title: Sexually violent predator evaluations: empirical evidence, strategies for professionals, and research directions.
abstract: Several states have passed civil commitment laws that allow the precautionary detention of sex offenders who have completed their criminal sentences. Over 2,500 sex offenders have been committed across states with such statutes and several thousand more sex offenders have been evaluated. Most statutes call for an evaluation of risk by a mental health professional and, although each state statute is worded differently, three main elements common to sexually violent predator evaluations are used to guide evaluators: mental abnormality, volitional capacity, and likelihood of future sexual violence. The current article presents empirical evidence for the main tenants of these forensic evaluations, provides recommendations for evaluators in light of current limitations of evidence, and offers suggestions for future research in this area of forensic assessment.
authors.affiliation: College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas 77341-2296, USA. hmiller@shsu.edu
authors.forename: Holly A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Amenta
authors.forename: Mary Alice
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Conroy
mesh_terms: D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003416:Criminal Law; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012106:Research; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D014836:Volition