week three Flashcards
forensic psychological assessment
- evaluation of the psychological functioning of an individual specifically as it pertains to the standard or issue of law
- typically considers multiple sources of information: testing, collateral information, self-report
forensic psychological assessment: criminal
- related to the criminal justice system
- often involves risk assessment (but not always)
- sometimes interested in someone’s state of mind at the time of the crime
forensic psychological assessment: civil
- non-criminal
- considers topics that include injuries, psychological impact, capacity, family
criminal forensic assessments commonly assesses:
- risk of violence or recidivism
- fitness to stand trial
- criminal responsibility (crimes tend to be quite severe and emotional)
possible sources of information
- police reports (ie. during police interviews)
- criminal record (do they tend to comply? attend court?)
- self-report (ie. clinical interview)
- assessment instruments
- report from others
four generations of risk assessment
- unstructured professional judgement
- actuarial assessment based on static risk factors
- actuarial assessment based on static and dynamic risk factors
- consider professional judgement with dynamic risk factors to inform decisions
risk assessment instruments differ in:
- factors considered (static, dynamic, protective)
- purpose (responding to changes in risk, treatment planning)
- type of offence (violence, sexual, spousal)
HCR-20V3
- history of problems with: violence, antisocial behaviours, relationships, employment, substance use, major mental disorder
- recent problems with: insight, violent ideation, impulsivity
- future problems with: professional services and plans, living situation, personal support
LS/CMI (level of service/case management inventory)
- more positive feel in comparison to the other tools
- assesses risk but ALSO touches on supports, safe place to live, stability when released
SARA (sexual assault risk assessment guide)
- general violence: past assault of family members/strangers, recent relationship/employment
- domestic violence: past physical/sexual assault, past violation of “no contact” orders, attitudes/extreme minimization or denial of sexual assault, severe or sexual assault (most recent)
applications of risk assessments includes:
- parole
- detention to warrant expiry
- treatment planning
detention to warrant expiry
in canada, everyone is expected to be released at 2/3 of their sentence
parole
- generally, the legal issue is about safety to release the person into the community
- at a third of their sentence
- can be considered for: parole, statutory release, detention, dangerous offender
dangerous offender
- if the person is convicted of serious crime resulting in serious injury, death or psychological harm of a federal offence
- failure to control their behaviour
- at least 3 offences
- if they receive it, they receive an indeterminate (neverending) sentence
fitness to stand trial
- considers the accused’s state of mind at the time of TRIAL
criminal code of canada defines unfitness to stand trial as
unable to account of mental disorder to:
- understand the nature or object of the proceedings
- understand the possible consequences of the proceedings
- communicate with counsel
criminal responsibility
- considers the accused’s mental state at the time of the offence
criminal code of canada defines criminal responsibility as
no person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder than rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or knowing that it was wrong
criminal forensic (interview) considerations
- safety: safe environment?, only person in the office where noone can hear or help if needed?, always maintain situational awareness, don’t be a hero
- setting: do not let other inmates hear you, need to be able to focus, safe settings
- communication: make sure you’re both on the same page, writing reports that are understandable to a lay person, may need to defend statement in court
civil forensic assessments include
- domestic issues: parenting plans, bilateral custody assessments
- personal injury claims
- disability or workers’ compensation
- capacity
civil forensic assessment: injury
- compare person’s functioning before and after the injury caused by the defendant
- assesses: if the person was harmed, if the defendant caused the harm, level of impairment, what is needed to return the injured person to previous level of functioning
- there is usually not a preinjury judgement of their functioning
civil forensic assessment: workers
- compensates workers for injuries and disabilities incurred at work
- cause of psychological injuries often less clear than physical
- assesses: presence of disability or injury, link the disability or injury to the job, extent to which the injury prevents the person from performing their job
- for first responders, usually presumed the injury is from work
civil forensic assessment: harassment
- evaluate the psychological impact of harassment on the individual
- need to determine that the impact or distress is due to the harassment, not other factors
civil forensic assessment: capacity
- determining if an adult can make personal and financial decisions, with an understanding of the consequences
a testamentary competence considers whether the person can:
- understand the nature and effect of a will
- know the nature and extent of their property
- understand the extent of what they are leaving in the will
- remembers the people who may benefit from the will
- understands the nature of claims that may be made by people excluded from the will
civil forensic considerations challenges
- maintain objectivity (unbiasedness)
- determine pre-injury functioning
- knowledge of the legal considerations for types of capacity
