Forensic Evaluators

The Relevance of the Link to Forensic Evaluators

“Animal maltreatment has gained national recognition as a prominent societal problem in recent decades,with growing awareness of its link to anti-social and violent behaviors (Currie, 2006; DeGue & DiLillo, 2009). As of 2014, all 50 states have felony animal maltreatment provisions (Berry, 2014), and the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System began collectinganimal maltreatment data in 2016. Animal protection scholars and activists have devoted considerable financial and reputational resources to ensuring that animal maltreatment is more aggressively prosecuted, with the presumption that stronger responses from the criminal justice system will result in decreased violence against humans and animals. This reasoning, however, assumes that the criminal justice system’s response to animal maltreatment will somehow render the offender less dangerous. Such an assumption is at war with existing clinical competencies and the practical functioning of our justice system.” -Dr. Laura Meyer, Graduate School of Professional Psychology, University of Denver

 The Forensic Animal Maltreatment Evaluation (FAME)

  • Cruelty to animals (Colorado 18-9-202 C.R.S.) 2.1. Court-ordered evaluation: Prior to sentencing, the court willorder an evaluation of you to assist the judge in determining an appropriate sentence.
  • Individual has been convicted or adjudicated of animal maltreatment (harm to an animal or animals).
  • Used for disposition purposes

The primary purposes in an animal abuse – specific evaluation:

  • Identify behavioral, mental health, and trauma-based issues relevant to the emergence of animal cruelty behavior.
  • Provide an accurate estimation of the likelihood and circumstances for continue abuse behavior and community safety concerns.
  • Provide recommendations for intervention, disposition and supervision.
  • High rates of co-morbid diagnosis in this population necessitates the use of sensitive, comprehensive, and standardized methods for assessment of individuals who have engaged in serious or chronic animal cruelty in order to assist in the formation of appropriate recommendations and disposition.

The Colorado FAME contains the following areas of focus:

  • Case file review
  • Client interview/observation
  • Clinical mental status exam
  • Collateral contact family members, and other relevant persons
  • Collateral review of criminal history
  • Review of Academic Functioning
  • Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Exam
  • Intelligence Testing
  • Diagnostic Symptom Assessment
  • Trauma Assessment
  • Psychological Testing
  • Clinical Assessment of Family
  • Animal Abuse Typology Consideration
  • Animal Abuse Risk Assessment
  • Review of veterinary and forensic veterinary reports

Animal Abuse Risk Assessment Tool (AARAT)

FAME evaluators use a tool known as the Animal Abuse Risk Assessment Tool (AARAT) for the assessment of risk. Currently, this tool provides approximately the same predictive validity as expert clinical interview.  The AARAT is a 68 item clinical risk screening tool (expanded version originated from Dr. Randall Lockwood’s cruelty risk factors).

Categories informing Risk Assessment

  • Animal Victim Characteristics
  • Animal Abuse Specifics
  • Logistics of Index Offense
  • Perpetrator Characteristics
  • Motivation and Culpability
  • Criminal History
  • Personal and Family History

Animal Victim Characteristics

  • How well did the client know the animal(s)?
    • Pet
    • Family member’s pet
    • Unknown animal

Animal Abuse Specifics

  • Degree of injury (select one):
    • Mild: Animal sustained a temporary injury from which it will completely recover.
    • Moderate: Animal required a sustained recovery period and/or will be scarred or disabled for most if not all its life.
    • Severe: Animal suffered extreme pain and/or was permanently incapacitated.
    • Death

Logistics of Index Offense

  • Was the act of animal abuse committed in a public place with a high risk of detection

Perpetrator Characteristics

  • Did the client act alone during the index offense

Motivation and Culpability

  • Was the purpose of the index offense to control, intimidate, or coerce another human being (e.g., written or verbal threats)?

Criminal History

  • How many incidents of animal abuse has the client engaged in during their lifetime?

Personal and Family History

  • Did the client witness domestic violence as a child?
  • Logistics of Crime
  • Emotional Experience of Abuser
  • Family Characteristics

Typologies and Differential Diagnosis Inform Treatment & Supervision Recommendations

  • Anger based
  • Attachment Disordered
  • Bestiality (Rapist& Molester)
  • Child Abuser
  • Conduct/Antisocial
  • Domestic Violence
  • Group/Peer
  • Multi-Generational
  • Opportunistic ($)
  • Sadistic/Torturer
  • Ritual Abuser
  • Collector/Hoarder
  • Neglecter

 

  • Criminogenic
    • Personal Responsibility / Accountability to Others
    • Cognitive Behavioral Learning
    • Consequences (teach cause and effect)
    • Judicial Supervision
  • Traumagenic
    • Improved Self-mastery / Self-concept
    • Empowerment/Support
    • Resiliency
    • Trauma Reduction
  • Psychogenic
    • Structured Routines
    • Medications
    • Repetition Learning and Life Management
    • Stress Management

 

To Learn More

Book Chapter: Animal Maltreatment: Forensic Mental Health Issues and Evaluation, Chapter 11 Methods for Forensic Animal Maltreatment Evaluations

Interconnected Webinar: Forensic Animal Maltreatment Evaluation (FAME) & Animal Abuse Risk Assessment Tool (AARAT)

Presented by: Philip Tedeschi, Executive Director of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection, Clinical Professor at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work

Crimes against animals reflect a wide array of behaviors, level of seriousness, actions harmful to animals and can also be omission of care. The underlying causative factors are also diverse. Despite this diversity and in many ways due to the array of behaviors on the continuum of criminal concern, we need to understand with some accuracy what has occurred and why. At the Institute for Human-Animal Connection we have been conducting comprehensive Forensic Animal Maltreatment Evaluations in partnership with the Denver FIRST Clinic at the Graduate School of Professional Psychology in order to better identify the underlying causes of animal cruelty and to provide recommendations for treatment and supervision on a case by case basis. This webinar will discuss the need for these specialized evaluations, the structure of the FAME and information on the newly developed AARAT.

Get the recording here. General Public $10, Free to DU Current Students Faculty and Staff

More on our Web site:

Individualized animal cruelty specific evaluations

Intervention responses fall along a continuum