Calculating Risk
| Date | 01 September 1991 |
| Author | Ian Leighton |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059103800325 |
| Published date | 01 September 1991 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
160
Slater,
the
time
served
‘o1d
guard’
and
the
’bright
young
things’
have
both
been
denied
CQSW
practice
teaching
experience,
despite
obvious
and
in-
herent
developmental/career
im-
plications.
Roger
Henry
Probation
Officer,
St
Austell
Calculating
Risk
Terry
Nixon
and
Ann
Pearson’s
article
on
helping
unconvicted
sex
offenders
on
bail
(Plrobationjoumal,
June,
1991)
raises
an
issue.
They
assert
that
the
main
criterion
for
acceptance
at
a
hostel
is
that
the
alleged
abuser
is
not
considered
to
be
a
predatory
risk.
But
they
do
not
say
how
they
came
to
that
conclusion
in
each
case.
That
the
offences
appear
to
be
family
centred
with
the
bailee
hav-
ing
little
or
no
criminal
history
means
nothing
in
itself.
In
their
sample
Abel
et
al
(1988)
found
that
over 23%
of
their
intra-family
offenders
also
offend-
ed
outside
the
family.
Their
data
in-
dicates
that,
irrespective
of
the
category
of
specific
paraphilia,
members
in
any one
specific
category
were
also
involved
in
other
specific
paraphilias
and
that
offenders
with
on-
ly
one
paraphilia
are
uncommon.
So
assessment
at
the
bail
stage
should
take
all
of
the
commonly
reported
paraphilias
into
account.
One
reason
why
many
sex
of-
fenders
have
no
criminal
history
is
because
their
offences
are
paraphilia
specific.
They
do
not
indulge
in
other
types
of
criminal
behaviour
and
their
marriage
gives
them
a
perfect
cover
to
pursue
their
deviancy.
For
many
incest
offenders,
offending
has
more
to
do
with
convenience
and
victim
availabili-
ty
than
with
family
dynamics
and
you
stand
a
considerably
reduced
chance
of
getting
caught
if
you
restrict
your
vic-
tims
to
the
family.
Ian
Leighton
Consultant
in
Forensic
Mental
Health
Simple
Truth
Reading
the
’Personal
Account’
in
the
March
Journal,
one
is
bound
to
ask
whether
Jane
and
John
are
real
people
or
whether
they
are
stereotypes.
John’s
upbringing
and
experience
have,
without
doubt,
largely
shaped
his
understanding
of
what
it
means
to
be
a
man.
He
knows
that
in
our
society
a
man’s
needs
are
paramount
and
that
it
is
a
woman’s
duty
to
satisfy
them
or,
as
he
puts
it,
women
should
do
’what
they
are
told’.
But
John
doesn’t
regard
women
simply
as
creatures
for
men
to
command,
they
are
men’s
possessions
and
as
such
their
owners
have
exclusive
rights
of
use.
If
a
woman
doesn’t
volun-
tarily
keep
away
from
’bad
company,
~
man
has
the
right
to
punish
her
and,
by
beating
her
into
submission,
he
establishes
his
control
and
his
sense
of
pride
in
his
masculinity.
John
now
claims
that
’we
com-
municate
together
very
well’.
What
has
been
communicated
only
too
well
is
the
message
that
it
is
Jane’s
responsibili-
ty
to
prevent
her
own
victimisation.
She
may
have
forgiven
her
husband’s
past
beatings
but
she
cannot
banish
the
fear that
they
may
happen
again.
And,
because
such
thoughts
make
her
feel
guilty,
she
is
continually
driven
to
prove
herself
’worthy
of
his
trust’.
She
must
on
no
account
do
anything
that
John
might
interpret
as
rejection,
for
it
is
his
belief
that
’by
using
violence,
he
could
prevent
any
of
those
experie-
nces
happening
again’.
How
right John
is
in
his
belief.
The
violence
he
has
used
on
his
wife
has
taught
her
so
thoroughly
where
her
own
best
inter-
ests
lie
that
violence
is
now
no
longer
necessary
to
ensure
full
control.
Fear
alone
allows
John
to
dominate
her
life.
The
cry
of
help,
of
which
Jane
speaks,
is
surely
her
own
and
the
help
she
needs
is
in
coming
to
accept
the
simple
truth
that
women
are
not
beings
that
exist
for
men.
Charlotte
Mitra
Crown
Court
Liaison
Officer,
Knightsbridge
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