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Objective: A key challenge facing justice health service providers is addressing and treating the high rates of mental illness among offenders. It is well documented that rates of mental illness are substantially higher within prison populations compared to the general population. As such, the need to provide ongoing treatment to prisoners experiencing mental health issues is of fundamental importance. Prisoners experiencing mental health disorders are more likely to have poorer social outcomes on release, including a greater likelihood of recidivism and poorer health outcomes. The growing numbers of justice-involved individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds signal the need for justice systems to adapt to the changing demographic.Conclusions: In this commentary, we argue that greater efforts to explore the nature and prevalence of mental illness among CALD groups in custody, where such concerns are often intertwined with additional complex personal, environmental and historical criminogenic risk factors, are desperately needed to improve system responses and reduce recidivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced approaches to predicting offending are increasingly transpiring without the forensic psychology discipline's involvement – an area that it has piloted and influenced for many decades. Computer science experts have built an impressive decade-long literature base on risk assessment – a technical literature that is not only progressing at a fast pace, but appears to function independently, for the most part, from the forensic risk assessment literature. This paper outlines the potential utility of machine learning approaches and the broader 'algorithmic culture', for forensic risk assessment, and the implications their use (and non-use) may have for the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Sudanese Australians have faced re-settlement challenges since migrating to Australia from the late 1990s onwards. Challenges have included language barriers, obtaining stable housing, acquiring employment, acculturative stressors and discrimination. Moreover, many have been exposed to pre-migratory traumas and family fragmentation. Despite these difficulties, the vast majority of Sudanese Australians have integrated successfully into the fabric of Australian society. Yet a small number of young Sudanese Australians are at-risk for violence and other criminal activities, resulting in their over-representation in the criminal justice system. These circumstances have been the subject of sustained sensationalised media coverage in Australia. However, little academic attention has been afforded to these matters. This study aimed to address this gap in the literature by identifying the self-reported life experiences and offending patterns of Sudanese-Australian youth in custody. Findings illuminated a number of key risk factors for justice system contact and opportunities for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Historical Clinical Risk Management-20 (HCR-20) is utilised internationally to assess an individual's risk for violence. Despite being widely administered in Australian correctional and forensic populations, the predictive validity of the HCR-20 instrument has never been explored in Australian settings. This retrospective study investigated the predictive validity of the HCR-20 for an Australian cohort of 136 forensic psychiatric patients. Findings support the relationship between the HCR-20 and violent offending post hospital discharge. The HCR-20 Total, Historical, and Risk Management scales shared moderate to large positive correlations with several reconviction categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strong cultural identity has been shown to protect against psychological distress prompted by discriminatory experiences. However, these associations are scientifically unknown for people who have contact with the criminal justice system. Examining the relationships between cultural identity and mental health could enlighten efforts to improve the wellbeing of offenders, many of whom have experienced numerous negative life events and stressors. This study aimed to address these concerns by assessing the influence of cultural identity on distress, agency, community safety and discrimination for 78 Indigenous prisoners in custody in Australia. Findings revealed that possessing a stronger cultural identity effected lower levels of distress. Participants with weaker cultural identities had higher levels of distress and lower levels of agency. Furthermore, a reduced feeling of safety in the broader community appeared to have a greater negative impact on participants with weaker cultural identities. Levels of distress increased as perceptions of discrimination increased, immaterial to one's degree of cultural identity. However, results suggest that high identifiers were potentially able to alleviate this distress, perhaps through enhanced agency and engagement in cultural activities. Findings underscore the need for forensic clinicians to consider notions of cultural identity when engaging with, assessing and treating Indigenous clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rates of offending peak in adolescence and associations between mental ill health and criminal behaviour have been well documented. Despite this, few studies have examined the nature or correlates of offending behaviours in young people with mental health problems, particularly in community settings. This study examined salient risk markers associated with police contact in a cohort of 802 young people (aged 12–25 years) seeking help from youth mental health services in Australia. Explanatory factors for analysis were obtained using validated clinical and psychosocial measures that participants completed via both interview and self-report. Regression analyses were conducted to determine which factors demonstrated the strongest associations with self-reported criminal charges. The results indicated that male gender, not being engaged in education, employment or training, frequent drug use and having experienced multiple adverse life events were related to police contact. This study indicates that the risk factors for offending commonly found in the general criminological literature are also those associated with offending in young people with mental health problems. The findings denote the need for a comprehensive therapeutic approach for such patients that accommodate both their clinical as well as criminogenic needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]