RECIDIVISM PREVENTION IN JAPAN

The success factors in reducing the rate of recidivism in Japan deserve careful study with a view to the possible use of positive experience. The article discusses the main measures applied by the Japanese government in recent years.

UKRAINE’S DRUG POLICY ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS AND BEHAVIOR DUE TO THE USE OF PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES: PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT

The aim: Is to review the current state of Ukraine’s drug policy development, primarily on criminal justice response to crimes committed by a person under the influence of drug addiction, to evaluate its compliance with international standards and best foreign practices. Materials and methods: The study is based on the analysis of international documents, drug control strategies, sociological research in this area. The article is grounded on dialectical, systemic, and structural, comparative legal methods, methods of analysis, and synthesis. Conclusions: The search for effective measures to tackle drug-related crimes remains an integral part of drug policy both in Ukraine and abroad. Programs for the prevention, medical and psychological rehabilitation of addicts need a scientific basis. The current situation, in which criminal justice does not consider the specifics of persons who have committed criminal offenses due to mental disorders connected with the use of psychoactive substances, is not effective in terms of recidivism prevention and ensuring public safety.

Criminal Recidivism Prevention as One of the Determinative Directions of the Agenda of the United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders

Crime structure of any country in the world always has recurrent crime, the scale of which is not amenable to reduction practically. This crime is the most dangerous manifestation of criminal behaviour of a person, because the return of a person to committing new crimes indicates that the measures which were taken to re-socialise them have proved ineffective. Therefore, the problem of criminal recidivism and combating with it occupies a prominent place among issues which are discussed at the level of UN Congresses on the prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders. In the article the provisions of the materials of these Congresses on criminal recidivism and the practice of its prevention are analysed in detail. At the same time, approaches to the calculation of recurrent crimes on the example of separate countries (USA, UK and Ukraine) are clarified. It is concluded that the scale of recidivism because of different methods of counting recurrent crimes is very different in different countries. This leads to the inability to draw a single picture of the prevalence of criminal recidivism in different regions of the world. It is concluded that to achieve appreciable results in the combating recidivism first of all, some methodological issues need to be resolved. One of them should be an attempt at an international level to develop a more or less standardised method of accounting for recidivism in national practices, which would include: firstly, a clear understanding of which offenses should be considered as recurrent; and secondly, the definition of terms based on which quantitative indicators of recidivism are provided. Jebkuras pasaules valsts noziedzības struktūrā vienmēr pastāv recidīvs, kura mērogu praktiski nav iespējams samazināt. Recidīvā noziedzība ir visbīstamākā personas noziedzīgās uzvedības izpausme, jo personas atgriešanās pie jaunu noziedzīgu nodarījumu izdarīšanas liecina, ka pasākumi to socializēšanai ir izrādījušies neefektīvi. Tāpēc recidīva problēma un tā apkarošana ir būtisks jautājums, kas tiek apspriests Apvienoto Nāciju kongresos par noziedzības novēršanu un sankcijām attiecībā uz likumpārkāpējiem. Rakstā analizēti šo kongresu materiāli par noziedzīgo nodarījumu recidīvu un tā novēršanas praksi, raksturotas atsevišķu valstu (ASV, Lielbritānijas un Ukrainas) pieejas noziedzīgo nodarījumu recidīva aprēķināšanā. Secināts, ka dažādās valstīs recidīvisma mērogs atšķirīgu atkārtotu noziegumu skaitīšanas metožu dēļ ir ļoti atšķirīgs. Un tas noved pie tā, ka nav iespējams izveidot vienotu ainu par noziedzīgo nodarījumu recidīva izplatību dažādos pasaules reģionos. Secināts, ka vērā ņemamu rezultātu sasniegšanai recidīva apkarošanā ir jāatrisina daži metodoloģiski jautājumi. Vienam no tiem vajadzētu būt mēģinājumam starptautiskā līmenī izstrādāt vairāk vai mazāk standartizētu recidīvisma uzskaites metodi nacionālajā praksē, kas ietvertu: pirmkārt, skaidri definētu izpratni par to, kuri nodarījumi uzskatāmi par atkārtotiem; un, otrkārt, tādu terminu definēšanu, uz kuru pamata tiek sniegti recidīvisma kvantitatīvie rādītāji.

Predicting offense recidivism in Schizophrenia patients

IntroductionSchizophrenia increases the risk of offending. Recidivism rates are significant.AimIdentifying general and violent recidivism risk factors in schizophrenia patients.MethodsWe conducted a case control study. All included patients were admitted, at least once, to the forensic psychiatry department in Razi Hospital between January 1st, 1985 and December 31st, 2014 after a decision of irresponsibility by reason of insanity. All those who reoffended during this period were considered as cases. A draw was performed to create the control group. Both groups were matched according to their first offenses’ types as well as to their ages. A multivariate analysis was performed.ResultsWe included 25 cases and 38 controls. Eight recidivism risk factors were identified. Living in urban poor neighbourhoods (P = 0.023; OR = 4.86), having been unemployed (P = 0.042; OR = 2.18) and not having lived with the family (P = 0.039; OR = 1.36) after discharge were considered as risk factors. The same applied to alcohol (P = 0.026; OR = 4.89) and cannabis use disorders (P = 0.018; OR = 6.01). A hospitalization shorter than 6 months increased the risk by 1.79 (P = 0.046). A combination of conventional antipsychotics (P = 0.023;OR = 4.81) and a poor adherence (P = 0.001; OR = 10.42) were considered as recidivism risk factors too.ConclusionsAll eight recidivism risk factors are dynamic. This makes recidivism prevention conceivable. Measures involving the patient, the health care system, patients’ families, society and the government should be taken.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Predicting offense recidivism in Schizophrenia patients

IntroductionSchizophrenia increases the risk of offending. Recidivism rates are significant.AimIdentifying general and violent recidivism risk factors in schizophrenia patients.MethodsWe conducted a case control study. All included patients were admitted, at least once, to the forensic psychiatry department in Razi Hospital between January 1st, 1985 and December 31st, 2014 after a decision of irresponsibility by reason of insanity. All those who reoffended during this period were considered as cases. A draw was performed to create the control group. Both groups were matched according to their first offences’ types as well as to their ages. A multivariate analysis was performed.ResultsWe included 25 cases and 38 controls. Eight recidivism risk factors were identified. Living in urban poor neighbourhoods (P = 0.039; OR = 1.23), having been unemployed (P = 0.047; OR = 1.22) and not having lived with the family (P = 0.039; OR = 1.36) after discharge were considered as risk factors. The same applied to alcohol (P = 0.032; OR = 1.29) and cannabis use disorders (P = 0.005; OR = 1.34). A hospitalization shorter than 6 months increased the risk by 1.44 (P = 0.039). A combination of conventional antipsychotics (P = 0.003; OR = 1.36) and a poor adherence (P = 0.006; OR = 1.36) were considered as recidivism risk factors too.ConclusionsAll eight recidivism risk factors are dynamic. This makes recidivism prevention conceivable. Measures involving the patient, the health care system, patients’ families, society and the government should be taken.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.