Comparison of intellectually disabled offenders with a combined history of sexual offenses and other offenses versus intellectually disabled offenders without a history of sexual offenses on dynamic client and environmental factors

Dutch forensic patients with and without intellectual disabilities: A comparison of demographic, offence, and diagnostic characteristics

BACKGROUND

Patients with an intellectual disability (ID) and offending histories constitute a challenging clinical group. The present study examined commonalities and differences in demographic, diagnostic and offence characteristics in patients with and without intellectual disabilities who were either convicted for violent or sexual offences and who resided in mandated care in the Netherlands.

METHOD

We compared 165 offenders with an ID to 249 offenders without an ID. We compared both groups by type of offence (i.e., sexual versus violent offence) using Mann-Whitney U-test or independent samples t-tests for continuous variables and Chi-square tests for categorical variables.

RESULTS

In general, forensic patients with an ID were younger at admission (U=357, z = -12.668, p < .001), had more prior convictions for violent offences (χ²(1)= 6.175, p = .013) and more prevalent diagnoses of substance abuse disorders (χ²(1)= 9.266, p = .002) than those without an ID. Similar results were found for patients with IDs with sexual offence histories.

CONCLUSION

A clear understanding of distinct characteristics of forensic patients with intellectual disabilities is crucial in understanding (sexual) violent behavior in this population as it mayassistclinicians in prioritizing interventionstrategies.

A Systematic Review of Autistic People and the Criminal Justice System: An Update of King and Murphy (2014)

The purpose of this paper was to determine whether recommendations made by King & Murphy (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 44:2717-2733, 2014) in their review of the evidence on autistic people in contact with the criminal justice system (CJS) have been addressed. Research published since 2013 was systematically examined and synthesised. The quality of 47 papers was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Findings suggest a limited amount of good quality research has been conducted that has focused on improving our understanding of autistic people in contact with the CJS since 2013. Methodological limitations make direct comparisons between autistic and non-autistic offenders difficult. Autistic people commit a range of crimes and appear to have unique characteristics that warrant further exploration (i.e., vulnerabilities, motivations for offending).

Sex Trafficking of Girls With Intellectual Disabilities: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study

Few researchers have examined sex trafficking of girls with intellectual disabilities (IDs). Drawing from 54 juvenile sex trafficking (JST) cases, this exploratory, mixed methods study compared 15 JST cases involving girls with ID with 39 JST cases involving girls without ID. Findings revealed a disproportionate risk for exploitation in JST for girls with ID, endangering circumstances creating vulnerability among this population, as well as the perpetrator-victim dynamics that complicate prevention and intervention. Complicating dynamics included victim lack of awareness of exploitation and its endangerments, inability of victims to self-identify, and the relative ease with which traffickers manipulated these girls. The disproportionate risk faced by girls with ID substantiates the need for enhanced safeguards to prevent sexual exploitation of girls with ID including stiffer penalties for those who exploit and buy sex with youth with disabilities.