The STATIC-99 is an actuarial risk assessment instrument to estimate the risk of sexually violent recidivism in adult male sex offenders. The use of such assessment instruments has grown enormously in recent years. Professional institutions that work with sexual offenders have come to the realization that an assessment based (alone) on clinical judgment is too subjective. The STATIC-99 offers a solution.
STATIC-99
- Risk assessment and scientific research
- STATIC-99 reliable
- What is STATIC-99?
- STATIC-99 good predictor
- Disadvantages of STATIC-99
- Mainly static, unchangeable factors
- Predictive power of the SVR-20 is greater
- The predictors of the recurrence of a sexual offense
- The importance of a good risk assessment
- Important at many times
- Risk management
- Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA)
- The valuation instrument
- 10 items
- Explanation
- There are four risk categories
- Three cases for explanation
- An incest perpetrator
- A pedophile
- A rapist
- STATIC-2002
- criminal law
- Crimes against morals
Risk assessment and scientific research
Research from the early 1980s had shown that clinicians did not predict much better than chance level. Moreover, it was not always clear what the risk assessment was based on. This gave the impetus to use the results and outcomes of scientific research; risk assessment instruments were developed. Empiricism was introduced when estimating the chance of recurrence of criminal behavior among perpetrators of sexual crimes.
STATIC-99 reliable
What is STATIC-99?
The STATIC-99 is a brief instrument intended to estimate the risk of sexually violent recidivism among adult men who are suspected of and/or convicted of a sexual offense.
STATIC-99 good predictor
The opposite of the clinician’s own experience is the group statement based on probability. With the actuarial method, predictions are made about future violent behavior based on objective file data. The actuarial method comes from the insurance world, where risks also have to be estimated. With such a method it should be possible that anyone with knowledge of the matter who administers the STATIC-99 to any sex offender will get the same outcome. This is in contrast to the judgment of clinicians who can often differ in opinion. So many heads, so many sentences, one could almost conclude. Research has shown that the inter-rater reliability of the STATIC-99 is sufficient.
Disadvantages of STATIC-99
Mainly static, unchangeable factors
This approach also has disadvantages; changes in the person or their environment are not taken into account; no justice is done to the individual case. The STATIC-99 mainly concerns static, unchangeable factors. A delinquent will not be tested much differently before and after treatment for perpetrators of sexual offenses, because it mainly concerns unchangeable historical factors. Only his age and having a long-term relationship can influence this, depending on his age and partner situation at the time of the first risk assessment prior to treatment.
Predictive power of the SVR-20 is greater
STATIC-99 not only contains no risk factors that can change, it also contains no potentially protective factors, which produces a one-sided picture. That is why TBS institutions (also) use SVR-20, which is the structured clinical appraisal, where the actuarial approach is combined with the clinical judgment and indications for risk management are provided. An approach that is primarily intended to prevent violence in the future, in addition to assessing the risk of crime. Good risk assessment instruments are indispensable when assessing and granting (trial) leave.
Research shows that the ST ATIC-99 is reasonably reliable in predicting violent recidivism. However, the predictive power of the SVR-20 is greater. Since 2005, the Minister of Justice has required TBS clinics to substantiate their leave applications that must be submitted to the ministry with a structured risk assessment, such as the SVR-20.
The predictors of the recurrence of a sexual offense
The STATIC-99 was developed by psychologists R. Karl Hanson and David Thornton and, according to them, it is the most widely used risk assessment instrument worldwide. It is widely used in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and many European countries. The instrument is based on a meta-analysis by R. Karl Hanson and Monique T. Bussière of studies on the predictors of recidivism in violent sexual crimes.
Sexual delinquent behavior is sexually or partially sexually motivated behavior that is committed without the consent of the victim or with a victim who is considered incapable of giving consent (Marshall, 1998).
According to this meta-analysis, the strongest predictors of recidivism in violent sexual offenses are associated with sexual deviance, a previous conviction for sexual offenses and if a person has never been married. Even if the victim is unknown or not related to the perpetrator and he is male, the risk of relapse is greater. The age of the perpetrator also has an influence; the younger he started committing sexual offenses, the greater the chance of relapse. However, of all these factors, sexually deviant behavior (paraphilias) is most strongly associated with the likelihood and frequency of sexually violent behavior in the future. In particular, sexual sadism.
STATIC-99 / Source: Book cover
The importance of a good risk assessment
Important at many times
It is very important that behavioral experts such as forensic psychologists and therapists, as well as probation officers, can make a good assessment of the risk of sexually violent behavior of sex offenders. A thorough and reliable forecast is important at many times. This could include the criminal provision of a provisional measure (TBS). Estimating the risk of recidivism plays a role in the imposition of this measure, the treatment to be initiated and the granting of (trial) leave. Estimating the risk of recidivism also plays a role in considering whether to impose a (partly) conditional prison sentence with the special condition that the convicted person must place himself under probation supervision, even if this means, for example, attending day treatment or outpatient treatment for sex offenders at a forensic outpatient clinic. The perpetrator undergoes treatment and the probation service ensures that he fulfills his agreements.
Risk management
The chance of recurrence of sexual recidivism, together with the offence-related personality problems identified in the perpetrator, is taken as an outcome measure to determine which treatment is indicated and what the intensity of probation supervision will be (contact frequency). The risk of recidivism also partly determines which additional risk management measures are required, but this largely depends on the professional assessment of the probation officer based on the person of the perpetrator and his crime chain. An offense chain is what could precede a possible repetition of offense behavior for a specific perpetrator, such as situations, thoughts, moods, fantasies and ‘disinhibitors’ (for example alcohol or drug use). In the context of risk management, we can consider, among other things, the following measures that can be imposed by the judge on the advice of the probation service and therefore form part of probation supervision:
- Contact ban with victim(s).
- Location or area ban: a ban on entering certain locations such as swimming pools and schools or certain areas, such as a city, village or residential area.
- Electronic surveillance (ET), possibly with GPS (Global Position System) so that all movements and movements of the person are registered and it can be checked where he is and whether he is allowed to be there, depending on any location and/or or area bans that apply to him.
- An alcohol and drug ban and checks on use.
- A buddy for pedosexual sex offenders, a network of volunteers around the offender. (See inset on Circles of Support and Accountability: COSA).
STATIC-99 is a risk assessment instrument with a reliable outcome that can be quickly completed by the user. It is therefore in fact a kind of quick scan , which is extremely suitable for decision-making about the path to be taken (treatment, guidance and risk management). This instrument can be used for psychological Pro Justitia reports and probation reports. It provides a useful and reliable picture of the risk of recidivism in a short time.
Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA)
Circles of support and accountability, COSA, is an Anglo-Saxon method developed to allow sex offenders to safely return to society and to limit the risk of recidivism as much as possible. There are two circles in this method: an inner circle of volunteers and an outer circle of professionals. A group of approximately five volunteers is placed with a sex offender. The perpetrator enters into a contract with the volunteers. During a first group session, he explains what crime he committed and what his weaknesses and vulnerable points are. The volunteers see the delinquent several times a week, so they can quickly identify when the delinquent is in danger of slipping so that relapse into delinquent behavior is prevented at an early stage. The volunteers are the eyes and ears of the professionals, they are, as it were, on the delinquent’s skin and look over his shoulders to see what he is doing. It also prevents the delinquent from ending up in social isolation, as the lack of social support creates a breeding ground and a risk for committing new crimes.
The valuation instrument
10 items
STATIC-99 contains 10 items
- Previous sexual offenses
- Previous convictions
- Convictions for hands-off sexual offenses
- The current offense includes conviction for non-sexual violence
- Convictions for prior non-sexual violence
- Unrelated victim
- Unknown victim
- Male victim
- Young age
- Single
Explanation
- Has the offender previously been convicted of sexual offenses, or has he previously faced charges related to sexual violence prior to the current offense?
- Have there been previous convictions for criminal activities in general and if so, how often?
- Has the person concerned previously been convicted for hands-off sexual offences, which are offenses such as exhibitionism, possession of child pornography (not the production of child pornography, which is a hands-on offence) and making obscene telephone conversations.
- The current offense contains non-sexual violence against the victim of the sexual offense or against another victim.
- A related victim is a victim in the perpetrator’s immediate family circle.
- A victim is considered unknown if the perpetrator did not know the victim 24 hours prior to the crime.
- Has the perpetrator created a male victim in all sexual crimes he has committed?
- If the perpetrator is between 18 and 24 years of age at the time of the risk assessment or during expected exposure to risks, the chance of recidivism is greater.
- The perpetrator is single and he is so if he has not lived with an adult partner for a period of at least two years.
There are four risk categories
The user completes the STATIC-99 and a risk profile is created based on the scores assigned to the various items. Four risk categories are distinguished in the STATIC-99:
- Low
- Low average
- High average
- High
Three cases for explanation
An incest perpetrator
Willem is a 42-year-old man who has not previously come into contact with the police and the judiciary. He has been married to Els for 18 years. Three children were born from this marriage: Bert (17), Hans (15) and Marie (14). He is suspected of committing fornication and intercourse with his minor daughter from the age of 12 to the age of 14.
Recidivism risk based on STATIC-99: low.
A pedophile
Klaas is a single man of 45 years old, who is suspected of sexually abusing a boy between the ages of 10 and 16. He has previously come into contact with the police and the judiciary due to indecency with an underage boy. He has also been sentenced to community service in the past for downloading child pornography.
Recidivism risk based on STATIC-99: High average.
A rapist
Jan is a 22-year-old man who has never had a steady relationship, only some short-term relationships. From the age of 13 he came into contact with the police and the judiciary. He has built up an extensive criminal record, including convictions for property crimes, drug offenses and sexual assault of an adult woman. He is now suspected of raping another adult woman he met a few hours before the crime.
Recidivism risk based on STATIC -99: High.
STATIC-2002
We are now working hard on an improved version of the STATIC-99: the STATIC-2002. Instead of the original 10 items (see above), the new version consists of 14 items, which are clustered into five categories:
- Age.
- Persistence of sexual offences: previous sexual offences, already arrested as a minor for sex offenses.
- Sexual deviance: convictions for hands-off crimes, male victims, two or more victims under the age of 12, at least one of whom is not related to the perpetrator.
- Relationship to the victim: unrelated victim, victim is unknown to the perpetrator.
- Crime in general: including previous convictions.
criminal law
Crimes against morals
Article 239
An offense of indecency shall be punishable by a prison term of not more than three months or a fine of the second category: 1°. at or near a place intended for public traffic; 2°. in a public place other than that referred to under 1° , accessible to persons under the age of sixteen;
3°. in a non-public place, if someone else is present despite him. Article 240
Any person who knows or has serious reason to suspect that an image or object is offensive to decency and that image or object: 1° shall be punished with a
prison term of not more than two months or a fine of the third category . openly exhibits or offers
at or near a place intended for public traffic ; 2°. to anyone other than at his request.
Article 240a Any person who provides or offers an image, an object or a data carrier containing an image the display of which is considered harmful to persons under the age of sixteen shall be punished with a prison term of not more than one year or a fine of the fourth category. or shows it to a minor whom he knows or should reasonably suspect is younger than sixteen years of age.
Article 240b
1. Any person who produces an image – or a data carrier containing an image – of a sexual act, involving a person who has apparently not yet reached the age of eighteen, shall be punished with a term of imprisonment of not more than four years or a fine of the fifth category. reaches, is involved or appears to be involved, distributes, openly exhibits, manufactures, imports, transits, exports or possesses. 2.
Anyone who makes a profession or habit of committing one of the crimes described in the first paragraph shall be punished
with a prison term of not more than six years or a fine of the fifth category. Article 242 Anyone who, by force or another act or threat of force or another act, forces someone to undergo acts consisting of or partly consisting of sexual penetration of the body, shall be guilty of rape and shall be punished with a term of imprisonment not exceeding twelve years or a fifth category fine.
Article 243 Anyone who is with someone whom he knows is in a state of unconsciousness, reduced consciousness or physical impotence, or suffers from such a defective development or pathological disorder of his mental faculties that he is unable or imperfectly able to express his will in this regard. determine or make known or resist such, commits acts that consist of or partly consist of sexual penetration of the body, shall be punished with a prison term of not more than eight years or a fine of the fifth category.
Article 244 Anyone who, with someone under the age of twelve, commits acts that consist of or partly consists of sexual penetration of the body, shall be punished with a prison sentence of not more than twelve years or a fine of the fifth category.
Article 245 Anyone who commits lewd acts out of wedlock, consisting of or partly consisting of sexual penetration of the body, with a person who has reached the age of twelve years but not yet sixteen years , shall be punished with a prison sentence of not more than eight years or a fifth category fine.
Article 246 Anyone who, by force or another act or threat of force or another act, forces someone to commit or tolerate lewd acts, shall, as guilty of actual indecent assault, be punished with a prison term of not more than eight years or a fine. of the fifth category.
Article 247
A person who is with someone whom he knows is in a state of unconsciousness, reduced consciousness or physical impotence, or suffers from such a defective development or pathological disorder of his mental faculties that he is unable or incompletely able to exercise his will to determine or make known in this regard or to resist this or commits lewd acts outside marriage with someone under the age of sixteen or tempts the latter to commit or tolerate such acts outside marriage with a third party, shall be punished with a prison sentence of up to maximum six years or a fourth category fine.
Article 2481. If one of the crimes described in Articles 240b, 243, 245 to 247, 248a, 248b and 249 results in serious physical injury or is likely to endanger the life of another person, a prison sentence of not more than twelve years or imposed a fifth category fine.
2. If one of the crimes described in Articles 240b, 242, 243 to 247, 248a, 248b and 249 results in death, a prison term of not more than fifteen years or a fifth-category fine shall be imposed.
Article 248a Anyone who, through gifts or promises of money or goods, abuse of dominance arising from actual relationships or deception, deliberately induces a person whom he knows or should reasonably suspect has not yet reached the age of eighteen, to commit lewd acts or such to tolerate his actions shall be punished with a prison term of not more than four years or a fine of the fourth category.
Article 248b Anyone who commits fornication with someone who makes himself available to perform sexual acts with a third party for payment and who has reached the age of sixteen but not yet the age of eighteen, shall be punished with a prison sentence of not more than four years or a fine of the fourth category.
Article 248cAnyone who is intentionally present when lewd acts are committed by a person whom he knows or should reasonably suspect has not yet reached the age of eighteen, or when images of such acts are shown in a designated venue, shall be punished with a prison term of not more than four years or a fine of the fourth category.
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