Expert opinions on criminal law cases in Switzerland - an empirical pilot study.

Background: Criminal courts of law rely on forensic psychiatric/psychological reports when clarifying legal questions of culpability, dangerousness, and the need for therapeutic measures for offenders. Incorrect decisions owing to a lack of expert report quality and comprehensibility can have serious consequences for potential victims, offenders themselves, or societal use of resources. In this pilot study, we started from the hypothesis that forensic psychiatric/psychological reports meet the minimum requirements for legally admissible expert opinions.

Exploring the mental healthcare needs of Swiss pre-trial detainees: A pilot investigation of an on-site psychiatric day clinic.

Introduction: Research has established that justice-involved individuals experience significant mental health problems. However, mental healthcare in correctional settings is often not sufficiently accessible to meet the demand. Hence, to improve the availability of mental healthcare services, especially for pre-trial detainees, the first Swiss on-site psychiatric day clinic (PDC) was established in 2019.

What Kind of Therapy Works With Juveniles Who Have Sexually Offended? A Randomized-Controlled Trial of Two Versions of a Specialized Cognitive Behavioral Outpatient Treatment Program.

There is ongoing debate about whether specialized treatment is effective to reduce sexual recidivism in juveniles who have sexually offended (JSOs). Although most treatment programs are based on cognitive behavioral therapy principles for preventing sexual offending, accordant scientific evidence is poor. Following CONSORT guidelines, the present study aimed to evaluate two versions of a short-term outpatient treatment program for JSOs in Switzerland: (a) the Therapy Program for Adequate Sexual Behaviors Version 1 (ThePaS-I), which included offending-specific skills training; (b) the ThePaS-II, which included general socioemotional skills training.

Recidivism in Switzerland: the influence of custodial sanctions.

Aims Of The Study: Although many studies have investigated the influence of personal characteristics on recidivism, knowledge about the impact of correctional policies remains limited. The present study adds to this debate by investigating the effect of the dualistic system of custodial sanctions in Switzerland over time. Specifically, we: (1) tested the influence that different types of custodial sanctions – sentences (offering regular prison treatment) and measures (offering crime-related rehabilitation programmes) – have on reconviction rates; and (2) forecasted future reconviction rates to estimate their value in the year 2020.

COVID-19 Inmate Risk Appraisal (CIRA): development and validation of a screening tool to assess COVID-19 vulnerability in prisons.

Objectives: To develop and validate a screening tool designed to identify detained people at increased risk for COVID-19 mortality, the COVID-19 Inmate Risk Appraisal (CIRA).

Design: Cross-sectional study with a representative sample (development) and a case-control sample (validation).

Setting: The two largest Swiss prisons.

Reducing recidivism using the Reasoning and Rehabilitation program: a pilot multi-site-controlled trial among prisoners in Switzerland.

Objectives: This study evaluated whether the Reasoning and Rehabilitation (R&R2) program was effective in reducing recidivism, minimizing dropout rates, and improving outcomes related to attitudes, behaviors, and personality among people living in detention.

Methods: Data were collected in eight Swiss German-speaking prisons among males detained for violent offenses using a quasi-experimental controlled design (R&R2: n = 129, treatment as usual [TAU]: n = 84). Measures included recidivism, dropout rate, and self-report questionnaires (hostile attribution bias, aggressiveness, interpersonal problems, and willingness to accept responsibility).

Predictive Validity of the Static-99 and Static-99R in Switzerland.

This study evaluated the validity of the Static-99 and Static-99R in assessing sexual recidivism in Switzerland, based on a sample of 142 male sex offenders. Both tools showed predictive validity, but the Static-99R had better discrimination (OR = 1.82, AUC = .

Sexual Sadism Among Sex Offenders in Switzerland.

The Sexual Sadism Scale (SeSaS) was developed to assist in the diagnosis of sexual sadism, and it revealed adequate psychometric properties in prior research. This study cross validated the SeSaS in Switzerland using a sample of 179 male sex offenders. Specifically, the SeSaS conformed to a Mokken model of double monotonicity (scalability coefficient [] = .

A longitudinal study of mental health symptoms in young prisoners: exploring the influence of personal factors and the correctional climate.

Background: Despite the high prevalence rate of mental health problems among young prisoners, little is known about the longitudinal course and covariates of their mental health symptoms during incarceration, especially the influence of the correctional climate. The current study aimed: (1) to examine changes in young prisoners' mental health symptoms during incarceration, (2) to identify personal factors associated with their mental health symptoms and perceptions of the correctional climate, and (3) to test the incremental effect of perceptions of the correctional climate on mental health symptoms.

Methods: Data were obtained from a sample of 75 youths (aged 17 to 22 years) detained in a Portuguese young offender prison.

[The Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) - Validity und authorised German translation of an intimate partner violence screening tool].

On average one third of all women are victimised by intimate partner violence at least once in their life. Many women are affected repeatedly. To efficiently reduce the risk of repeated violence a reliable and valid risk assessment is needed.

Replicating the violence risk appraisal guide: a total forensic cohort study.

Introduction: The performance of violence risk assessment instruments can be primarily investigated by analysing two psychometric properties: discrimination and calibration. Although many studies have examined the discrimination capacity of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) and other actuarial risk assessment tools, few have evaluated how well calibrated these instruments are. The aim of the present investigation was to replicate the development study of the VRAG in Europe including measurements of discrimination and calibration.

Adolescent delinquency and antisocial tendencies as precursors to adult violent offending: a prospective study of a representative sample of swiss men.

Studies on adult sex and violent offenders have found high rates of adolescent delinquency, while early delinquency has been shown to be significantly associated with adult offending. The examined subsample (n = 123) of a longitudinal prospective study (n = 6,315) includes all men who at the age of 19 had an entry in the criminal records. During the observation period of 34 years, 68.

Current obstacles in replicating risk assessment findings: a systematic review of commonly used actuarial instruments.

An actuarial risk assessment instrument can be considered valid if independent investigations using novel samples can replicate the findings of the instrument's development study. In order for a study to qualify as a replication, it has to adhere to the methodological protocol of the development study with respect to key design characteristics, as well as ensuring that manual-recommended guidelines of test administration have been followed. A systematic search was conducted to identify predictive validity studies (N = 84) on three commonly used actuarial instruments: the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG), the Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide (SORAG), and the Static-99.

[Impaired resonance in offenders with psychopathic traits].

Background: Resonance is the phenomenon of unconsciously mirroring the motor actions of another person. Beside autism and schizophrenia psychopathic personality traits are associated with empathy dysfunction.

Methods: We explore empathic resonance in terms of contagion by laughing and yawning in a group of offenders with psychopathic traits.

[Risk assessment for domestic violence].

The aim of the present study is to give a systematic overview of risk assessment instruments for the field of domestic violence. Six instruments were identified, which had been published in a peer-reviewed journal and for which validation studies exist: the Domestic Violent Screening Instrument (DVSI), the Danger Assessment (DA), the Spousal Assault Risk-Assessment (SARA), the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk-Assessment (ODARA), the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG), and the Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (DVRAG). Their validity and practical use are discussed.

Procedures for preventing juvenile violence in Switzerland: the Zurich model.

The Swiss legal system places strong emphasis on risk assessment and treatment of potentially violent offenders. Especially after the 2001 Zug massacre, there is close cooperation between the judicial and mental health systems to prevent violence through early detection and intervention. A case study of a risk management program for a dangerous seventeen-year-old delinquent youth illustrates this approach.

[Indicators of course of inpatient therapy in offenders with substance dependency].

The objective of this review is to summarise the recent state of research on intake criteria for forensic psychiatry in Germany. Therefore, a systematic literature review was conducted on the legal basis of paragraph 64 of the German Penal Code for forensic psychiatry. Although the patients were very heterogeneous, relatively robust indicators were identified that may yield an unsuccessful therapy outcome.

Neurobiological determinism: human freedom of choice and criminal responsibility.

Several authors have argued that criminal behavior is generally caused by neurobiological deficits. This assumption not only questions the concept of free will and a person's responsibility for his or her own actions but also the principle of guilt in criminal law. When critically examining the current state of research, it becomes apparent that the results are not sufficient to support the existence of a universally valid neurobiological causality of criminal behavior.

Internet-based self-assessment after the Tsunami: lessons learned.

Background: In the aftermath of the Tsunami disaster in 2004, an online psychological self-assessment (ONSET) was developed and made available by the University of Zurich in order to provide an online screening instrument for Tsunami victims to test if they were traumatized and in need of mental health care. The objective of the study was to report the lessons learnt that were made using an Internet-based, self-screening instrument after a large-scale disaster and to discuss its outreach and usefulness.

Methods: Users of the online self-assessment decided after finishing the procedure whether their dataset could be used for quality control and scientific evaluation Their answers were stored anonymously only if they consented (which was the case in 88% of the sample), stratified analyses according to level of exposure were conducted.

[The Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide (SORAG)].

In North America, the use of actuarial instruments is considered to be state of the art in the assessment of offender recidivism risk. One of these instruments is the "Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide" (SORAG), which was developed specifically for the use in sex offender risk assessment. The present review investigates the current state of knowledge regarding the instrument's validity specifically for its use in German-speaking countries.

[From victim to offender: characteristics of sexually abused violent and sex offenders].

Introduction: Prospective studies on victims of sexual abuse and retrospective studies on offender populations have indicated a connection between experiences of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and delinquency in adulthood.

Method: Using a representative sample of violent and sex offenders from the Canton of Zurich (Switzerland; N=354), the aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of offenders who have experienced CSA. Two multivariable models for CSA were generated.

Risk assessment instruments in repeat offending: the usefulness of FOTRES.

Research in the area of predicting recidivism has produced several well-validated standardized risk assessment instruments. The question arises, which instruments best serve which purposes? The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare several actuarial and dynamic risk assessment instruments as to their predictive accuracy and their usefulness in forensic practice. The sample consisted of 109 violent and sex offenders who had been released from prison in Switzerland between 1994 and 1999, and for whom the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R); Historical, Clinical, Risk Management-20; Level of Service Inventory-Revised; Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG); and the Swiss assessment instrument FOTRES were scored.

[Prison violence: prevalence, manifestation and risk factors].

When comparing different studies on prison violence, it must be taken into account that correctional facilities vary considerably among one another. Studies conducted in Switzerland have shown that every one inmate in four is violent at least once during incarceration. These violent acts differ in regard to manifestation and a specific characterization of violence according to type, target, implication and trigger appears to be necessary.

Women convicted for violent offenses: adverse childhood experiences, low level of education and poor mental health.

Background: In past years, the female offender population has grown, leading to an increased interest in the characteristics of female offenders. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of female violent offending in a Swiss offender population and to compare possible socio-demographic and offense-related gender differences.

Methods: Descriptive and bivariate logistic regression analyses were performed for a representative sample of N = 203 violent offenders convicted in Zurich, Switzerland.

[The Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG)--a tool for the risk assessment of violent offenders].

Objective: Most instruments used for assessing the recidivism risk of an offender with a violent or sex offense have been developed and validated in North America.

Methods: The aim of this study is to discuss the state of validation for the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG)--an instrument for assessing the recidivism risk of violent offenders. A systematic literature research forms the basis for the processing of the literature.