stalkers (90.4% male) referred to a community-based forensic mental health service. Interrater reliability (IRR) was initially poor, but developing a strict definition of stalking currency and rescoring the SAM led to improvement. Based on the updated scoring, IRR was moderate for judgments about whether stalking was ongoing at the time of assessment, and fair to moderate for summary risk judgments. Both case prioritization (area under the curve [AUC] = .69) and risk for continued stalking (AUC = .76) ratings discriminated between groups, with high-risk stalkers 5-9 times as likely as low-risk stalkers to reoffend by stalking their original victims. Lifetime SAM total scores (AUC = .70) also featured moderate to good discrimination. Follow-up analyses suggested that this was driven mainly by the recent presence of risk markers and the nature of any ongoing stalking situation rather than historical or individual factors. Findings support the use of the SAM to structure risk judgments made by those with experience in assessing stalking. Current results also imply that IRR might be improved by introducing (a) a fixed definition of stalking currency and (b) usage guidelines for specific contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The relationship between intimate partner abuse (IPA) and postrelationship stalking is poorly understood and estimates of how often these behaviors co-occur vary widely. This article examines and consolidates findings from extant research and provides a rigorously ascertained baseline estimate of the prevalence of IPA among ex-intimate stalkers. One hundred fifteen male participants who stalked 118 separate victims were recruited from a specialist forensic clinic in Melbourne, Australia, between 2004 and 2007 and between 2010 and 2013. Prior IPA was ascertained using information from participants and police records of family violence incidents obtained in July 2014. Prior IPA against the stalking victim was identified in 39 cases (33.1%). Criminal history, prior physical violence to other victims, SCID-II diagnosed personality disorder, and sharing children were significantly associated with IPA during the prior relationship. Multivariate modeling showed that the combination of a history of violence toward other people and sharing children with the victim effectively discriminated between stalkers who did and did not engage in prior IPA (area under the curve 5.74, 95% confidence interval of [. 64,.83], p = .000). Findings are interpreted in light of existing causal theories of IPA and ex-intimate stalking. Areas for future research to facilitate better understanding of the relationship between these common and damaging forms of violence are highlighted.

BACKGROUND Negligible information is available regarding the Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) needs of Aboriginal Australian individuals in custody with cognitive impairment. This is problematic given that Aboriginal people with cognitive impairment often experience dual disadvantage in the context of the justice system. This study sought to ascertain the relationship between cognitive impairment and mental health/cultural needs (SEWB) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody. METHOD A sample of 122 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were administered a culturally themed semi-structured questionnaire in custodial settings in Victoria, Australia. The questionnaire included measures of cognitive impairment, SEWB and forensic needs. Analyses were performed to determine differences in the presence of SEWB and unmet custodial needs by level of cognitive impairment. RESULTS Findings revealed a diminished level of wellbeing for cognitively impaired participants across several factors. Cognitive impairment was associated with poorer coping mechanisms, additional experiences of racism, difficulties handling emotions, discomfort around non-Aboriginal people and reduced access to meaningful activities in custody. All participants regardless of their level of impairment recognised the importance of cultural engagement; however, cognitively impaired participants had greater difficulty accessing/practicing cultural activities. CONCLUSIONS Culturally responsive disability assistance should be available at all phases of the justice system for Indigenous people with cognitive impairment to ensure that equitable care is accessible and needs are addressed.

Scientific interest exploded after the crime of stalking was created in the early nineties. It is now generally recognised that stalking can result in significant disruption, distress and, for some victims, physical harm or even death. It is thus noteworthy that, while stalking may be distinctively protracted in nature and features well-established links with violence, very little research has been devoted to the issue of repeat offending (recidivism) among stalkers. Nevertheless, the likelihood of continued or repeat offending remains a key concern for forensic clinicians, courts, police and legislators, who are ultimately responsible for minimising the incidence and impact of stalking. As such, it is important to devise appropriate methods by which this risk can be evaluated and managed. Given the paucity of studies specifically examining recidivism among stalkers, existing findings are in need of both replication and expansion. Accordingly, this research project sought to identify the demographic, psychiatric, and offending-related variables related to recidivism among stalkers. The project also set out to evaluate the two extant stalking-specific risk assessment tools with respect to recidivism. A case-linkage methodology was employed to combine data drawn from state-wide criminal records and forensic mental health records. Participants were clients of a community-based forensic mental health service who were originally recruited as part of other research projects. Each had presented to the clinic for stalking behaviour, either between 2002 and 2007, or between 2010 and 2011. When the index referral related to multiple cases of stalking, each case was evaluated separately. Consequently, analyses were conducted by case (n = 163) rather than participant (n = 146). Offending follow-up data were unavailable for some cases (N = 15); hence, these were excluded from analyses explicitly relating to recidivism outcomes. Altogether, this research project comprised three related studies. The first examined the demographic, historical, clinical and offence-specific variables of stalkers. Analyses were conducted to identify which combinations of these factors best predicted stalking, violent and general recidivism among stalkers. All cases for which recidivism data were available were evaluated (N = 148). Overall, stalking recidivism was best predicted by a model that included traits of personality disorder, criminal history, the presence of an Axis I disorder, index stalking duration of no less than two weeks, and the use of proximity-seeking approach behaviours during the index stalking episode. When considering only the original victim, all of these factors except criminal history remained valuable predictors; however, the combination of criminal history, prior stalking and having stalked a stranger during the index episode was most predictive of stalking recidivism against a new victim. General recidivism was best predicted by a combination of criminal history, stranger stalking victim, Axis I disorder, and traits of personality disorder. Using a broad definition of violence that included stalking and threats, violent recidivism was best predicted by traits of personality disorder, criminal history and Axis I disorder. When this was restricted to actual or attempted physical violence, recidivism was best predicted by the use of diverse stalking behaviours during the index episode and the absence of psychotic disorder. While the first study sought to replicate and extend findings from past research on stalking recidivism, the second and third evaluated the properties, predictive and construct-related validity of the two existing stalking-specific risk assessment tools, the Guidelines for Stalking Assessment and Management (SAM: Kropp, Hart, & Lyon, 2008) and the Stalking Risk Profile (SRP: MacKenzie et al., 2009). While the entire sample (n = 163) was used for most analyses, only those for whom offending data were available (N = 148) were included in predictive validity analyses. Inter-rater reliability (IRR) for the SAM was generally moderate, although this varied depending on the level at which this was evaluated (e.g., conclusory opinions, domain scores or item ratings). Nature of Stalking (N) and Perpetrator Risk (P) domain scores were highly internally consistent, and Lifetime total, domain and item scores were, by and large, modestly related to conclusory opinions for Case Prioritisation, Future Stalking and Serious Physical Harm. Respectively, Case Prioritisation and Future Stalking ratings were modestly and highly accurate for predicting later stalking of index victims. Lifetime total and N domain scores also featured good predictive accuracy, while P scores were only modestly predictive. With respect to construct validity, SAM conclusory opinions were all related to SRP risk ratings in theoretically predictable ways. Like the SAM, IRR for the SRP varied based on the level of evaluation. Agreement was substantial for assignment to motivational typology, Violence and Persistence risk judgements, and moderate for the remaining risk ratings. Agreement was moderate-to-substantial for domain scores, and ranged between fair and substantial for most items. As expected, due to the intended independence of risk factors, internal consistency was generally modest for SRP domain scores. Typically, domain and item scores were associated with the corresponding risk ratings for all stalker types. Risk ratings for stalking Persistence, Recurrence against index victims and Recurrence involving new victims all featured good predictive accuracy. Interestingly, the discriminatory performance of numerically derived domain scores (versus clinicians’ risk judgements) did not differ from chance for any domain or stalker type. Taken as a whole, this research supports the notion that stalkers represent a diverse population, one that poses particular challenges for adequate risk assessment. Indeed, it is clear that an adequate evaluation of stalking-related risks must consider not only past offending, psychopathology and social context, but also specific stalking behaviours and victim selection. Of particular note is the finding that stalking recidivism is associated with somewhat different factors depending on whether the stalker targets their original victim or another. While findings provide support for the utility of the SAM and SRP, it is suggested that both tools would benefit from further validation research and ongoing refinement. Implications of the current results for clinicians, police and legislators are discussed.

This study assessed the reliability and validity of the Stalking Risk Profile (SRP), a structured measure for assessing stalking risks. The SRP was administered at the point of assessment or retrospectively from file review for 241 adult stalkers (91% male) referred to a community-based forensic mental health service. Interrater reliability was high for stalker type, and moderate-to-substantial for risk judgments and domain scores. Evidence for predictive validity and discrimination between stalking recidivists and nonrecidivists for risk judgments depended on follow-up duration. Discrimination was moderate (area under the curve = 0.66-0.68) and positive and negative predictive values good over the full follow-up period (Mdn = 170.43 weeks). At 6 months, discrimination was better than chance only for judgments related to stalking of new victims (area under the curve = 0.75); however, high-risk stalkers still reoffended against their original victim(s) 2 to 4 times as often as low-risk stalkers. Implications for the clinical utility and refinement of the SRP are discussed.