Identifying personality disturbance in a London probation sample

Abstract

Personality difficulties provide challenges to offender management, particularly in regard to risk and diagnosis. No provisions exist for identifying personality disturbance in probation services, despite a political emphasis on the need for specialist knowledge of this group in the criminal justice system. This article reports on a pilot project where mental health professionals collaborated with probation services to develop methods of identifying personality disturbance in a London sample. There was a disproportionately large ratio of Black/Black British individuals identified in this study. There was a high prevalence of personality problems in probation caseloads. Different sampling methods identified separate groups of high risk personality disturbed offenders. All individuals identified carried a high risk of re-offending, based on static risk assessments. Emphasis was given to the importance of using developmental variables to help identify adult personality disturbance. The study discovered a potential gap in the method by which data is collected by the national offender management service, omitting lifer custody cases in their assessment of dangerous and severe personality disorder individuals. Ideas for future research were provided.