Dangerous Offenders In The Criminal Justice System

A ‘dangerous offender’ is a complicated term to define. Many people have their own opinions to what they classify as dangerous; even within the criminal justice system there is not just one definition that constitutes dangerousness (Nash 2006). Dangerous offenders were defined by the Butler Committee (1975) as those likely to inflict serious physical harm or psychological harm on others. During the 1980’s/90’s there was an increased use of the concept of dangerousness within penal policy, therefore, it became more important to distinguish the difference between offenders and those seen as dangerous offenders (Kemshall 2001). In 1980 dangerousness was defined as a pathological characteristic; a tendency to inflict harm on others (Floud and Young 1981).

More generally, the term dangerous offenders is applied to a group of offenders who are likely to repeatedly commit crimes of a serious nature that puts the well being of the community at risk (Pratt 2000). This can be seen within the Criminal Justice Act (2003 s.229) that set out a definition that states that an offender who has previously been convicted of a specific offence (usually violence or sexual) and the courts decide there is a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public due to the offenders actions can be classified as dangerous. Defining dangerous offenders has been a problem over a long period of time but more recent definitions appear to concentrate more on violent and sexual offenders (Harrison