Criminal justice professor Robert Hanser has written the first textbook of its kind. "Special Needs Offenders in the Community" (Prentice Hall, 2006) draws from the fields of criminal justice, psychology and counseling. It’s the first textbook designed to address the treatment needs for various offender typologies requiring special needs.

The textbook discusses 12 unique offender types and places a strong emphasis on assessment, diagnosis and outcomes. The text offers a strong community-based orientation and addresses both public safety and treatment issues related to a variety of special offender typologies.

Hanser collaborated with Paulette Cappel, social work, on “Chapter Seven: Early Childhood Offenders as Special Needs Offenders” and Jeffrey Rush, criminal justice, on “Chapter Nine: Gang Members as Special Needs Offenders.”