This information-rich volume expands current knowledge about sexually violent predators and critiques SVP laws with the goal of fostering improvements in clinical practice and public policy. It offers a finely detailed evidence base on this problematic class of offenders, including the complex interactions of biophysiological and environmental factors that contribute to criminal sexual behavior. Chapters discuss a wide range of assessment issues and instruments central to SVP evaluation, and the possibilities for developing interventions that address individual motivations and behaviors to reduce the risk of reoffending. And throughout, careful attention is paid to ongoing legal, ethical, and logical concerns regarding sexually violent offenders, their treatment and confinement, and their post-confinement placement.

Historical overview.- An overview of legislation.- Sexually violent predators legislation: arguments pro and con.- Management of sexually violent predators while in federal custody.- Can sexually violent predators be managed in community settings?.- What happens to civillycommitted sexually violent predators? The state of treatment for incarcerated sex offenders.- Offenders targeting children vs. offenders targeting adults.- Juvenile offenders and sexual violence .- Understanding recidivism in the treatment of sexual offenders.- The psychometrics of risk assessments for the paraphilias.- A general psychometric overview of sexually violent predators criteria: what is the burden? .- Statistical controversies in sexually violent predators assessments.- What constructs ought to be measured when conducting sexually violent predators evaluations? .- Comorbid mental health problems in sexually violent predators.- Cultural considerations in sexually violent predators evaluations.- Sexuallyviolent predators and the DSM-V.- General issues in the prediction of deviant sexual behavior.- The assessment and diagnosis of personality disorders.- The assessment and diagnosis of "mental defects" and psychopathy.- The assessment and diagnosis of the paraphilias.- Problems with reliance on self-report.-Physiological assessment: polygraph and plethysmography.- What should a standard sexually violent predator's evaluation protocol look like? .- Sexually violent predators and expert testimony.- Understanding the victims.