Deck 10: Predicting Violent Behaviour and Risk Assessment

Question 1

Which is NOT one of the instruments for assessing risk discussed in this section?.

A) Historical Clinical Risk Management Scheme
B) Structured Interview of Habitual Symptoms of Risk
C) Short-Tterm Assessment of Risk and Treatability
D) Spousal Assault Risk Assessment

Answer 1

Structured Interview of Habitual Symptoms of Risk

Question 2

Discuss changes in laws in Canada that have occurred over time pertaining to the National Sex Offender Registry and how it currently operates.

Answer 2

Answers will vary but should include some of the following from the text: National Sex Offender Registry was established in 2004 following the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and is maintained by the RCMP; designed to give police rapid access to information and not to be used by the public as in the United States. Law was revised in 2010 in accordance with the Protecting Victims from Sex Offenders Act, which broadened the terms under which offenders are placed in the registry. Previously, a judge had to grant a request from the Crown prosecutor, which led to variation between jurisdictions; now, every sex offender is entered into the registry. Sex offenders also now included in the National DNA Data Bank. Legal changes now allow police to use registry information proactively to identify potential offenders and to prevent crime. Changes were also made to the procedures and restrictions on sex offender travel and leaving the jurisdiction of supervision. The Corrections and Conditional Release Act requires Correctional Services of Canada to notify law enforcement if they are releasing a federal inmate on a temporary absence, parole, or statutory release, if they believe the person might pose a risk.

Question 3

Compare and contrast static and dynamic factors for their contributions to risk prediction.

Answer 3

Answers will vary based on how students feel factors contribute to prediction but should mention some of the following from the text: Static factors: are also called historical factors; do not change, they are part of offender's history; are used because past behaviour is one of strongest predictors of future behaviours; include past violent behaviour, age at first arrest, abuse of alcohol and drugs, escapes, mental health diagnoses including psychopathy or antisocial traits-factors that are objective and relatively easy to measure. Dynamic factors: change over time; often reflect current moods, attitudes, or life situations such as suicidal thoughts, impulsivity, anger, and being unresponsive to treatment; allow clinicians to revise risk predictions based on new information about potential triggers to dangerous behaviour.

Question 4

Should psychopathy be assessed or diagnosed in children? Why and why not?

Question 5

Which statement is NOT one of the reasons actuarial assessments do not use dynamic and risk management markers?

A) They are less well-studied than historical risk factors.
B) They require repeated measures to be useful.
C) They are more difficult to measure than historical risk factors.
D) They do not remain stable over the period of the prediction.

Question 6

The type of risk assessment noted for being most focused on the specific individual being evaluated is:

A) unstructured clinical judgment.
B) actuarial prediction.
C) quasi-structured linkage assessment.
D) structured professional judgment.

Question 7

Which is NOT one of three factors that govern the determination of whether public safety outweighs solicitor-client privilege?

A) The risk is to a specific individual or clearly identified group.
B) The risk is imminent.
C) The risk has been confided to the solicitor of court record.
D) The risk is severe.

Question 8

Which statement about Canada's National Sex Offender Registry is FALSE?

A) The Registry is maintained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
B) The laws apply to those convicted in Canada but not to Canadians convicted abroad.
C) A DNA sample of all convicted sex offenders is included in the National DNA Data Bank.
D) Unlike U.S. community notification laws, Canadian notifications are more restrictive and vary across provinces.

Question 9

According to the text, meaningful risk assessment must provide more information than just whether the subject will reoffend. Which is NOT one of the additional factors decision makers must know?

A) What is the specific nature of the violence that might occur?
B) What is the likely severity of the violence that might occur?
C) What are the most likely triggers or catalysts for potential violence?
D) Is it likely to be ongoing or a one-time act?

Question 10

Which is NOT a characteristic of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START)?

A) It focuses on client strengths and weaknesses in the risk assessment process.
B) It is a Structured Professional Judgment Instrument developed by Canadian researchers.
C) It uses seventeen short-term risk or strength factors called preventive factors.
D) It relies on clinical interviews, records reviews and input from collateral contacts.

Question 11

Which statement involving the characteristics of psychopathy is TRUE?

A) It is not difficult to recognize a psychopath because they rarely fit in.
B) The most common clinical test to identify psychopathy is Hare's Psychopathy Checklist ?Revised.
C) Recent research seems to enforce support earlier ideas about the untreatability of psychopathy in youth.
D) Unlike sociopaths, criminal psychopaths are most commonly involved in extreme violence or serial killsings.

Question 12

Explain the differences between unstructured clinical judgments, actuarial techniques and structured professional judgments for conducting risk assessments, and the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Question 13

The weaknesses noted in this which type of risk assessment are that it may over-predict violence and does not consider base-rates of reoffending.?

A) unstructured clinical judgment
B) actuarial prediction
C) structured professional judgement
D) quasi-structured linkage assessment

Question 14

Under one of the oldest models for conceptualizing forensic treatment, the responsivity principle explains that:

A) treatment programs should be tailored to fit individual traits and needs of each offender.
B) interventions should address dynamic risks or criminogenic traits directly linked to behavior.
C) highest level of treatment resources should be used to target the highest risk offenders.
D) treatments should target offender's preferences and goals thus motivating improvements.

Question 15

The concept of psychopathy was first introduced by ________ _____ in ______.

A) the Canadian Psychological Association ; / 1964
B) the American Psychiatric Association; / 1956
C) Cleckley; / 1941
D) Gendreau; / 1929

Question 16

Ontario was the first province in Canada to have a sex offender registry. It was created through _________ _____ Law.

A) Christopher's
B) Ashley's
C) Megan's
D) Matthew's

Question 17

The duty of care that applies to mental health professionals in Canada came from:

A) Barefoot v. Estelle.
B) Smith v. Jones.
C) R. v. Whitmore.
D) R. v. Bernardo.

Question 18

Which factor is NOT considered a major risk indicator in the Risk-Need-Responsivity mModel?

A) relationships
B) self-esteem
C) school/vocation performance
D) positive social recreation

Question 19

Describe the process of categorizing offenders as dangerous (DO) and Long Term (LTO), and the criteria for each.

Question 20

Research summarized in the American court decision Barefoot v. Estelle reported a false positive rate in predicting future dangerousness of former inmates at:

A) 93%.
B) 76%.
C) 54%.
D) 41%.

Question 21

Regarding risk assessment, which of the following is an example of a false negative?

A) person who was predicted not to become violent who turns out not to be violent.
B) person who was predicted to become violent who turns out not to be violent.
C) person who was predicted not to become violent who turns out to be violent.
D) person who was predicted to become violent who turns out to be violent.

Question 22

The treatment model developed to reduce risk in offenders by focusing on their strengths and attempting to equip them with new capabilities and resources is called the ______ Model.

A) Positive Scenarios
B) Good Lives
C) Faith Hope
D) Rehabilitation Habits

Question 23

Which factor is not a dynamic risk factor associated with violent recidivism?

A) persistent feelings of anger and hostility
B) lack of responsiveness to treatment
C) self-injury and suicide attempts
D) attempted or actual escapes from psychiatric facilities

Question 24

Which statement about high- risk offenders and Canadian law is FALSE?

A) The Dangerous Offender Law replaced the Habitual Offender Act.
B) Offenders deemed dangerous face indeterminate detention.
C) Only one psychiatrist has to testify at dangerousness hearings.
D) Offenders deemed dangerous have to wait at least 12 years for parole.

Question 25

Actuarial techniques for predicting violence are classified as ________ and& _______ approaches.

A) idographic; / qualitative
B) idographic; / quantitative
C) nomothetic; / qualitative
D) nomothetic; / quantitative

Question 26

Static risk factors are also known as: ______

A) responsive.
B) historical.
C) maintenance.
D) protective.

Question 27

The strongest predictor of violent recidivism among the static factors is:

A) early onset of delinquency.
B) impulsivity.
C) multiple prior offences.
D) conduct disorders.

Question 28

Two Canadian instruments for predicting sexual recidivism among sex offenders are the __________________ and the ________________________._____.

A) STATIC 79-R; / Sex Offender Treatment Outcome Instrument
B) Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide; / STATIC 99
C) Sexual Clinical Risk Management Scheme; / Sexual Predator Checklist-20
D) Sexual Violence Prediction Scale; / Sex Offender Appraisal Guide

Question 29

Which statement about factors associated with violence recidivism is FALSE?

A) Higher IQ is a greater risk factor for males with the potential for antisocial behaviour.
B) Having had a secure attachment to a primary caregiver during childhood lowers risk.
C) Youth are more at risk than older offenders.
D) Males are more likely than females to engage in serious violent crime.

Question 30

Which factor is NOT one that causes base rates of violence to vary?

A) type of behaviour measured.
B) who is collecting and coding the data
C) the setting events take place in
D) the population in question

Question 31

Which statement about changes in Canadian law concerning dangerous offenders is FALSE?

A) The Faint Hope Clause reducing the time to parole eligibility was included in the Tackling Violent Crime Act of 2008.
B) The reverse onus clause requiring defendants to prove they are not dangerous has been struck down.
C) The Parole Board of Canada now determines if the offender is a risk or isf eligible for parole.
D) Peter Whitmore, a notorious repeat sex offender, avoided the DO designation under a plea agreement.

Question 32

According to Monahan, the most significant form of predictive error made when conducting violence risk assessments is:

A) over-estimating the confidence interval.
B) violating the assumptions of statistical tests.
C) setting significance levels too low.
D) ignoring or overlooking base rates.

Question 33

Which is NOT one of the broader categories of risk factors discussed by the authors?

A) static factors
B) dynamic factors
C) risk management factors
D) proactive factors

Question 34

Which statement about research on predicting violence is FALSE?

A) Early studies were undermined by not adjusting for the fact that only lower-risk violent offenders were released and followed as subjects.
B) Plea bargaining meant that many violent crimes were reduced to non-violent crimes in the databases.
C) Many previous studies did not distinguish between types of violence, targets of violence and the context of violence.
D) The poor predictive abilities of early studies suffered from the fact that only inmates who remained in prison were included.

Question 35

Hodgins' research found that the BESTbest programming options for offenders with mental illness would be _____, _____, _____, _____ programs.

A) short-term, residential, group- focused, independence- building
B) low structure, generalized, inpatient, relapse prevention
C) multimodal, highly structured, specialized, community
D) unstructured, low stress, group home, education

Question 36

In _________ an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that the automatic designations of Dangerous Offender violated Section 7 Charter rights.

A) Smith v. Jones
B) R. v. Whitmore
C) R. v. Stephenson
D) R. v. Hillv. R.

Question 37

Which statement about Peter Whitmore's infamous case is FALSE?

A) Until his last conviction, Whitmore was not registered with Canada's National Sex Offender Registry.
B) On his first offences of abduction and 5 child sexual crimes, he served less than two years.
C) Whitmore made a plea agreement to avoid the dangerous offender designation.
D) Whitmore's career of sex-related crimes spanned from 1993 until his 2006 capture in 2006.

Question 38

When rResults from one instrument or test that will be similar across other populations and under other conditions, we say that it has are said to have: _____________.

A) dichotomy.
B) spuriousness.
C) structural integrity.
D) generalizability.

Question 39

Which statement about the official status of a long -term offender is FALSE?

A) LTOs can be given an extended term of supervision for up to 10 years after release from custody.
B) The LTO application requires the prosecutor to include recommendations of court-appointed experts.
C) LTOs must be serving 2 years or more for a serious personal injury offence.
D) LTOs status is determined by the parole board at a hearing.

Question 40

The Spousal Assault Risk Assessment and the Sexual Violence Risk-20 are both examples of ________ tools.

A) Structured Professional Judgement
B) Actuarial
C) Risk-Need- Responsivity
D) Unstructured Clinical Judgement