There has been relatively little previous research examining differences between subgroups of child sex offenders. In this study, we compared a group of familial and non-familial child sex offenders attending a community based treatment program on a number of relationship dimensions thought to be important in explaining offending. No statistically significant differences were found between these groups on measures of general empathy, intimacy and loneliness, although non-familial offenders were found to have higher levels of cognitive empathy and a more internal locus of control than familial offenders. These findings are discussed in terms of their possible implications for service delivery.

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R esearch conducted in Australia and around the world in the last decade has shown that people with significant intellectual impairments are over-represented in all areas of the criminal justice system. They are particularly over-represented in remand populations appearing before court. Previous research has suggested that as many as one-quarter of offenders facing sentencing in court have difficulty in understanding court procedures and it is suspected that a majority of these individuals suffer a significant intellectual impairment. The purpose of this study was to establish whether remandees with significant intellectual impairments (IQ < 70) have an accurate understanding of the court system. Seventy-four remand prisoners took part in the study. Remandees with an IQ of less than 70 demonstrated a significantly poorer understanding of the court system than those remandees with an IQ of 70 and above. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the need for law reform and diversionary practices for this population of remandees.

Decision making within orthopaedic centres predominantly occurs at the trauma meeting, where all decisions are made as a part of the multidisciplinary process. This is an essential handover process.Difficulties occur when teaching and detailed case discussions detract from the actual decision making process, leading to failure in documentation and implementing treatment plans.An audit was carried out in a busy district general hospital (DGH), assessing the quality of trauma meeting documentation in patient records, and assessing whether the introduction of a proforma document would improve this.Prospective clinical reviews were performed on all patients discussed in the trauma meeting over a one month period. Following the initial audit cycle a proforma was introduced, and the audit process was repeated at a two month and six month interval.The quality of the entries were assessed and compared to the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Standards for the clinical structure and content of patient records, and The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) of England Guidelines for Clinicians on Medical Records and Notes.

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