This thesis aims to improve current understanding of the significance of exposure to traumatic stress in the lives of male mentally disordered offenders, who misuse drugs and alcohol. The thesis considers the impact of past trauma on current substance misuse within a secure forensic mental health setting and implications this has for future treatment. The main sources of trauma exposure identified in this study were; witnessing death or serious injury, experiencing a physical or sexual assault as an adult and childhood sexual abuse and neglect. The results suggest that further research is needed into sources of trauma unique to the forensic mental health population, including; the impact of psychosis, offence commission and environmental factors related to the secure hospital or prison setting. Typically participants reported exposure to multiple traumatic events, with figures above that expected in the general population. There was a positive correlation between experiencing multiple stressful life events and lack of recognition of problematic drug use, lower confidence and reduced internal motivation to address this. Trauma arising from sexual assault or from being in a situation in which one feels helpless appeared to have the most significant impact on participants' internal motivation to address substance use.

Background Female prisoners in Scotland have been found to have higher levels of drug dependence when compared too male prisoners. Females require gender-specific interventions designed to address their needs. Many of the services that women encounter within the prison sector are not designed to address the needs of female offenders. Aims The study aims to assess female offenders’ and service workers’ perception of needs from prison addiction services. The study intends to investigate ways in which prison addiction services can be adapted to support clients with their recovery journey. The study also aims to identify barriers that prevent female substance users from accessing treatment whilst in custody. Method The research was conducted within Scotland’s only national establishment for women HMP (Her Majesty’s Prison) &YOI (Young Offenders Institution) Cornton Vale. Five female offenders and five prison addiction workers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The data were transcribed and thereafter analysed using thematic analysis. 4 Results The study highlighted some of the key needs of female offenders with substance misuse issues. Six key themes were identified for female offenders: need for intensive support; importance of gender-specific provision; need for person-centred provision and choice; service provision is outdated; importance of through care, and barriers to treatment. Five key themes were identified for service workers: need for more communication and collaborative working; importance of gender-specific provision; service provision needs reviewed; improve access to psychological therapies, and barriers to delivering service. Conclusion The findings identified both female offenders’ and prison addiction workers’ views on treatment needs, interventions and potential barriers to treatment. The study highlighted the need for prison addiction services to develop interventions that take into consideration the demographics and history of female offenders.

This research examined the prevalence, differential treatment and demographic and potential risk factors between two groups of offenders with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) and Intellectual Vulnerabilities (IV) and a non-ID/IV group managed by Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements in the South East of England. The sample included 250 offenders, aged between 15 and 70 years, 9 women and 241 men who were managed by level 2 and 3 MAPPA. Two studies were conducted. Study One - The prevalence of the IV group was 25.6%. There were no significant differences between the number of external controls placed on the IV and non-IV groups. There was a significantly greater amount of external controls (police lead orders) placed on the ID group than the non-ID group. The IV group was over 5 times more likely to have language deficits than the non-IV group and twice as likely to have been in care as a child. When controlled for language deficits the IV group were twice as likely to have social skills deficits. Study Two – The MAPPA minutes and files relating to the IV group identified in Study One were examined in more detail. The central issues relating to the IV group were analysed using Thematic Analysis. The main themes and sub themes identified were ‘Intellectual Vulnerability’ and sub themes ‘Mental Health’ and ‘Diversity Considerations,’ ‘Early Life Experiences’ which had sub themes of ‘Abusive Experiences’ and ‘Schooling/Education’ and finally ‘Offending Behaviour’ with the sub themes ‘Substance Misuse’ and ‘Victims Known or Vulnerable.’ The research identifies the issues of diagnosing intellectual disabilities/vulnerabilities accurately and the impact this has on reliable prevalence rates and comparisons. Some recommendations for good practice in working with such offenders within MAPPA are made.

Introduction: Violent offenders are a divergent population of offenders. There are various types of violent offending, such as subcultural violent offenders who perceive a righteousness of violence when protecting and maintaining their reputation. There are considerably few studies that relate the causation of crime and violence with emotions and narrative roles. Furthermore, it is documented that narratives are associated with issues that are considered within the realms of personality. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate how violent offenders’ narratives, emotions, and their correlates with background and personality can shape their violent actions and to unfold violent offending patterns. Methodology: A total of 50 violent Greek offenders (41 males and 9 females), who were involved in hooligan/extreme political violent acts, with an age range of 18-63 participated in the study. These Greek participants had commit a wide variety of violent offences including robbery, gang fights and grievous bodily harm and were accused by the Greek court to be a part of a criminal organisation; of collective group violence. Participants who agreed to participate in this study were invited to fill a questionnaire that consisted of five sections (Description of Crime, Emotions Questionnaire, Narrative Roles Questionnaire, The Self-Report Offending Questionnaire and the HEXACO personality inventory). Results: Results revealed that emotions could be differentiated into four themes Elations, Calm, Distress and Depression in line with the circumplex structure of emotions postulated by Russell (1997) and narrative roles into Adventurer, Professional, Revenger and Victim. Furthermore, emotions themes and associated narrative roles themes were differentiated into four criminal narrative experience (CNE) themes namely Calm Professional, Elated Hero, Depressed Victim and Distressed Revenger. Interestingly, further analysis showed that Elated Hero was the most dominant theme for the violent offenders in the study contrasting previous findings (Ioannou, 2006). Significant associations between the CNE and background characteristics as well as personality traits were also demonstrated. Implications: The current study makes a significant contribution to knowledge supporting previous relevant studies. It was the first time that a theoretical framework of Criminal Narrative Experience was combined with personality and the first time that this was applied in a Greek population and exclusively with violent offenders that most had been involved in collective violence. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well as limitations and suggestions for future studies are described.

The present dissertation takes late postwar Japan as its case study and investigates the ways in which ambivalence to/in motherhood’ emerges at the very site where maternal violence and, more specifically, maternal filicide disrupts social norms of acceptable maternal behaviour. In 1970s Japan the number of cases of mothers who killed their own children saw a dramatic increase to the point of reaching, within media representations in particular, the dimension of a social phenomenon. Within the framework of idealizations of maternal identity, formulated in terms of continuous love, self-sacrifice and domesticity, filicidal mothers came to be labelled as either "bad" (cruel, monstrous) or "mad" (mentally unstable, neurotic). The apparent proliferation of maternal child-killing and what was perceived as the unjust treatment meted out to these criminalized mothers became a major concern for a new women’s liberation movement emerging in Japan between the late 1960s and the early 1970s, known as ūman ribu (woman lib). Ribu contested the widespread characterization of mothers who kill as either devilish or mentally ill, and drew on the numerical increase of cases of maternal filicide as evidence of a symptomatic malfunctioning of the dominant gender ideology in modern Japanese society. Postwar Japan also witnessed a boom in women’s literature whose focus on the grotesque, on worlds of dreams and madness and on the morbid portrayal of female antisocial behaviours constituted fertile terrain for the proliferation of disquieting images of motherhood and maternal violence. This thesis focuses on the work by Japanese writer Takahashi Takako as a specific case study to address the discursive construction of filicidal mothers in women’s literature. This study acknowledges motherhood as a heated site of contested meanings and focuses on a close textual reading of media coverage, the rhetoric of ribu and women’s literature in order to explore the discursive constructions of mothers who kill which characterised early 1970s Japan. It sheds light on the problematic interactions between the different discourses under consideration and identifies the relationship between motherhood and violence as a hot-spot where clashing discourses produce a constant re-articulation of maternal and female identity.

Deliberate firesetting has huge emotional, social, and economic impact. Traditionally, firesetting research has focussed on apprehended populations in prisons or secure psychiatric settings. In contrast, the literature relating to un-apprehended populations is extremely scarce; there has only been one study assessing un-apprehended firesetters living in the UK (Gannon & Barrowcliffe, 2012). The purpose of this thesis is to fill the research gap, and evaluate the prevalence and psychological characteristics of un-apprehended deliberate firesetters living in the UK. Five studies were conducted: Study 1 examined the prevalence and characteristics of un-apprehended deliberate firesetters living in a high firesetting prevalent community in Kent. Study 2 specifically focussed on the psychological characteristics of un-apprehended deliberate firesetters. Studies 1 and 2 identified that firesetting tends to occur in adolescence rather than adulthood. However, the age of participants ranged from 18 to 72 years in Studies 1 and 2 and it was apparent that participants may be unable to fully recollect their adolescent behaviour. Therefore, in order to reduce recollection failures, younger participants (aged 18 to 23) were recruited for Study 3a with the aim of assessing the psychological characteristics of individuals who ignited fires in adolescence. Across Studies 1 to 3a there was an 11.5% to 25% prevalence rate of un-apprehended deliberate firesetters living in the UK and some common psychological characteristics were evident. For example, relative to non-firesetters, un-apprehended deliberate firesetters were male, exhibited higher fire interest, reported experimenting with fire before the age of 10, and having a family history of firesetting. Study 3b compared the offence characteristics and psychological characteristics of un-apprehended firesetters (aged 18 to 23) reporting single firesetting incidences and multiple firesetting incidences. Few notable differences were found, however, relative to single episode firesetters, recidivistic firesetters engaged in more criminal behaviour such as underage drinking and robbery. Studies 1 to 3b utilised self report measures (e.g., questionnaires) to assess psychological characteristics. In contrast, an implicit measure, a lexical decision task, was employed in Study 4 to identify the existence of any of the five implicit theories hypothesised as being relevant to deliberate firesetting (e.g., Dangerous World, Normalisation of Violence, Fire is Fascinating or Exciting, Fire is a Powerful Tool, and Fire is Controllable; Ó Ciardha & Gannon, 2012). Relative to non-firesetters, un-apprehended firesetters were significantly faster at identifying letter strings as words which supported the Dangerous World implicit theory but slower at classifying words supporting the Fire is Fascinating or Exciting implicit theory. This research is the first of its kind to evaluate the psychological characteristics and implicit theories of un-apprehended deliberate firesetters. The new data associated with the studies reported in this thesis offers an insight into the psychological characteristics of un-apprehended firesetters, and details future research directions with the aim of reducing the incidences and devastating consequences of deliberate firesetting.

Finding ways to reintegrate ex-prisoners into Jamaican society is a pressing but complex social, economic and moral issue. This is due, not least, to the financial costs of prison recidivism and growing concern over the Jamaican state’s capacity to meet the needs of a large number of its citizens subject to forced repatriation to their homeland by overseas jurisdictions due to their offending. The absence of a mature and reliable evidence base about the extent and nature of criminal recidivism in Jamaica also contributes to the challenges faced by policy makers and service providers seeking to reduce incidence of crime. This is in part related to the dearth of research on what is a sizeable and multi-faceted subject matter which has impeded a more decisive and progressive political and policy response. While there are generic criminological themes in regard to recidivism, desistance and reintegration of offenders that cross international boundaries (see Harriott 2000; Headley 2006), there remains the not inconsiderable challenge of identifying culturally specific features that bear upon crime and the policies and programmes that might encourage sustained abstinence from offending and which could be better served by a distinctive Caribbean criminological epistemology. To that end, this exploratory study seeks to offer insights into the social worlds of male and female offenders in Jamaica in order to better understand what they deem to be the influences that led them to crime and those which might at least assist them in desisting from law-breaking. The study is based upon a largely qualitative research design comprising semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Some 54 inmates participated who had received more than one prison sentence and in that sense are termed here a ‘recidivist’, albeit the contested nature of this term and related key concepts such as desistance and reintegration will be subject to scrutiny in the early chapters of this thesis. One other inmate who could not be regarded a prison recidivist mainly because he was awaiting trial on this his second time in prison was interviewed in prison and added to the study. All 55 interviews and most focus groups were conducted with persons being held in three of Jamaica’s maximum security correctional facilities. In addition, eighteen other individuals who had managed to stay out of prison following their release were interviewed within the community. A further set of interviews were conducted with 17 organisational leaders and spokespeople representing state and voluntary agencies engaged in the process of offender reintegration. Their perspectives reveal illuminating contrasts with those provided by the ex-prisoners about the likely ingredients of an effective return to a life without serious offending. The findings will hopefully assist policy makers and professionals in thinking about the steps that might be taken to tackle Jamaica’s high rate of serious crime. As the findings will suggest, such steps must involve a renewed understanding, sense of belief and commitment towards effective reintegration. Additionally, there needs to be a more robust conviction that persons leaving prison can indeed change but that they face embedded hostility and exclusion from a number of quarters. This study provides insights into why ex-prisoners believe that there is resistance amongst influential others in the community to accepting them as ‘reformed’. Such perspectives should assist local agencies in better understanding the impact of negative community attitudes and point to ways to counter social exclusion and help promote effective reintegration. Moreover, the findings point to the importance of strategies at national and local level that can bestow upon ex-prisoners a more meaningful sense of belonging and positive citizenship that can help reinforce the reintegration process. Throughout, the voices and experiences of the ex-prisoners come to the fore to challenge accepted policy and criminological wisdoms and to point out the need for more creative and determined initiatives to help people from prison find a new and better future.

The psychological aspects of propensity to offend are considered. The relationship between attitude, personality, and reported offending is explored. Some literature considers how attitude influences offending; others look at the relationship between personality and offending. The present thesis proposes that there is a complex relationship between all three. The Attitude to Offending Style Scale measures preferences towards hypothetical offending styles. Shultzs’ FIRO-B explores the structure of interpersonal personality. Finally, an adaptation of Youngs’ D42 (D45) explores styles and level of reported offending. 254 members of the general public complete each of these self-report scales. An SSA-I tests the construct validity and structure of the scales stated above. Multiple regression analyses explore the relationship between attitude and personality, and how these influence level of reported offending. The moderating role of interpersonal personality is also considered. The findings reveal that Attitudes are categorized as: Instrumental or Expressive high risk, and Low risk. Shultzs’ FIRO-B scale has four facets: Expressed Inclusion Expressed Control, Received Inclusion and Received Control. Finally, reported offending is categorised as More or Less serious, Instrumental or Expressive, and target Person or Property. Results show that variations in attitude and personality styles are related to level of reported offending. Furthermore, it was found that the relationship between attitude and level of reported offending is moderated by level of ‘Received Control’. More specifically, when an individual shows a positive attitude towards Instrumental high risk crimes and feel ‘controlled by others’, their level of reported offending is also likely to be high. The presented research shows the value of considering attitudes towards offending, the moderating role of interpersonal personality, and how this relates to level of reported offending. The methods employed throughout the thesis demonstrate the strength and validity of self-report measures. Results are applicable to many areas, including direction and methods in future research. The findings can be applied to areas such as rehabilitation, interview techniques and preventative measures.

Within the field of psychology there has been growing interest in Schema Focused Therapy and the theoretical underpinning on which it is based. The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the current application of this model and consider how appropriate and effective it is, with a particular emphasis being drawn to the female forensic population. In order to investigate this three key aspects were explored. Firstly, the Young Schema Questionnaire (Young & Brown, 1990) was reviewed. Good psychometric properties were indicated, however, it is suggested the latest version would benefit from further examination. In the following chapter details of a systematic review are provided. This demonstrated the expanding use of Schema Focused Therapy across general psychiatric inpatients and outpatients with a range of difficulties, and initial use within forensic services. Information on the effectiveness is provided. From the literature reviewed however, there appears to be no substantial evidence base to date for female secure mental health patients. Owing to this an exploratory qualitative analysis was conducted on how the schema model applies to female forensic patients, whereby a template was developed in relation to their experiences of early maladaptive schemas. This enabled links with risk to be made and identified a potential new schema mode. The final chapter summarises the evidence gained throughout the thesis, discusses the implications of the findings and makes recommendations for future research.

This PhD study examines how people who are intellectually impaired are processed within the criminal justice system. In this context it analyses the understanding of intellectual disabilities, criminal justice decision-making processes, and the constructon of crime and punishment by professionals involved in criminal justice. Despite significant changes in mental health legislation and greater awareness by professionals of issues around intellectually disabled offenders, previous research has demonstrated that this population remains disadvantaged when coming into contact with the criminal justice system. The study focuses on how the criminal justice system maintains its traditional way of operating when engaging with people who are impaired in their intellectual capacities and who, therefore, often have difficulties in processing information and understanding complex situations. The study draws on qualitative data generated through thirty five unstructured interviews with custody sergeants, forensic examiners, prosecutors, magistrates, judges and probation officers from three regions in the North West of England: Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester. Through those interviews, the provision of support to alleged offenders is examined and the process of legal representation evaluated. By analysing decision-making processes around vulnerable defendants, two conflicting views that influence cimrinal justice professionals in their strategic behaviour were identified: protecting offenders' rights and protecting the public from criminal behaviour. It is argued that the criminal justice system draws its normative and enforcement powers from a 'discourse of truth' that concentrates on capacity and intent. Defendants who are classified as vulnerable because of impaired intellectual functioning whereby capacity to reason and intellectual disability are functionally separated. This way, an alleged offender's vulnerability becomes a manageable object within the criminal justice system and is integrated into a person's risk management. The disjointed discourse around intellectual disabilities increases the risk that people with an impaired level of intellectual functioning become drawn into the mainstream criminal justice system and, therefore, further compromises the empowerment and social inclusion of this population.