A Community Service for High-Risk Mentally Disordered Sex Offenders: A Follow-Up Study

There is sparse literature on mentally disordered sex offenders, and little is published on treatment participation and outcomes for this group. This article aims to describe the characteristics of a cohort of high-risk mentally disordered—largely personality disordered—sex offenders at risk in the community in southeast London. Drawing on various measures of personality dysfunction—including key developmental variables, a self-report personality disorder questionnaire Millon Clinical Multi-axial Inventory-III (MCMI-III) and psychopathy as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV)—the researchers describe the characteristics of a cohort of mentally disordered sex offenders referred to the Challenge project. Follow-up data for those placed in treatment are reported and include consideration of treatment completion and reconviction: the relationship between personality dysfunction and a dynamic measure of risk are also explored. Of the 137 participants, 53% were placed in the community treatment project. Seventy five percent completed treatment, and were followed up for an average of 40 months. Eleven percent were sexually reconvicted, 3% violently reconvicted. Community failure was best predicted by a combination of static risk and personality-related variables.