Forensic psychology: Part 4: Assessing offender populations: Appendix chapter 9

The Millhaven Sex Offender Assessment Service was established in February, 1993, in response to reviews by National and Regional Headquarters. These reviews pointed to the need for early identification and assessment of this population of violent offenders. The following was the agreed-upon mandate:

1. develop an accurate method of identifying sex offenders based on current and previous offences;
2. complete a narrative psycho-social history early in each offender's sentence;
3. increase the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the description of all sex offences and sex-related offences in the inmate's history;
4. routinely use established methods for evaluating risk of re-offence;
5. develop a system of triage or streaming to ensure that highest risk offenders receive most intensive specialized programs; and
6. maintain a computerized information system to keep track of offenders, their status in treatment and all other related information.

Procedures were developed for identifying sex offenders as they arrived at the Assessment Unit. Three types of sex offender identification were used:

• current term — currently serving a sentence for either a major or non-major admitting sex offence;
• previous term — have been convicted in the past for a major or non-major admitting sex offence; and
• sex related — are serving a sentence for offences that are sexual in nature but not labelled as such. For example, their charges may have been reduced through plea bargaining or charges pertaining to their sex offence may not have been laid because the sexual behaviours accompanied a more serious offence such as murder.

Current term sex offenders are identified by a review of the criminal code convictions of all offenders entering Millhaven Institution. Any offender convicted of an offence with a sexual component is automatically referred to Sex Offender Services for an assessment of sexual behaviour. Previous term sex offenders and sex related offenders are identified by Case Management and Psychology personnel, based on information obtained from sources such as the RCMP Finger Print Service (CPIC), police reports, judicial reasons for sentence, and victim impact statements. These individuals are also referred to Sex Offender Services.

All offenders referred for an assessment of sexual behaviour undergo a psycho-social history completed by one of the Case Historians. This history is based on a file review and semi-structured interview developed at the Mental Health Centre at Penetanguishine. Areas of the offender's history that are covered include personal history (childhood, schooling, occupational, medical, psychiatric and substance abuse), criminal history and sexual history.

A detailed description of each sex offence is given based on official documentation. 'These documents are listed in the report for convenience and reference and usually include one or more of the following: police reports, Crown briefs, victim impact statements, agreed-upon statements of facts, judicial reasons for sentence and court transcripts. Emphasis is placed on describing the offence from a victim perspective. Events leading up to the offence, as well as the offence itself, are described in detail. Immediately following the official description is a comparable description of the offence from the offender's perspective. The sex offenders are classified as either (1) sexual aggressors; (2) child molesters; (3) incest offenders; or (4) others.

A core set of self-report measures are administered to all inmates capable of reading at the grade six level or above. The construction and computerization of three phallometric labs is now complete and this important testing is underway. The selected measures, both phallometric and psychometric, were the result of a number of standardization meetings involving representatives from all Ontario Region sex offender programs. The measures are:

(1) Psychometric measures

• Shipley Institute of Living Scale;
• Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices;
• Multiphasic Sex Inventory;
• Inmate Sex Knowledge Test;
• Clarke Sex History Inventory;
• Denial and Minimization Checklist;
• Marlow-Crowne Social Desirability;
• Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding;
• Abusive Relationships Inventory;
• Antecedents to Crime Inventory;
• Adult Self Expression Scale;
• Hostility Towards Women Scale; and
• Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory.

(2) Phallometric measures

• Adult Sexual Violence Profile;
• Child Sexual Violence Profile; and
• Age and Gender Preference Profile.

The results of these measures are used to help select appropriate treatment programs based on identified needs of the offender and current practices of the programs.

From the outset, the evaluated risk of sex offenders to re-offend was of paramount importance. Therefore, four well researched scales are considered and reported.

1. Case managers routinely complete the (GSIR) General Statistical Information on Recidivism Scale. The scale score is reported with the standardized interpretation for comparison purposes and as a predictor of general recidivism.
2. The Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI) was originally developed for use with probationers from the Provincial Correctional System. Use of this scale with federally incarcerated inmates is limited, nonetheless, the individual's total score and the likelihood of recidivism are presented as a predictor of general recidivism.
3. The Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) has been demonstrated to be perhaps the foremost predictor of violent recidivism. Some validation work has been done with sex offender populations and its use seems well established. The PCL-R score is presented according to cutoffs.
4. The Prediction of Violent Recidivism by Sex Offenders Scale is the most recently available risk scale. This actuarial scale includes such items as the score on the PCLR and the results of past or present phallometric testing.

As part of the Assessment of Sexual Behaviour report, a recommendation is presented in terms of the individual's need for sex offender programming and the most suitable program available. The offender is then placed on the waiting list for the program. In addition, the institution deemed most suited to fulfilling those treatment needs is recommended. Usually, through the cooperation of case management, the offender is placed in that institution. It is worth noting that offenders recommended for Frontenac, Pittsburgh and Beaver Creek Institutions are usually initially placed at Bath Institution for treatment.

Information from the psycho-social history serves as the backbone of the Ontario Region Sex Offender Information System. This computerized database allows administrators, clinicians and researchers to access information on groups of sex offenders as well as a particular individual. The system includes most of the information from the psycho-social history and all test results, as well as sentence information and program recommendations. The system has recently been placed on the wide area network for access by remote users such as the RTC(0) and RHQ(0) and there are plans to allow all of the sex offender programs on-line access.

In the first year of operation, the Millhaven Sex Offender Service assessed and reported on 256 offenders. While all of the informal feedback was quite positive, a formal evaluation of the assessment service was completed in February 1994. Case Managers, Psychologists and Treatment Personnel were asked to rate the various components of the assessment service in terms of improvement. Although there were a few suggestions regarding how the assessment service could be further improved, there was overwhelming agreement that all aspects of assessment of sex offenders were much improved.

Adapted from P. Bruce Malcolm. (In press). "Sex offender intake services at Millhaven Institution," Inside Out.