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36 Crim. Just. & Behavior 5 (2009)

handle is hein.journals/crmjusbhv36 and id is 1 raw text is: PREDICTING RECIDIVISM BY MENTALLY DISORDERED OFFENDERS USING THE LSI-R:SV A. MURRAY FERGUSON JAMES R. P. OGLOFF Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (Forensicare) and the Centre for Behavioural Science, Monash University LINDSAY THOMSON Carstairs Hospital, Scotland The Level of Service Inventory-Revised: Screening Version (LSI-R:SV) has proven to validly predict reoffending in general offender populations but has not previously been studied specifically with offenders who have a major mental illness, including those with a dual diagnosis. This research project measures the validity of the LSI-R:SV for use with 208 mentally ill offenders who were released from a secure forensic hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Results indicate that the LSI-R:SV is a good predictor of recidivism among mentally disordered offenders. However, the LSI-R:SV does not reliably predict recidivism in individuals who attracted a dual diagnosis. Further research needs to reevaluate risk factors associated with recidivism in offenders with a dual diagnosis. Keywords: risk assessment; dual diagnosis; mentally ill (disordered) offender; violence risk; recidivism A lthough once believed to be no more likely to engage in criminal behavior than members of the general population, individuals with a major mental disorder are now known to be at an elevated risk for such behavior (Angermeyer, 2000; Monahan, 1992; Wallace, Mullen, & Burgess, 2004; Walsh, Buchanan, & Fahy, 2002). In Victoria, Australia, it has been found that 25% of individuals serving a jail term have had prior psychiatric contact, and this is true of one third of those incarcerated for a violent offense (Wallace et al., 1998). Mullen, Holmquist, and Ogloff (2003) reported in a nationwide review of Australian epidemiological data that 13.5% of male prisoners and 20.0% of female prisoners had reported having a prior psychiatric admission, and 40.0% of males and 50.0% of females incarcerated at the time of the study reported having had a prior psychiatric assessment. In addition, the number of indi- viduals with major mental disorders entering the criminal justice system has drastically increased during the past 30 years (Ogloff, Davis, Rivers, & Ross, 2007; Wallace et al., 2004). The vast majority of these individuals will at some point be released from prison, and there- fore it is of great importance to assess their risk of reoffending while living in the community. MENTAL ILLNESS AND OFFENDING Bonta, Law, and Hanson (1998) undertook a meta-analysis of recidivism among men- tally ill offenders and found across 64 unique samples the mean rate of general and violent AUTHORS' NOTE: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to A. Murray Ferguson, Centrefor Forensic Behavioural Science, Thomas Embling Hospital, Fairfield, Victoria, Australia 3078; e-mail: Murray.ferguson@med.monash.edu.au. CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 36 No. 1, January 2009 5-20 DOI: 10.1177/0093854808326525 0 2009 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology 5

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