Europe in the aftermath of the refugee crisis: the effect on forensic psychotherapy

After World War II Germany has repeatedly suffered waves of immigration. With eighteen to twenty per cent of the entire German population now being of foreign descent, it is puzzling that public opinion widely ignores the impact of migration on Germany’s national destiny and identity. As forensic therapists we routinely apply a set of assumptions and routines, by which we address internal and external culture conflicts of migrants. Each wave has challenged the justice system and the legislature, and forensic therapists are used to working around legal boundaries to safeguard that migrants receive treatment and are not deported. The uniqueness of the present wave of migration lies in the overwhelmingly high numbers of arrivals in a very short time span, many of whom were traumatised unaccompanied male minors with ill-informed expectations. Europe in its entirety has seen the breakdown of existing structures for receiving and accommodating refugees alongside a surge of solidarity, but also with some alarming loss of empathy. Public bias against migration is beginning to impinge on our forensic work, as we deal with migrants, whose difficult life situation has had a bearing on their criminal behaviour, while forensic assessments determine whether they are going to be deported or not. We as forensic therapists are therefore caught in a professional dilemma whichever way we turn.

New Frontiers and Old Challenges: How to Manage Incidental Findings When Forensic Diagnosis Goes Beyond

Incidental findings (IFs) are well known in medical research and clinical practice as unexpected findings having potential health or reproductive importance for an individual. IFs are discovered under different contexts but do not fall within the aim of a study, and/or are unanticipated or unintentionally revealed, and/or are not the specific focus or target of the particular research or clinical query. Today, in forensic settings, we can consider as incidental findings all the information that is neither related to the cause of death nor to the dynamic of the event or the scope of the forensic investigation. The question whether and how professionals should consider traditional values as guiding notions in the reporting of IFs in the context of forensic assessments is the focus of this article. We propose a descriptive analysis, which focuses on the forensic field, describing forensic situations in which IFs may occur, and whether and to whom they may be disclosed. Some considerations will be provided regarding forensic experts concerning their moral commitment to warn relatives about IFs.

TMEM119 as a specific marker of microglia reaction in traumatic brain injury in postmortem examination

The aim of the present study was a refined analysis of neuroinflammation including TMEM119 as a useful microglia-specific marker in forensic assessments of traumatic causes of death, e.g., traumatic brain injury (TBI). Human brain tissue samples were obtained from autopsies and divided into cases with lethal TBI (n = 25) and subdivided into three groups according to their trauma survival time and compared with an age-, gender-, and postmortem interval-matched cohort of sudden cardiovascular fatalities as controls (n = 23). Brain tissue samples next to cortex contusions and surrounding white matter as well as samples of the ipsilateral uninjured brain stem and cerebellum were collected and stained immunohistochemically with antibodies against TMEM119, CD206, and CCR2. We could document the highest number of TMEM119-positive cells in acute TBI death with highly significant differences to the control numbers. CCR2-positive monocytes showed a significantly higher cell count in the cortex samples of TBI cases than in the controls with an increasing number of immunopositive cells over time. The number of CD206-positive M2 microglial cells increased survival time-dependent. After 3 days of survival, the cell number increased significantly in all four regions investigated compared with controls. In sum, we validate a specific and robustly expressed as well as fast reacting microglia marker, TMEM119, which distinguishes microglia from resident and infiltrating macrophages and thus offers a great potential for the estimation of the minimum survival time after TBI.

“You Have to Separate the Sinner From the Sin”: Clinician’s Approaches to Psychological Assessments With Men who Have Sexually Offended

Men who have sexually offended are often referred for presentence psychological assessments to determine factors which contributed to offending, identify risk of recidivism, and develop treatment recommendations. The accuracy of assessments is largely reliant on the cooperation of the assessee. Despite the significant legal and emotional consequences, how clinicians approach these assessments, attempt to engage assessees, and overcome resistance have not been investigated. This research sought to develop an understanding of the clinicians’ experience of conducting the assessment. How clinicians approach interviews with men who have sexually offended and the techniques they use were explored. Six interviews were conducted with qualified psychologists, at a private practice, whose role included conducting psychological assessments across a range of forensic matters. The findings, reached using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, highlighted the relational/social nature of the interaction and the clinicians’ experience of a somewhat blurred line in practice between forensic assessments and therapeutic endeavours.

SOME ASPECTS OF THE EVALUATION ACTIONS OF MILITARY OFFICERS OF ANTI-TERRORIST OPERATION AND THEIR DIFFERENCES FROM EVALUATION THE ACTIONS OF THE SAME PERSONS DURING THE UNITED FORCES OPERATION

The article lays out certain aspects that are being investigated within the framework of the research work “Development of a methodology for conducting military forensic assessments of the actions of officials (leaders, commanders, chiefs) of counter-terrorism entities during an anti-terrorist operation” based on the analysis of the structure of the forensic expert methodology, as well as their differences from the evaluation of the actions of the same persons during the operation of the united forces in repelling armed aggression of the Russian Federation. Thus, research of certain aspects of the evaluation of the actions of officials (leaders, commanders, chiefs, other military personnel) of the anti-terrorist operation and the actions of the same persons during the operation of the united forces, indicates differences in international and national legislative, other regulatory regulation of their activities. In particular, in various state-authorized bodies of the state security and defense sector, forces and means that were used (are used) during the operation, management of the operation, goals, objectives, functions, planning, provision and organization of its implementation, use as directed by personnel military units, the legality of using weapons, etc. At the same time, the conducted studies provide the basis for understanding the need to further improve the legal regulation of operations by forces and means of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, other bodies of the security and defense sector and searching and providing answers to questions that arise in modern conditions administration of justice, including in the course of conducting forensic military examinations.

Disclosing Child Sexual Abuse during Forensic Assessments of the Black South African Child

Child sexual abuse is a social and health issue that affects citizens across the globe. It has a number of physical, psychological and emotional consequences. Children are reluctant to talk about their involvement in sexual abuse owing to various reasons. Therefore, forensic interviewers need to understand the process of disclosure when conducting forensic assessments. They also need to be watchful of various dynamics that are likely to have an impact on the disclosure rate. The aim of this study was to describe the dynamics during forensic assessments in the context of the black South African child when disclosing child sexual abuse. A descriptive design using stratified random, purposive and convenient sampling techniques to select the participants was employed, resulting in 14 participants (13 were females and only one was male). The data were collected by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews and were thematically analysed using the Nvivo program. The findings reveal that personal characteristics of the child and the interviewer, their communication abilities, blind assessments and informed allegation interviews have an impact on forensic assessments of black South African children. It is concluded that the dynamics of disclosing child sexual abuse during forensic assessments in terms of the variables of the study are not unique, except in terms of sociocultural value systems, beliefs and customs. As a result, it is recommended that the forensic interviewers come to the developmental level of the child, speak his/her language or use translators for him/her to understand, and to follow blind assessments interviews as opposed to informed allegation interviews. However, informed allegations interviews are recommended when assessing very young children.

Three Opportunities for the Future of Juvenile Forensic Assessment

Legal and social circumstances now offer the field of juvenile forensic assessment several opportunities to expand its identity, influence, and value to society. These opportunities include (a) conceptualizing an assessment domain called evaluations for developmental sentencing, (b) creating developmental forensic evaluations of emerging adults, and (c) adapting juvenile forensic assessments to the nation’s increasing ethnic and cultural diversity. If successfully attempted, these opportunities could transform juvenile forensic assessment’s identity, reimagining itself as developmental forensic assessment applied to offenders in both juvenile and criminal courts.