Risk assessment of offenders:

Question 1

Predicting:

Answer 1

Outcome 1: predict reoffend and do = true positive
Outcome 2: predict reoffend and don’t = false positive.
Outcome 3: predict no reoffence and do = false negative.
Outcome 4: predict no reoffence and don’t = true negative.

Question 2

Risk, Need and Responsivity (RNR) Model:

Answer 2

The RISK Principle:
How likely a person is to engage in criminal behaviours.
The level of treatment that a prisoner should get has to be proportional to the level of risk they pose.
E.g. High risk prisoners require more rehabilitation.
Low risk prisoners require less rehabilitation. - to decrease both their likelihoods of recidivism.

The Need Principle:
Assess criminogenic needs and target those needs with treatment and interventions.
What areas in a persons life should be targeted for intervention/supervision in order to decrease their likelihood of future criminal behaviour.

The Responsivity Principle:
What personal strengths and/or specific individual factors might influence the effectiveness of treatment services.
The style and mode of service should be matched to the individual’s abilities and learning styles.

Question 3

criminogenic needs:

Answer 3

Dynamic or ‘changeable’ risk factors that contribute to the likelihood that someone will commit a crime.
Changes in these needs or risk factors are associated with changes in recidivism (the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend).

Question 4

central 8 risk factors:

Answer 4

Anti-Social Attitudes.
Anti-Social Peers.
Anti-social Personality Pattern (aggression, weak self control, sensation seeking pleasure, etc).
History of Anti-Social Behaviour - includes number of Anti-Social acts committed in the past. - not changeable.
(Big Four^),
Family / Marital Factors.
Lack of achievement in education / employment.
Lack of pro-social leisure activities.
Substance abuse.

Question 5

Non-criminogenic / static needs:

Answer 5

Self esteem/anxiety
Lack of parenting
Skills
Medical needs
Victimization
Issues
Learning
disability

Question 6

Responsivity Principle:

Answer 6

Identify offenders strengths as they can be considered ‘protective’ factors that may be built upon in treatment planning. 
Computer skills
Strong family relationships
High educational level
History of stable employment
Strong ties to recovering community
Identify specific indiv factors that might influence the effectiveness of treatment services.
Anxiety
ADHD
Motivation lvl
Gender
Reading lvl - ESL
Language

Question 7

Four methods of risk assessment :

Answer 7

1. Clinical RA: Professional judgement based on the education and experience of a corrections or treatment professional. (first generation).
2. Actuarial RA: a tool or RA instrument that has been validated on a comparable offender pop and uses objective ra factors that can be measured to give an overall risk score. (second generation).
3. An actuarial tool that includes assessment of dynamic risk and criminogenic need factors as well as static risk factors. (third gen).
4. A combo of third-gen ra instrument and professional judgement (fourth gen).

Question 8

Risk assessment conclusions:

Answer 8

Actuarial tools are far better predictors of risk than profesh judgement. - BUT, second gen instruments only measure ‘static’ rf’s, (don’t provide targeted intervention).
Third gen instruments include assessment of dynamic risks and crimino needs that also predict risk.
Most accurate assessment is fourth gen - requires use of both an actuarial tool and profesh judgement.

Question 9

Level of service inventory-revised (LSI-R)

Answer 9

Purely actuarial using static and dynamic factors.
Provides assessment of the risk of reoffending but also info relating to the treatment needs.                                                                                   - Includes both dynamic and static factors.  
Produces score on 10 subcomponents:
Criminal history
Education / unemployment
Finances
Fam / marital
Accom
Leisure
Companions
alcohol/drug probs
emo/personal
Attitude/orientations
Lower scores represent a lower prevalence of criminogenic risk factors and hence a lower risk of future offending.

Question 10

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Answer 10

Structured clinical assessment tool - time consuming.
Utilises actuarial
File review
Clinical assessment
Offender interview.
Most recent.

Five diff sections overall. - Moore, 2006.
Risk of reconviction and offending related factors.
Risk of serious harm, risks to the indiv and other risks
OASys summary sheet
Sentence planning
Self assessment
Generates two scores (in section 2 of process):
OASys predictor score (OGP) - predicts the likelihood of ‘general’ (non-violent, non-sexual affences).
OASys violence predictor score (OVP) predicts the likelihood of violent type offences.
All sections help establish risks as well as rehabilitation.

Question 10

kOffender assessment system OasYS

Offender assessment system (OASys)

Answer 10

Structured clinical assessment tool - time consuming.
Utilises actuarial
File review
Clinical assessment
Offender interview.
Most recent.

Five diff sections overall. - Moore, 2006.
Risk of reconviction and offending related factors.
Risk of serious harm, risks to the indiv and other risks
OASys summary sheet
Sentence planning
Self assessment
Generates two scores (in section 2 of process):
OASys predictor score (OGP) - predicts the likelihood of ‘general’ (non-violent, non-sexual affences).
OASys violence predictor score (OVP) predicts the likelihood of violent type offences.
All sections help establish risks as well as rehabilitation.