… [Read more...] about Foreword from Dr Emma Regan, Newly Elected IACFP President
Summary: A Survey of OPD Pathway Services Recipients in United Kingdom Prisons
The January 2025 issue of Criminal Justice and Behavior has published a new study of the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway co-authored by Manuela Jarrett, Julie Trebilcock, Tim Weaver, Andrew Forrester, Colin D. Campbell, Mizanur Khondoker, George Vamvakas, Barbara Barrett, and Paul A. Moran. The OPD Pathway is a network of services across prison, health and community settings in England and Wales developed by His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) and National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It was designed to provide mental health support for incarcerated individuals with personality disorders. The study was a component of a national review of the OPD Pathway … [Read more...] about Summary: A Survey of OPD Pathway Services Recipients in United Kingdom Prisons
Summary: Reception to and Efficacy of a Serious Video Game for Correctional Intervention
A pilot study of the utility and effectiveness of video games designed for correctional intervention appears in the November 2024 issue of Criminal Justice and Behavior. The study is co-authored by Keegan J. Diehl, Robert D. Morgan, Christopher M. King, Paul B. Ingram, and Cooper Mitchell, and focuses specifically on Project Choices, a "serious" video game designed for justice-involved individuals that aims to reduce recidivism. Through a cross-over design study and follow-up surveys, the researchers sought to determine if Project Choices could provide as much engagement and immersion to the players as a game designed strictly for leisure purposes. The researchers also looked at the effects … [Read more...] about Summary: Reception to and Efficacy of a Serious Video Game for Correctional Intervention
IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for Jan/Feb 2025
We've compiled top highlights from recent research, policy, and practice resources across the world for our latest IACFP International News summary. Our topics for January and February, 2025 include IACFP updates; member access to SAGE Journals; recent research, policy, and practice; and upcoming conferences. International News 3rd Annual Mental Health-Substance Use Health Report Card The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health issued the 3rd Annual Mental Health-Substance Use Health Report Card in January 2025. Findings that are particularly relevant for correctional psychology are the following: “There is no health without mental health and substance use health. … [Read more...] about IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for Jan/Feb 2025
Moving Forward: New Members of the Executive Committee of the Board and the Board
As IACFP begins a new year, it moves forward with a new executive committee of the board and three new board members. Our president, Emma Regan, noted in her Foreword for this edition of the IACFP Bulletin that during the first meeting of the board in 2025, "we focused on the development of our new IACFP strategy. Key to this strategy will be: A strong focus on Continual Professional Development (CPD) for our members. Enhancing our international Mental Health Leadership Network. Fulfilling the potential of our IACFP Bulletin with an emphasis on engaging practitioner and student writers. A focus on IACFP modernisation, governance and organisational resilience. … [Read more...] about Moving Forward: New Members of the Executive Committee of the Board and the Board
Summary: Sport-based interventions and health in prisons: The impact of Twinning Project on prisoner wellbeing and attitudes
The Journal of Health Psychology has recently published a study by Linus Peitz and Marsha Newsome that examines ways to improve mental health in prisons and the positive effects of building social relationships between prisoners. These support networks have been shown to reduce the risks of mental health issues and re-offending. The research specifically focuses on the Twinning Project, an initiative that introduces a structured football (soccer) program into UK-based correctional facilities. The researchers found that the activities of the Twinning Project produced substantial benefits for the participants, including higher levels of wellbeing and satisfaction of psychological … [Read more...] about Summary: Sport-based interventions and health in prisons: The impact of Twinning Project on prisoner wellbeing and attitudes
Student Research Award Winners Preview Their Current Projects
This month we're proud to share a preview of the criminological studies currently being pursued by 2024’s IACFP Student Research Award winners, Cooper Sparks and Charlie Aelick. The Assessment Utility of Project Choices: An E-Health Technology Tool Abstract Cooper Sparks Between 2020 and 2021, approximately 5,444,900 individuals were supervised within United States correctional institutions (Carson & Kluckow, 2023). Within this population are varying mental health concerns and levels of threat to public safety (Alsan et al., 2023). In the leading Risk-Needs-Responsivity model of correctional rehabilitation, treatment focuses on criminogenic needs (i.e., criminal friends, … [Read more...] about Student Research Award Winners Preview Their Current Projects
IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for Nov/Dec 2024
We've compiled top highlights from recent research, policy, and practice resources across the world for our latest IACFP International News summary. Our topics for November and December 2024 include IACFP updates; recent research, policy, and practice; and upcoming conferences. 1. IACFP Updates IACFP Board Planning for Future The IACFP Board held their annual in-person meeting 28-30 October 2024 in Salem, Oregon, US. In addition to a business meeting and a facilitated strategic planning discussion to establish future goals, the Board spent a day at the Oregon State Penitentiary learning about the Oregon Way, including their behavioral health programs and staff wellness … [Read more...] about IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for Nov/Dec 2024
Summary: UNODC Global Prison Population and Trends: A Focus on Rehabilitation
Each year the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) administers the United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (UN-CTS) to gather comprehensive information on the global prison population and the processes of correctional systems across all UN member states. The UNODC’s first edition of Prison Matters, which follows the 2021 and 2023 publications of Data Matters on prisons, is their report on this collected and analyzed data. The document is the product of UNODC’s Research and Trend Analysis Branch, supervised by Branch Chief Angela Me and coordinated by Chloe Carpentier, Chief of the UNODC Research and Knowledge Production Section. Analysis … [Read more...] about Summary: UNODC Global Prison Population and Trends: A Focus on Rehabilitation
Summary: Prisoners’ Perceptions and Satisfaction with Telepsychiatry Services
A recently published study within the journal Healthcare (Basel) examines the use of telepsychiatry services to provide mental healthcare for prisoners within the correctional system of Greece. The research was conducted by Evangelia Karachaliou, Phoebe Douzenis, Fotios Chatzinikolaou, Nikos Pantazis, Sophia Martinaki, Panagiota Bali, Konstantinos Tasios, and Athanasios Douzenis, and found several positive effects to adopting telepsychiatry for this specific patient population in comparison to more traditional methods of treatment. Background and Research Purposes Numerous studies in multiple settings have documented the prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders … [Read more...] about Summary: Prisoners’ Perceptions and Satisfaction with Telepsychiatry Services
Improving Staff Wellness: An Interview with Rosemary Ricciardelli
Rosemary Ricciardelli, Ph.D., is the Research Chair in Safety Security & Wellness for the Fisheries & Marine Institute at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has written extensively about staff wellness in public safety organizations; specifically in corrections. This interview was conducted by IACFP Executive Director Cherie Townsend, and has been edited and condensed. Cherie Townsend: Currently, correctional systems are experiencing significant challenges with recruitment and retention of staff. In the past staff would work in corrections as a lifetime career. From your perspective, what has changed? Rosemary Ricciardelli:The prison population is changing. There's a change in who's … [Read more...] about Improving Staff Wellness: An Interview with Rosemary Ricciardelli
IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for Sept/Oct 2024
We've compiled top highlights from recent research, policy, and practice resources across the world for our latest IACFP International News summary. Our topics for September and October, 2024 include IACFP updates; member access to SAGE Journals; recent research, policy, and practice; and upcoming conferences. 1. IACFP Updates IACFP Board at ICPA Conference IACFP board members Diane Williams, Frank Porporino, and Gabriel Ong, as well as IACFP president Melvin Hinton and executive director Cherie Townsend, attended the ICPA annual conference in Singapore this past September. In this photo, the board members are with Dr. Mark Halsey, who delivered the 2024 IACFP Distinguished … [Read more...] about IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for Sept/Oct 2024
