This volume is part of the Best Practices in Forensic Mental Health Assessment series. It focuses on evaluations for civil committment of Sexually Violent Predators (SVPs). These are the offenders who are determined by the court to present sufficient risk to the community to justify being detained beyond the expiration of their maximum criminal sentences.
Forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) has grown into a specialization informed by research and professional guidelines. This series presents up-to-date information on the most important and frequently conducted forms of FMHA. The 19 topical volumes address best approaches to practice for particular types of evaluation in the criminal, civil, and juvenile/family areas. Each volume contains a thorough discussion of the relevant legal and psychological concepts, followed by a step-by-step description of the assessment process from preparing for the evaluation to writing the report and testifying in court. Volumes include the following helpful features: § Boxes that zero in on important information for use in evaluations § Tips for best practice and cautions against common pitfalls § Highlighting of relevant case law and statutes § Separate list of assessment tools for easy reference In making recommendations for best practice, authors consider empirical support, legal relevance, and consistency Helpful glossary of key terms for the particular topics offer invaluable guidance for anyone involved in conducting or using forensic evaluations. The present book focuses on evaluations for civil commitment of sexually violent predators (SVPs). Although this book focuses on evaluating SVP cases, the considerations discussed in this book, such as determining a sex offenders risk to reoffend, apply to evaluations of sex offenders in other contexts (e.g., community notification, sentence enhancement, and probationary management) as well.
Through Evaluation of Sexually Violent Predators, Witt and Conroy have made an important contribution toward consensus building in this field. Their book, a well organized guide for best practices, successfully adds theory-driven and empirically supported structure to SVP evaluation while alerting clinicians to the limits of our expertise...Any student, academician, clinician or lawyer who has an interest or stake in the accurate assessment of sexual offenders will benefit from reading it.
