Research related to studies about offender programs risk analyses, ‎risk management and containment, prediction of recidivism, and ‎correlations of mental health ‎disorders and criminal offending. ‎Research author DeClue reviews forensic psychology services ‎from one state's sexually violent ‎offender program to investigate ‎if the evaluation instruments the inmate received is adequate ‎to ‎inventory their risks, needs and strengths. The author questions ‎whether risk management ‎and containment are adequately ‎assessed in typical tools and if they yield an accurate ‎prediction of ‎recidivism (DeClue, 2005). Similarly, Ogloff investigates ‎disorders ‎and criminal ‎offending, attempting to make sense of the few ‎studies which have real-life samples from ‎forensic mental health ‎‎services. He conducted a study to investigate the correlations ‎between ‎mental illness, specific disorders and forensic offending ‎concluding that participants with co-‎occurring mental illness ‎were responsible for more serious and frequent offending than ‎those ‎with mental illness ‎alone (Ogloff, 2015). Tomlinson, 2018, ‎points to structured, skills-based, and risk-‎focused cognitive ‎behavioral therapy as a tool to ‎reduce recidivism. A detailed ‎exploration of ‎how these programs align with best practices is ‎given. The study offers very preliminary evidence (Tomlinson, ‎‎2018).‎ ‎ Researcher DeClue, in 2017, investigated the Inventory of ‎Offender Risks, ‎Needs, and Strengths (IORNS) as part of a ‎sexually violent predator (SVP) ‎program to determine if it ‎accurately determined risk analyses, risk ‎‎management and ‎containment, prediction ‎of recidivism, and correlations ‎of ‎mental health ‎disorders and ‎criminal offending. ‎The focus of ‎this ‎author’s research was the competency crisis ‎and ‎the lack ‎of specificity to ‎evaluees’ rights in current rehabilitation ‎efforts as an indicator of high ‎risk of recidivism due to mental ‎health ‎disorders. Specifically reviewed was the Inventory of ‎Offender Risks, Needs, and ‎Strengths (IORNS), DeClue opined ‎that even advanced risk assessment was ‎no guarantee of ‎effective forensic evaluation, and the IORNS was not ‎‎appropriate for evaluation or re-evaluation of a person facing ‎civil ‎commitment ‎as a sexually violent predator in the state of ‎Florida.‎ Examination was given to the forensic laws and other ‎legal publications of the state of ‎Florida, specifically Florida ‎statutes (FS 394.912(10)), and (FS ‎‎394.912(4)).‎ This ‎determined that the manner in which a psychologist gathers ‎data, opines, and ‎communicates the risk assessment is crucial ‎in ‎a legal case. ‎DeClue held a discussion forum to answer his ‎research questions. ‎Interviews were held with his legal ‎constituents, and a forensic psychology ‎clinical director of ‎Florida’s ‎sexually violent predator (SVP) program. The ‎‎question posed was if the IORNS was appropriate for use in ‎evaluating or ‎re-evaluating a person facing civil commitment ‎as a sexually ‎violent ‎predator. ‎Comparison was made of the ‎answers to his question and the ‎summaries regarding three ‎civil commitments of ‎sexually violent predators, the applied ‎risk ‎assessment, risk ‎management, and risk ‎communication ‎and following civil commitment of ‎sexually violent predators. ‎‎Data analysis considered the opinions of his colleagues, ‎forensic ‎psychologist, law statutes and past criminal case ‎studies. In result, DeClue assessed that the IORNS held ‎inadequate evidentiary support for ‎psychologist's expert ‎witness in communication about risk of recidivism. These ‎denotative findings rendered the IORNS irrelevant to legal ‎questions in particular ‎‎cases due to exclusion of dynamic risk ‎variables, clear descriptors of limitations on ‎confidence, and ‎lack of certainty in court. Though DeClue’s studies are rife for ‎potential bias of opinions from legal colleagues and forensic ‎‎psychologists his interpretations of findings were sound in ‎which he suggested there were no guarantees of effective ‎forensic psychological evaluation and consultation in general. ‎He surmised they simply lack relevancy without utilizing ‎specific legal case descriptors first.‎ In 2015, Ogloff et al., wrote research article studies that pertained to ‎offender program risk ‎analyses, risk ‎management and ‎‎containment, prediction of recidivism, ‎and correlations of ‎mental health ‎disorders and ‎criminal ‎offending as ‎related to ‎the competency service crisis in the modern forensic and legal ‎‎field. ‎Indicative of the lack of ‎competency-‎related services, and ‎long wait ‎lists, admissions problems into ‎‎competency ‎restoration services have not ‎been solved. Further research of ‎offender programs and risks ‎of ‎recidivism drew a direct ‎correlation of disorders and ‎criminal ‎offending. ‎Investigating ‎the correlations between, ‎‎specifically, ‎psychiatric disorders ‎and forensic offending ‎concluded that the ‎participants ‎with co-‎‎occurring psychiatric mental disorders were responsible for ‎‎‎more ‎serious and frequent offenses and high recidivism. Ogloff ‎created a unique research study investigating correlations of ‎co-‎occurring psychiatric ‎disorders and criminal offending. ‎Taking into consideration ‎samples provided by forensic mental ‎health ‎services, correlation of ‎severe psychiatric mental ‎illness, and offending was found. In this study, psychiatric ‎illness and people assessed and treated by ‎forensic mental ‎health services were made possible through ‎examination of ‎mental disorders in a sample of offenders. Correlations ‎were ‎drawn on how the participants were being assessed or treated ‎‎by a statewide forensic mental health service. The study ‎collected and ‎examined rates of disorders and offending ‎variables in participants. Ogloff sought evidentiary support for ‎the presence of mental ‎disorders in most members of ‎an offender community. By ‎demonstrating prevalence of ‎psychiatric disorders in offending ‎populations, these results ‎proved that people who are serving ‎sentences in a maximum-security prison setting must have their ‎mental health ‎considered in factors of recidivism since they were ‎responsible ‎for more serious and frequent offending. Also, the study ‎provided a measure of proof to ensure forensic workers ‎became knowledgeable of these facts and would henceforth be ‎actively supportive in the recovery for the ‎populations they ‎worked with, from mental ‎illnesses to reduction of ‎re-‎offending‎‎. Deriving information from resources provided on ‎offense histories and ‎severity scales of offending comparison of ‎co-occurring mental illness ‎was made by availability of mental ‎health records of 130 male offenders associated with ‎statewide ‎forensic services.‎ Samples were taken of ‎participants who had major mental ‎disorders co-occurring ‎with offenses, associations to violence, substance ‎use ‎disorders, mental disorders, and antisocial personality ‎disorders. ‎These were categorically measured and correlated ‎by ‎sociodemographic information, psychiatric diagnosis, ASPD ‎diagnosis, ‎acute substance use at time of offending, offending ‎history and severity. ‎The resulting majority were found to ‎have had mental disorders and were responsible for more ‎‎serious, frequent offending. Overall, Ogloff’s 2015 research ‎studies showed direct correlations of ‎mental health ‎disorders ‎and ‎criminal ‎offending which ‎contribute to the competency ‎service crisis in the modern ‎forensic and legal field. ‎This study ‎was limited by possible deliberate distortion of ‎responses and ‎recall bias, however the accuracy of assessment ‎cannot be ‎ruled out due to previous studies having had similar ‎reliable ‎evidence. Further limitations of this study were a lack ‎of other ‎gendered participants.‎ Tomlinson addressed the difficulties of patient treatments in ‎forensic ‎psychiatric settings such as complex, multi‐‎diagnostics, unsuccessfully ‎implemented therapies and ‎comprehensive treatment needs.‎ An analysis was made of ‎treatment measures for anger, aggression, hopefulness, ‎coping, ‎emotions, insights, and symptoms. A sample of ‎14 adult ‎participants who were in mental health treatment in one ‎state, ‎were all given dialectical behavioral treatment programs with ‎‎questionnaires prior to and after the group study. Data was ‎collected ‎for research, along with information from their ‎medical charts on ‎demographics, criminality, risks, psychiatric, ‎and social history ‎voluntarily.‎ Treatment ensued with ‎dialectical behavior ‎therapy, incorporating Eastern ‎‎philosophies and traditional cognitive behavioral principles to ‎‎address their difficulties in forensic psychiatric settings such as ‎‎complex, multi‐diagnostics, unsuccessfully implemented ‎therapies ‎and comprehensive treatment needs with DBT.‎ Self‐‎reports, psychometric tests, and DBT skills training were given ‎and ‎measured results taken.‎ Participants completed self‐‎report psychometric ‎tests before and after completion of the ‎DBT skills ‎training group. Measurement order was ‎randomized.‎ Data was met for all assumptions for analysis, if ‎data were missed, it was ‎replaced with the average response. ‎In results, all ‎14 adult patient participants completed the ‎assessments before and after DBT. ‎Results suggested a limited ‎improvement, though the patterns of change ‎suggest ‎otherwise. Alternatives were suggested as well, such as the ‎results may ‎be imperceptible due to the small sample, or not ‎sensitive enough to detect the ‎change.‎ After completion of the ‎DBT participation participants ‎returned to community living ‎and results were not tracked ‎further upon discharge.‎ ‎Limitations of this participant experiment were that it was ‎lacking in ‎design and control group. Similarly, by the nature of ‎primary ‎diagnoses of psychoses individuals would experience ‎lessened ‎psychotic symptoms through DBT and it was ‎impossible to ‎decipher whether participants who were ‎treatment ‎responsive were overwhelmingly chosen for the ‎study.‎ In summary, research author DeClue reviewed forensic psychology services ‎from one state's sexually violent ‎offender program to investigate ‎if the evaluation instruments the inmate received were adequate ‎‎to inventory their risks, needs and strengths. The author ‎questioned whether risk management ‎and containment were ‎adequately assessed in typical tools and if they yielded an ‎accurate ‎prediction of recidivism (DeClue, 2005). Similarly, Ogloff ‎investigated ‎disorders and criminal ‎offending, attempting to ‎make sense of the few studies which had real-life samples from ‎‎forensic mental health ‎services. He conducted a study to ‎investigate the correlations between ‎mental illness, specific ‎disorders and forensic offending concluding that participants ‎with co-‎occurring mental illness were responsible for more ‎serious and frequent offending than those ‎with mental illness ‎‎alone (Ogloff, 2015). Tomlinson pointed to structured, skills-‎based, and risk-‎focused cognitive behavioral therapy as a tool to ‎‎reduce recidivism. A detailed exploration of ‎how these programs ‎align with best practices was given. The study offered preliminary ‎evidence.‎ ‎