A sample of 68 incarcerated sexual offenders for whom assessments of psychopathy and sexual deviance were available were followed up postrelease for 7 years to determine (a) rates of recidivism, (b) discriminant and predictive ability of psychopathy and sexual deviance, and (c) degree of incremental predictive utility of grouping offenders based on extreme combinations of psychopathy and sexual deviance. The results confirm previous research, which suggests that general recidivism and sex offender typologies are differentiated using information on psychopathy. Rapists and child molesters were differentiated based on measures of deviant sexual arousal. Although some of the results are speculative with respect to the groups based on extreme cutoffs, the trends support this proposal. Those who displayed more psychopathic characteristics and deviant sexual arousal recidivated sooner and at significantly higher rates. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the provisions of assessment and intervention strategies and for providing recommendations regarding prescriptive treatment.

A sample of 337 offenders who received treatment in a variety of sex offender treatment programs in the Ontario region of Correctional Service Canada between 1993 and 1998 were divided based on the highest intensity sex offender programming that they received (low, moderate, and high). The three groups were compared with reference to a variety of actuarial risk assessment measures, criminogenic factors, and the number and type of treatment programs completed. It was hypothesized that the high-intensity group would have more criminogenic risk factors, higher actuarial scores, and participate in more treatment programs than both the moderate- and low-intensity groups. The results indicate that in general, the hypotheses were supported. Nonetheless, the results suggest that the low-intensity group may be receiving too much sex offender-specific treatment.

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Hostage takings and forcible confinements are rare phenomena within our Canadian institutions. However, when they occur they cause enormous psychological and/or physical harm. A review of the literature revealed that no previous research on hostage takings or forcible confinements in a prison setting has been published. This investigation reviewed 33 hostage-takings/forcible-confinements spanning 11 years. The incidents were classified as follows: 20 hostage takings (3 with sexual assault) and 13 forcible confinements (7 with sexual assault). Sexual assaults were always against women and 36.6% of the women were sexually assaulted. This is a violent group of offenders with a prior history of sexual and nonsexual violence as well as escapes. While a quarter of the perpetrators had a forcible confinement or hostage taking in their current conviction, half had a prior history of such incidents. Rapists were overwhelmingly implicated in incidents that resulted in a sexual assault. Most perpetrators were below the age of 30 and serving sentences of less than 10 years in medium- or maximum-security institutions. The perpetrators of these incidents are not necessarily different from the general population of offenders in terms of their dynamic needs. Although this research is primarily descriptive in nature, it offers a unique contribution to the field by providing the first comprehensive description of this group of perpetrators. These findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to policy, operational practices, and the development of screening instruments.

A sample of 519 sexual offenders who were consecutive admissions to the Ontario Region of Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) were assessed with reference to a large series of variables thought to be related to sexual offending. We grouped these variables into five domains: criminality, social competence, sexual deviance, substance abuse and treatment readiness. We standardized scores on each of these domains to facilitate the calculation of total scores for each domain. We then performed a variety of analyses to determine whether these domains might constitute a reasonable model for the comprehensive evaluation of sexual offenders. Analyses indicated that overall the model received a moderate level of support.