Forensic Psychological Research Group

The FPRG has been active as a recognised research group since 1998. The group has research interests in a range of topics, including:

Criminal behaviour assessment
Treatment and rehabilitation of offenders
Juvenile offending
Indigenous issues in criminal justice
Mental disorder and crime
Evaluation of treatment and rehabilitation programs
Evaluation of correctional services
Social psychology applied to offending and the criminal justice system
Violent offending
Sex offending
The psychology of remorse
Anger and its management
Assessment of risk and needs and drugs and alcohol in relation to offending

A major strength of the FPRG has been its ability to maintain close links with the profession. Over half of group members are Registered Psychologists who currently practice in forensic settings. This experience allows us to conceptualise research in ways that are likely to be of interest and benefit to practitioners.

The Group encourages and supports student projects (Honours, Masters and Doctoral) in these and related areas.

Clients

The FPRG has conducted various projects and consultancies for the Department of Human Services, Victoria; Department of Correctional Services, South Australia; Department of Justice, Western Australia; Forensic Mental Health Services, Victoria; Department of Correctional Services, New South Wales; Department of Correctional Services, ACT; Department of Correctional Services, Tasmania; Family and Youth Services, South Australia and the Australian Institute of Criminology. The group enjoys good links with researchers and research groups around the world.

Recent projects

Assessing Readiness for Treatment in Violent Offenders
Understanding and working with anger in male Indigenous people in prison settings
Sexual offender risk assessment
Improving the Outcomes of Anger Management Programs for Violent Offenders: The Role of Perspective-Taking Deficits in Violent Crime

Assessing Readiness for Treatment in Violent Offenders

Project summary
In recent years criminal justice systems have increasingly identified violent offenders as a key target group for rehabilitation programs and anger management programs have now been widely implemented in most jurisdictions. However, recent research evaluating the outcomes of these anger management programs suggests that only some participants are likely to benefit. The aim of this research is to develop a method of identifying the individual characteristics of those who are likely to benefit, so that resources and interventions can be targeted. The research will help to improve the effectiveness of program delivery thereby contributing to the reduction of violent crime.

Key researchers: Kevin Howells, Tony Ward, Andrew Day, Astrid Brigden

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Understanding and working with anger in male Indigenous people in prison settings

Project summary
Anger has links to many important outcomes in the prison environment, including violent behaviour, institutional conflict and self-harm. The nature and consequences of anger have rarely been investigated for imprisoned offenders and little is known about anger in male Indigenous Australians in prison, despite evidence that anger levels in this group are particularly high. This research will explore constitutive, regulatory, procedural and other aspects of anger with male Indigenous prisoners, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, leading to the development of an intervention that will improve both the wellbeing and adjustment of Indigenous men in prison and rehabilitation outcomes.

Key researchers: Kevin Howells, Martin Nakata, Andrew Day

Sexual offender risk assessment

Project summary
Those who work with offenders have become increasingly interested in finding ways of accurately predicting the likelihood of an individual re-offending. A number of risk assessment tools designed specifically to assess risk in child sexual offenders are now available. Most of these tools employ an actuarial approach whereby any assessment of risk is based on the statistical probability of offenders, defined by membership of a specific group, offending over a fixed period of time. While actuarial methods of risk assessment are generally considered to be more accurate and more reliable than other methods, they are limited in their capacity to guide decision making about how best to manage the risk presented by a particular individual. In this project recent years, a conditional probability approach using Bayes’ Theorem was used to incorporate information from actuarial instruments into a framework of individual risk assessment, thus avoiding some of the problems with the clinically adjusted actuarial approach. Those variables that discriminated between those offenders who were known to have offended against a single victim and those who had known multiple victims were identified and combined into a scale. Analysis suggested that this scale was likely to have moderate predictive accuracy in classifying offenders. Five of the six variables identified using this approach have previously been identified as important predictors of sexual recidivism in actuarial risk assessment tools. Although not identified as a risk factor in other actuarial risk assessment tools, a self-reported history of childhood sexual abuse did discriminate between single victim and multiple victim child sexual offenders in this study.

In conclusion, this project demonstrates a method of individualising scores on actuarial risk assessment measure in a way that makes them more meaningful for those involved in decision-making about individual child sexual offenders. At present, the only quantifiable approach to specific decision-making relies on a general prediction of future behaviour, based on group data. The Bayesian approach is one method that can be used to assist decision-makers to use this information in ways that lead to the more appropriate management of risk.

Key researchers: Michael Proeve, Philip Mohr, Andrew Day

Improving the outcomes of anger management programs for violent offenders: The role of perspective-taking deficits in violent crime

Project summary
Criminal justice systems have increasingly identified violent offenders as a key target group for rehabilitation programs. Anger management or violence programs have been widely implemented in Australia. However, recent research evaluating program outcomes suggests that the overall impact of these programs is low. The aim of the proposed project is to develop new and more effective interventions for violent offenders by examining the role of perspective taking deficits in angry and violent behaviour. The research will therefore contribute directly to the reduction of violent crime and improved community safety in Australia.

Key researchers: Kevin Howells, Andrew Day, Philip Mohr