Some defendants and offenders have special housing considerations that stymie the best efforts of corrections officials to properly place them. Psychotic? Sociopathic? Dependent? Vulnerable? How so, and to what degree? What allowances can sensibly be made regarding that inmate to maximize safety? This dilemma lends itself to supplementing history gathering with psychological and/or neuropsychological testing. Inmates with genuine vulnerabilities that place them at higher risk are not always obvious, particularly when they are housed in a more unsympathetic facility, or one in which mental health services are overtaxed or mistrusted by the inmate. History may be sparse, or may not be sufficiently developed to fully understand where an inmate is best placed, balancing security considerations, privileges, and genuine inmate needs.
The Forensic Panel is composed of not only some of America’s finest psychologists and neuropsychologists, but professionals with extensive exposure to the corrections environment and corrections populations. In this vein, The Forensic Panel’s peer review draws interdisciplinary expertise to ensure objective analysis of available data, adherence to scientific understandings of illness and subtleties that translate into risk, and seamless embedding in corrections regulations governing that particular facility.