week 8 Flashcards
What is the consequence of over-predicting reoffending?
Depriving someone of liberty, reducing quality of life, and taking up resources.
What is the consequence of under-predicting reoffending?
Increased victims, harm, and arrests.
Why are risk assessments important?
They inform decisions about managing offenders and predict future behavior, reoffending likelihood, and harm potential.
What does the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model emphasize?
Matching risk levels to treatment, targeting criminogenic needs, and tailoring interventions to individual strengths and learning styles.
What is the RISK principle?
How likely a person is to engage in criminal behaviour
Not all offenders carry the same risk
- Matching service intensity to risk levels, prioritizing high-risk offenders, and avoiding unnecessary treatment for low-risk offenders.
tells us WHO to target
What is the NEED principle?
the areas in a person’s life that should be targeted for intervention/treatment in order to decrease the likelihood of future offedning
tells us WHAT to target
what is the RESPONSITIVITY 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 individuals abilities and learning styles
- Any intervention needs to be tailored to the learning style of the offender (ex. If the offender can’t read, can’t speak the language)
protective factors or individual factors
Why the risk level is important in relation to the treatment outcome?
intensive or low treatment is important to take into account based on the risk levels. Metanalisys showed a difference between the level of treatment and the risk levels.
so the risk pricniple tells us who to target
Define ‘Criminogenic Needs’.
Dynamic, changeable risk factors directly linked to criminal behavior (e.g., antisocial attitudes, substance abuse).
List the “Big Four” risk factors.
- Anti-social Attitudes
- Anti-social Peers
- Anti-social Personality Pattern
- History of Anti-Social Behavior (non-criminogenic)
Most highly correlated with criminal behavior among all other factors
What are ‘Non-Criminogenic Needs’, and why address them?
Needs unrelated to criminal behavior (e.g., housing,self-esteem, mental health, lack of parenting, medical needs). Addressing them can remove barriers to effective treatment.
what are the other four risk factors?
- Family / Marital Factors
- Lack of Achievement in Education / Employment
- Lack of Pro-social Leisure Activities
- Substance Abuse
What are the four methods of risk assessment?
- Clinical risk assessment: Professional judgment (First Generation).
- Actuarial risk assessment: Uses validated tools and static risk factors (Second Generation).
- Actuarial tool with dynamic risk factors: Includes criminogenic needs (Third Generation).
- Combination of actuarial and professional judgment: Integrates third-gen tools with expertise (Fourth Generation).
What are the strengths and weaknesses of first-generation (clinical) risk assessment?
Strengths: Considers dynamic factors and uses professional expertise.
Weaknesses: Highly variable due to assessor judgment.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of second-generation (actuarial) risk assessment?
Strengths: Cost-effective, fast, unbiased, population-based.
Weaknesses: Focuses only on static risk factors, ignores criminogenic needs.
Why are fourth-generation risk assessments considered best practice?
They combine actuarial tools, dynamic factors, and professional judgment to:
Include offender strengths.
Assess responsivity factors.
Integrate assessments into treatment and case planning.
What is the Offender Group Reconviction Scale (OGRS)?
- Purely actuarial tool.
- Uses static factors (age, gender, criminal history).
- Predicts reconviction within 2 years.
- Pros: Quick and easy.
- Cons: Ignores dynamic factors and offender needs.
What is the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R)?
Actuarial tool assessing static and dynamic factors.
Provides risk of reoffending and treatment needs.
What is the Offender Assessment System (OASys)?
Structured clinical tool for England and Wales.
Combines actuarial file review with offender interviews.
Name tools for assessing specific types of recidivism.
HCR-20: For violent behavior.
SARN: Adjusts static risk with clinical judgment of 16 dynamic risk factors.
What are general offending behavior programs based on?
Cognitive social learning theory.
- Observational learning from family, peers, and media.
- Promote prosocial skills to reduce offending behavior.
What are issues linked to offending behavior programs?
High non-completion rates:
Community: 57%; Prison: 11%-16%.
Non-completers have higher reconviction rates.
High-risk offenders more likely to drop out but benefit most from completion.
What is the most accurate assessment?
The most accurate assessment requires use of BOTH an actuarial tool and professional judgment.
