the crime report

Writing in Psychology Today, Bella DePaulo comments on the popularity–particularly among criminologists, apparently–of the Showtime TV network’s “Dexter.” Set in Miami, the 5-year-old show focuses on Dexter Morgan (played by Michael C. Hall), a police forensics expert who moonlights as a serial killer. The program won an Emmy Award this week for best directing in a drama series. DePaulo, a California psychology professor and writer, is editor of a new book,  “The Psychology of Dexter,” that features analysis of the character by various experts in psychology, sociology and criminology. (more…)

One of the more troubling issues I have encountered in my 15 years of the practice of psychiatry is the frequency with which agencies work to evade responsibility and accountability for the clients they are supposed to serve.  No agency is immune to this problem, but in my experience, one of the most egregious situations goes something like this:

Joe is a 33 year old man seen on the grounds of a local elementary school. He is not recognized by school staff, and the police are called.  Upon approach by police officers, he appears not to understand their direction to leave the grounds.

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In my last post, I raised the following question: How do we address the growing population of incarcerated individuals with mental illness?

One approach gaining popularity around the country is the idea of “specialized caseloads” for parole officers. Practically, what this means is that parolees with mental illness are assigned to parole officers who have received training on how to best manage this population and carry a reduced caseload.

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National Public Radio, in the third of a series, dissects the Tennessee case of Bradley Waldroup, who killed a woman and attacked his wife in 2006. “It wasn’t a who done it?” says defense attorney Wylie Richardson. “It was a why done it?” Forensic psychiatrist William Bernet of Vanderbilt University found that Waldroup has a variant of the “MAO-A gene — also known as the warrior gene because it has been associated with violence.” Says Bernet: ”His genetic makeup, combined with his history of child abuse, together created a vulnerability that he would be a violent adult.” (more…)

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For nearly 20 years, neuroscientist James Fallon of the University of California-Irvine has studied the brains of psychopaths. Fallon tells National Public Radio the evidence is accumulating that some people’s brains predispose them toward violence and that psychopathic tendencies may be passed down from one generation to another. (more…)

Joan is a 62-year-old woman who was transferred from jail to the hospital for an assessment as to her competency to stand trial.  She was arrested in a subway station and charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing and resisting arrest, because she would not leave the pay phone when asked to do so by other patrons.  When approached by the police, she began yelling at them and refused to leave the premises.

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Director of Couples and Family Therapy

San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry

University of California, San Francisco

keith.armstrong@va.gov

Tulsa VA Behavioral Medicine Clinic

10159 East 11th Street

Tulsa, OK 74128-3058

918-610-2000