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A Comparison of Dangerous and Non Dangerous Offenders

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A Comparison of Dangerous and Non Dangerous Offenders RISK OF VroLmr RECIDIVISM: A COMPARISON OF DANGEROUS AND NON DANGEROUS OFFENDERS Robert G. Zanatta B.G.S., B.A. (Honours), Simon Fraser University, 1991 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF ARTS in the Department of Psychology O Robert G. Zanatta 1996 S.mmFraser University November, 1996 A!! rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or ~hpart, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. National Library Bibliotheque nati~nale of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions at Eibliographic Services Branch des services bibliographiques 395 L&ellingtonStreei 395, rue Wellington Ottawa. Ontario Ottawa (Ontario) KIA KIA ON4 Your h!e Vorre ref6rence Our file Norre r6Mrence The author has granted an L'auteur a accorde une licence irrevocable non-exclusive licence irrhvocable et non exclusive allowing the National Library of permeitant a la Bibliotheque Canada to reproduce, loan, nationale du Canada de distribute or sell copies of reproduire, prbter, distribuer ou - his/her thesis by any means and vendre des copies de sa these in any form or format, making de quelque maniere et sous this thesis available to interested quelque forme que ce soit pour persons. mettre des exemplaires de cette these a la disposition des personnes int6ressees. The author retains ownership of i'auteur conserve la propri6te du the copyright in his/her thesis. droit d'auteur qui protege sa Neither the thesis nor substantial these. Ni la these ni des extraits extracts from it may be printed or substantiels de celle-ci ne otherwise reproduced without doivent Btre imprimes ou his/her permission. autrement reproduits sans son - autorisation. PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grmt to Simon Fraser Unil-ersi the nght to lend my thesis, pro'ect or extended essay [the title o7 which is sho~mbelow) to users oi' the Simon Fraser UniversiQ Library, and to make partial or single copis only for such users or in rrsponse to a request from the librvy oi .zny other university, or other educationd institution, oa its o~vnbehalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for ~nultiplecopying of this ~vorkfor scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood -hat copyhg or pub1icatio;l of this \I.-ark for financial gain shall not be allo~,-edMthout my witten permission. Title of ThesisjProject/Estended Essay Risk of Violent Recidivism: A Comparison of Danqerous and Non. Dangerous Offenders Robert G. Zanatta (nane) APPROVAL Name: Robert G. Zanatta Degree: Masters of Arts (Psychology) Title of Thesis: Risk of Violent Recidivism: A Comparison of Dangerous azd Non Dangerous Offenders Examining Committee: Chairperson: Dr. Janet Strayer, Professor Dr. ~obegc~e)ry Fociate Professor Senior Supervisor Dr. Michael Coles, ~ssociheProfessor Dr. ~t&j&%&f&%,hksoa!iofesdor Dr. Robert J. Menzies, Prblfessor External Examiner ABSTRACT In Canada, Part XXIV of the Criminal Code sets out provisions for designating and sentencing certain convicted individuals as "Dangerous Offenders". The intent of this legislation is %e protection of society from dangerous sexual offenders and dangerous violent offenders. Forty-five Dangerous Offenders from the Pacific Region of the Correctional Service of Canada were compared to a randomly selected group of 45 incarcerated "serious personal injury" offenders. There were very few differences between the Dangerous Offenders and the control group in their developmental histories and psychological functioning. Although the groups did not differ in the number of violent offences they had committed, the Dangerous Offenders had sigruficantly more sexually related charges and convictions. To a large extent, this difference reflects only the severity of the Dangerous Offenders' index offences. They had considerably more charges and convictions (and victims) related lo their index sexual assaults in comparison to the control group, and in comparison to the (officially recorded) previous sexual offences of the two groups. By contrast, the control group had more charges and convictions for violent nonsexual offences. Most importantly, the Dangerous Offenders and the control group did not cbffer on their current risk for violent recidivism as assessed by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCGR) and the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG). The implications of these results are discussed in terms of the intent of the legislation and the assessment of risk in Dangerous Offenders hearings. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would Ue to thank my senior supervisor Dr. Robert Ley for his support, guidance, and enthusiasm during my graduate studies, and throughout the development and completion of this theas, I would also like tc; extend my thanks and appreciation to the members of my committee, Dr. Michael Cbles and Dr. Stephen Hart for their continuous support and invaluable suggestions. I also wish to extent my gratitude to the staff of the Correctional Service of Canada, and particularly Dr. Carson Smiley, who welcomed me at the various institutions admade this research possible. Finally, I would like thank my family and friends for their understanding and encouragement throughout my graduate studies, and in all of my endeavours. List of Tables 1 Percentages of Dangerous Offenders and Control Offenders Convicted in Various Offence Categories.................................................................................................................. 2 Status of Dangerous Offenders and Control Offenders at the Time of their Index Offence................ ..... ............................................................................................................. 3 Me- and Standard Ceviations for the number of F.P.S. Recorded Offences of Dangerous and Non Dangerous Offenders......................................................................... 4 Means and Standard Deviations of Dangerous and Non Dangerous Offenders on the PCL-R and the VRAG ...................................................................................................... 5 Means and Standard Deviations for Dangerous and Non Dangerous Offenders on PCL-R Items ............................................................................................................................. 6 Characteristics of Dangerous and Non Dangerous Offenders on Violence Risk Appraisal Guide Items............................................................................................................ 7 Summary of Discriminant Function Analysis with Group (Dangerous vs. Control) as Criterion and PCL-R and VRAG Items (2-12) as Predictors......................................... 8 PCL-R and VRAG Total Score Means and Standard Deviations for Offender Types ... 9 Percentages of Dangerous Offenders and Non Dangerous Offenders Reporting Abusive Childhoods............................................................................................................... 10 Documented History of Psychological Functioning.......................................................... TABLE OF CDNTENTS Approval.................................................................................................................................................. Abstractct......... ..... ................................................................................................................................. Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................... List of Tables............................................................................................................................................ Introduction....... .. ................................................................................................................................. Dangerousness as a Legal Entity ............................................................................................. Dangerous Offender -Legashtion ......................n..................................................................... The Designation of Dangerous Offenders................................................................. The Sentencing of Dangerous Offenders.................................................................. Dangerous Offenders (1978-l995) ........................................................................................... Research on Dangerous Offend.ers ......................................................................................... 10 Psychopathy in Dangerous Offenders..................................................................... 16 Expert Testimony in Dangerous Offender Hearings............................................................ 18 The Assessment of Risk ........................................................................................................... 23 The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and Risk of Violent Recidivism... 25 Hypotheses................................................................................................................................ 29 Method ................*.................................................................................................................................... 32 Subjects ........................................................................................................................................ 32 . Sample Charastenstux.............................................................................................................
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