Discussion - Treatment Outcome Models with White-Collar Offenders

White-collar crime is not a new type of offense, though advances in technology have altered the scope and appearance of the crimes in this category. For example, in the past, credit card theft was accomplished by stealing the actual card or compromising the card by obtaining carbon copies of credit transactions.

In addition, a less powerful Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enabled the easy destruction of many paper financial transactions. However, today's modern systems are filled with information that is stored and maintained electronically and thus can be stolen by a computer hacker. Therefore, in terms of identity theft and information-related crimes, people are more vulnerable to mass compromise today than in the past.

Modern 24/7 media cycles have brought a variety of white-collar criminals and offenders, from politicians to celebrities, to the public's attention. These new types of white-collar convicted offenders, while certainly not representing the majority of forensic offenders, have changed the landscape of forensic treatment settings.

With the increase of white-collar offenders in the criminal justice system, the forensic treatment provider has an increased likelihood of working with them in various settings. White-collar offenders present unique treatment opportunities that are not typical of those usually found in prisons, jails, or community custody treatment settings.

Therefore, the treatment providers as well as the entire treatment system may be challenged by the nuances of white-collar crime and offenses.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the article "Personality, Environment, and the Causes of White-Collar Crime" in this week's Learning Resources. Pay attention to the different personality traits linked to white-collar offenders.

• Review the article "Criminal Thinking and Identity in Male White-Collar Offenders" in this week's Learning Resources. Consider the characteristics of the different categories of white-collar offenders discussed in this article. Think about how these different characteristics would affect treatment approach.

• Select one of the personality types (i.e., ultracompetitive, positive extrovert, disagreeable businessman, neurotic) discussed in the article "Personality, Environment, and the Causes of White-Collar Crime" that is of particular interest to you.

• Identify a specific treatment approach for treating the type of white-collar offender you selected.

• Conduct an academic search in the Walden Library and select at least one scholarly article from a peer-reviewed journal that features the treatment approach you selected. This treatment approach should demonstrate efficacy with your selected type of white-collar offender.

• Think about the unique characteristics of your selected type of white-collar offender and reflect on any considerations related to the treatment of this type of offender.

• Consider what challenges you might encounter while working with this group of white-collar offenders using the specific treatment approach you selected. Reflect on how you would address these challenges.

• Review the course document, Treatment Outcome Models, provided in the introduction area of this week's discussion.

• Think about how treatment approach success could be evaluated using each of the treatment outcome models.

• Select one treatment outcome model that you think would be the most effective for measuring the success of your treatment approach and consider why.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post a brief description of the research article you selected. Include the type of white-collar offender and the treatment approach. Then describe which treatment outcome model you would use to measure the success of the treatment approach and explain why.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.Application: Characteristics of Female Offenders

Leona Helmsley, Martha Stewart, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, Susan Smith, and Andrea Yates are some of the famous, or infamous, females who have recently spent time in correctional forensic treatment settings. These women were media "favorites," and while their crimes were certainly worthy of the attention, what is more telling and compelling is that these women exhibited many common features shared by female offenders.

When considering what these and other female offenders have in common, it is obvious that such features have implications for treatment approaches, the treatment itself, and the measurement of treatment success.

To prepare for this assignment:

• Review the article "Gendered Pathways: A Quantitative Investigation of Women Probationers' Paths to Incarceration" in this week's Learning Resources. Pay particular attention to common features that are relevant to female offenders, in general.

• Review the article "The Natural History of Conduct Disorder Symptoms in Female Inmates: On the Predictive Utility of the Syndrome in Severely Antisocial Women" in this week's Learning Resources. Focus on gender differences related to the etiology of antisocial behavior and consider how these differences would affect treatment approaches.

• Consider the features common to female offenders and think about how these features affect treatment approaches and their treatment outcomes.

• Select at least two of the features common to female offenders to use for this Application Assignment.

• Think about the implications of these specific features when selecting treatment approaches and treatment outcomes that might be appropriate and effective for female offenders. Consider how these features would affect treatment itself.

The assignment (1-2 pages):

• Identify and briefly describe the two features common to female offenders that you selected for this Application Assignment.

• Explain how and why each of these features is common among female offenders.

• Explain the implications of each feature on treatment approaches and treatment outcomes for female offenders. Be specific and provide examples.

Support your Application Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list only for those resources not included in the Learning Resources for this course.