In this study Forensic Social Network Analysis (FSNA) as an social intervention method on behaviour of forensic psychiatric patients on leave is described. It is assumed that FSNA takes effect through social control and social support of significant network members. Fifteen patients from Forensic Psychiatric Centre Dr. S. van Mesdag (The Netherlands) and over fifty of their significant others have been interviewed during this study. The results imply that during the rehabilitation-phase less incidents and violations of parole orders were caused by patients on which FSNA was applied. This supports the positive role of significant others of patients during the rehabilitation-phase and perhaps in forensic psychiatric supervision.

The first part of the article provides a review of the literature concerning the prevalence of people with learning disabilities in forensic settings, the treatment programs for this population, and the evidence for the effectiveness of these programs. In the second part, a large prospective study into the effectiveness of long-term inpatient treatment in a Dutch treatment center is reported. Preliminary results indicate that the percentage of improved patients in terms of reduction of criminogenic needs increases steadily, and that about half of the patients significantly improve within the first two years of the treatment. In addition, patients are released to settings which are less restrictive than the pre-treatment settings.

Increasingly, instruments for risk assessment have been used for the assessment of future violence. This article provides an overview of the risk assessment instruments that are used in the Netherlands for the prediction of criminal recidivism. The quality of these instruments is regarded by examining studies on the interrater reliability and the predictive validity. The benefits as well as the limitations of risk assessment instruments are discussed. It is concluded that these instruments can be valuable, especially for research on treatment effects in the field of forensic psychiatry. On the other hand, it has to be acknowledged that with risk assessment instruments, the possibility to predict criminal recidivism on individual level is still limited. Psychologist and psychiatrists, presenting a mental health assessment to the court, have to inform the judge correctly about these limitations.

Using data from judicial documentation on adult adjudicated offenders in the Netherlands, an actuarial risk prediction instrument has been developed. StatRec estimates the four year reconviction rate of adult offenders, based on a limited number of static factors. The metric qualities of the scale are good. StatRec produces a precise estimate of the base rate in the group of individuals with the same combination of background characteristics as the offender. The scale does not use dynamic and situational factors that may influence the risk of reoffending. Taking them into account only slightly enhances the predictive power. StatRec can be used to validate more specific risk assessment tools.