It is, thus, necessary that when there are allegations of a psychopath doing the rounds in the prison setting, both staff and colleagues should be shielded. For this purpose, a good set of measures can be applied. For example, the person under suspicion may be isolated in a separate unit or facility (Hickey 2016). Additionally, increasing surveillance and close monitoring can even be imposed to prevent risks from arising. They can also prevent potential misconduct from apprehending in time, which will ensure security and well-being in the corrective one.
Rationale for Including or Excluding Suspected Psychopathic Inmates from Rehabilitation Programs
It is very crucial to note that these rehabilitation techniques and anger management programs are very useful tools in prisons. Still, they may have a different effect on each person, especially those showing signs of being psychopaths. It’s important to understand that not every person having such features is officially diagnosed with psychopathy since they vary during childhood. According to Worley (2014), inappropriate psychopathology during childhood often involves a range of very different behaviors, some more detectable than others. Interestingly, it has been suggested that serial killers’ maladaptive behaviors during childhood are torturing animals, chronic bedwetting, and fire setting. Although some of them may continue to benefit from these programs, they can also help resolve the underlying problems and encourage positive behavioral changes. However, specialized interventions that address the particular requirements and difficulties of psychopathy-enriched criminals may be essential so as to ensure these programs work for a larger number of convicts.
The Best Final Arbitrator to Decide on Incarcerating Psychopaths
In the final analysis, a mental health practitioner such as a psychiatrist or psychologist should decide whether an incarcerated individual is actually psychopathic. These specialists have the necessary training and skills to perform complete assessments with the applicable diagnostic criteria as well as evaluation tools, leading to an accurate determination. Depending on their professional judgment, such diagnoses are supported by an elaborate overview of the inmate’s mental health and dependable treatment tools that may be adapted to their specific needs. The needs may inscribe a positive outcome for both individual incarcerate as well as the societal prison population.
Elements for Officials to Determine a Suspected Psychopath
Different approaches should be used to assess whether an individual is a psychopath, and these include clinical interviews, psychological testing as well as behavioral observation. Some commonly used instruments for such measurement include the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) checklist. Mental health professionals widely use this checklist and also experts to diagnose psychopathy criteria already set. By merging these approaches, officials are able to generate a comprehensive and precise evaluation, allowing them in prison or correctional settings. This approach is vital for the formulation of appropriate responses like customized treatment aspects pertaining to security.
Interesting Aspect of Chapter Three and Consideration of Various Sociological Concepts
A common interesting feature of Chapter Three is the description of a psychopathic personality and its distinctions from other personalities (Hickey 2016). An absence of empathy, impulsiveness, and a high sense of self-entitlement identifies a psychopath. They also deceive many others, and they are often known as criminals. This chapter focuses on the difficulties in treating psychopathy and future studies that need to be done regarding this topic (Hickey 2016).
If serial murder theories are taken into consideration from a sociological point of view, the social structure theory depicts very well why some people engage in becoming serial murderers. Frustration, anger, and helplessness may be created by social and economic factors, which include poverty, the unemployment rate, and the level of inequality. Serial murder is a criminal behavior that can be directly attributed to these negative feelings. In fact, Worley (2014) believes that serial murderers carry many characteristic defects from the mind; they are psychopaths and hardly ever really encounter any stats.
References
Hickey, Eric W. (2016). Serial Murderers and Their Victims (7th edition).
Worley, R. (2014). “Exploring the Biological Foundations of Serial Murder.” Psychology. Retrieved on January 24, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1XXj5VZlQc.