RT Article
T1 Using technologies to evaluate response style in the competency crisis recommendations for evaluators
JF The journal of forensic psychiatry & psychology
VO 35
IS 4
SP 560
OP 576
A1 Danzer, Graham
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1894685199
AB It is possible that a portion of the competency crisis may be due to some defendants being misclassified as incompetent, secondary to evaluations of questionable thoroughness and quality, and perhaps over-reliance on interviews and lesser acquisition of collateral data. Meanwhile, a review of descriptive statistics suggests that, as criminal penalties have become increasingly harsh, requests for competency evaluations have proportionately increased. Thus, there is a risk that lengthy waiting lists, mounting time pressures, and attorney tactics may push evaluators in the direction of expediency, possibly at the expense of higher quality forensic work. Evaluators may therefore consider acquiring and perhaps more significantly relying upon relevant collateral informational sources, including police recorded interviews, jail recorded calls, social media content, and prior court records. While an evaluation of present mental state does not necessarily require significant background data, better use of technologies in an evaluation of competency may provide a more objective representation of competency-relevant, mental health-related history. So doing may help to solve a portion of the competency crisis that may be due to evaluations including inadequate collateral data. Best practice approaches, anecdotes, and limitations are presented.
K1 forensic practice
K1 competency to stand trial
K1 fitness evaluation
K1 competency evaluation
K1 Malingering
K1 Technology
DO 10.1080/14789949.2024.2348021