Despite the dramatic increase in the number of convicted child pornography offenders, little is known about their potential clinical needs. The few studies that do explore this subgroup of sex offenders suggest clinical heterogeneity compared with other sex offender subgroups. However, research designs used in many studies have limited generalizability, have examined primarily treated or treatment samples, and have not included comparisons with nontreatment, community samples of men. The current study addresses such limitations by using nontreatment samples and multiple comparison groups to examine mean scales score differences on a commonly used clinical and personality assessment, the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). The sample, drawn from an admissions cohort of federal offenders, those Internet-only Child Pornography Offenders (ICPOs; n = 35) and those with a history of child molesting exclusively (child molesters, n = 26). They were compared with each other and the male normative sample from the PAI. Results indicate that interpersonal deficits and depression featured most prominently in the profiles of the ICPOs. Consistent with prior research, they also obtained lower scores on aggression and dominance compared with the child molesters and the male normative sample. Implications for future research, training, and clinical practice with incarcerated ICPOs are offered.

This study was designed to explore police decision making in arresting or committing mentally ill individuals; it has a special focus on racial bias. Ninety-two officers from a medium-sized police department completed a questionnaire about attitudes toward working with mentally ill individuals and responded to a vignette by indicating a dispositional decision. Results highlighted the officers'frustration in handling mentally ill offenders and the lack of coordination in effort between police and mental health professionals. Race was not a major factor in dispositional decision making, but a racial bias was found in commitment decisions, with Caucasian suspects being more likely to be involuntarily hospitalized.A recent literature review suggests that 6% to 15% of persons in jails and 10% to 15% of individuals in prisons have severe mental illnesses (Corrado,

Clinical practice experiences involving the delivery of psychological services in correctional and forensic settings can improve quality of care for underserved populations. The systematic study of how and where these experiences are obtained is also an integral yet empirically unexplored aspect of developing a workforce uniquely qualified for clinical practice in corrections. This study examines the clinical services provided by psychological practicum students to offenders in corrections, the clinical expertise they gain from doing so, and selected aspects of the training programs that place them in correctional settings. Eighty-eight chief psychologists from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP; response rate ϭ 95%) provided information on psychology services delivered as part of practicum training. Twenty-six institutions were identified as hosting doctoral level psychology students. The most frequent clinical services provided were in individual therapy, group therapy, and assessment. More than a third of the institutions had students on site for 16 hours or more per week. Among the 26 institutions, urban and Mid-Atlantic correctional institutions were most likely to be guiding students to provide services and obtain experience. As students gain and refine their clinical practice skills in corrections, it is hoped that these skills will later be applied in criminal justice systems to the benefit of both offenders and the staff responsible for their custody and care.

Most researchers conclude that from six to fifteen percent of jail detainees meet the diagnostic criteria for severe mental illnesses including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. Although legal and professional standards mandate screening for mental illness in jails, few procedures exist that can be completed within the limited time constraints under which jails function. This study compares the detection rates of the Referral Decision Scale with a short, officer-administered booking questionnaire at a low capacity jail. Although the Referral Decision Scale produced a higher number of false positives, it correctly identified more mentally ill inmates than did the booking procedure. Results suggest that combining both instruments may provide the most comprehensive screening procedure for incoming detainees that is both manageable for small jails and within compliance of standards of inmate care.

Despite a growing body of literature on females who sexually offend, there is a dearth of research on online sexual offending in women. This study collected descriptive psychosocial and offense conduct data on 98 females convicted of online sexual offenses housed in United States federal prisons. Psychosocial history results demonstrated that 60% of the subjects reported a history of sexual abuse (n ¼ 59), while 46% reported physical abuse (n ¼ 45). In addition, 47% reported a history of outpatient mental health treatment (n ¼ 46), and 15% reported prior inpatient mental health treatment (n ¼ 15). The majority (n ¼ 70) of the women's offenses involved the victimization of accessible minors to produce child pornography for distribution on the Internet, most often in association with a male cooffender. Typically, the subject's child was the victim and the focus of the child pornography. Contact offending frequently (n ¼ 39) occurred in the context of the production of child pornography. The implications of these findings, especially regarding the role that women play in the creation and distribution of child pornography, are discussed as well as important directions for future research.