Publication Type: Roundtable
Abstract: Despite a great deal of information on various types of offenders, little is known concerning the offending patterns of homicide perpetrators. This study compares and contrasts various types of homicide offenders on three categories of variables, 1) offense-specific variables, 2) victim-specific variables and 3) offender-specific variables, in an effort to determine those that are predictive of recidivism upon release. A sample of 300 homicide offenders who have been released in the year 1998 from the New Jersey Department of Corrections will be identified and followed for 5 years. These offenders will be tracked to determine if incarcerated homicide offenders who have no criminal histories prior to their current homicide conviction will recidivate less, whether length of sentence and time incarcerated is associated with rates of re-offending and whether homicide offenders who murdered a family member or acquaintance are less likely to recidivate than offenders who murdered a stranger.

Publication Type: Poster
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Juvenile courts continue to handle more sexual offense cases which increase the demands for valid assessment. Cognitive distortions have shown promise in assessing treatment amenability, treatment response, and recidivism risk. The Bumby Scales (1996) were originally designed to assess sexual offending specific cognitive distortions. The Bumby Scales were adapted for juvenile sexual offenders. The present study was designed to assess whether the Adolescent Bumby Scales appropriately identified juvenile sexual offenders from non-offenders. Preliminary analyses suggests that juvenile sexual offenders report lower levels of cognitive distortions associated with rape and higher levels of distortions associated with molestation than non-offenders.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: How offenders commit a homicide may be impacted by their prior offending. While most homicide offenders have committed offenses before their homicide, few studies directly examine their criminal histories and little is known about what patterns may exist. Additionally, few studies have directly compared single and serial homicide offenders in terms of criminal history. This study examines the criminal histories of single and serial homicide offenders according to several proposed frameworks in order to identify patterns in prior offending and determine if single and serial offenders follow different criminal patterns. Implications for homicide crime scene behavior and investigations are discussed.

Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: Relatively few studies have attempted to identify how a victim’s reactions to rape influence the behavior of the rape offender, and subsequently impact the behavioral pattern observed within a crime. In other words, it would be valuable to attempt to determine the true function of the offender’s behaviors within the crime of rape by identifying which serve simply as a reaction to the victim’s behavior and which are a result of internal drives. Situational and interactive influences contribute to the behaviors of both the victim and offender (Felson & Steadman, 1983), making this reciprocal dynamic a critical aspect for understanding the rape offender’s behavioral theme. This study attempts to examine how offenders’ individual behaviors within behavioral themes can be understood when the victim’s reactions to the rape are taken into account. Two multidimensional scaling procedures are used to analyze the data. Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) allows for the analysis of the co-occurrence of the offense behaviors to reveal any subsequent behavioral themes present within the sample. Multidimensional Scalogram Analysis (MSA) compares the sequence of events within the sample profiles to determine if there are subgroups of victim-offender interaction present.

Publication Type: Symposium Paper
Abstract: A growing body of research suggests that the relationship quality between offenders and their community supervisors impacts the likelihood of supervision failure. Specifically, relationships that feature active listening and directive supervision decrease the likelihood of supervision failure in mentally disordered offenders, but less is known about general offenders. This study of 109 parolees provides the first evaluation of the DRI-R’s validity in general offenders. Findings suggest that relationship quality exhibits meaningful association with normal personality features and that the predictive utility of the DRI-R generalizes from MDOs to general offenders for criminal outcomes.