Forensic Practice in the Community

Forensic practice in the community is a neglected subject. There are many books looking at forensic work in secure settings, such as prisons or hospitals, but very little has been written about forensic practice in the community. This book describes the current and exciting developments in this area, for both young people and adults, by leaders in their field. It is in the community where interventions with those who have offended are all ultimately tested. Bringing together a range of experts from both the practitioner and academic community, this book covers:

•multisystemic therapy for families,

•sexual and violent offending,

•learning disabilities,

•substance misuse,

•risk assessment, prediction and management,

•personality disordered offenders

•resettlement following custody,

•desistance of criminal behaviour,

•community interventions.

Beginning with an overview of forensic practice in the community, the book addresses policy, practice and ethical issues, focusing on the specific dilemmas facing practitioners and providing an analysis of international perspectives. It describes how to meet the challenge of significantly diverting and reducing the prison population through more effective community intervention with adults and young people and also makes suggestions for the future.

This book offers a range of recent case studies, has descriptions of new areas of community practice by those working or studying in that area and covers cutting-edge developments in practice and policy. It will be of interest to academics, practitioners and students in forensic psychology, as well as social workers, probation officers, youth offending officers, police officers, criminal justice agencies and mental health professionals.

Zoë Ashmore is a Consultant Forensic Psychologist and Multisystemic therapy (MST) Expert. She was the first MST Expert appointed in the UK to train and advise teams in the effective clinical delivery of MST, now being introduced across the UK. She has specialised in intervention programmes for adolescents and their families, both in the community and in custody, for over thirty years, working in the Prison Service, the Home Office, the National Health Service and the Youth Offending Service. In 2011 she was awarded the Senior Practitioner Award by the British Psychological Society for her distinguished lifetime contribution to Forensic Psychology.

Richard Shuker is a Chartered Forensic Psychologist and Head of Psychology and Research at HMP Grendon, a therapeutic community prison for personality disordered offenders. He has managed cognitive behavioural treatment programmes within adult and young offender prisons and is currently lead clinician on the assessment unit at Grendon. His special interests include the assessment and treatment of offenders with personality disorders and other complex needs. He is Series Editor for the book series Issues in Forensic Psychology. He has published in areas including risk assessment, treatment readiness, therapeutic outcome and clinical intervention. He has recently co-edited a book on Grendon’s work, research and outcomes.