This page serves as a repository for risk assessment resources for criminal justice practitioners and policymakers. Use the filters or search to find relevant documents and other information.
PSRAC
Selecting the Appropriate Risk Assessment Tool
Describes what considerations should be taken into account when deciding upon a risk assessment instrument.
Structured Decision-Making: Using Risk Assessment Outputs to Improve Practice
This guide summarizes the principles for using risk assessment instruments in decision-making and provides detailed guidance for each stage of the criminal justice system.
The Construction and Validation of the Federal Post Conviction Risk Assessment (PCRA)
Presents the methodology used and results produced in the development of the PCRA, discusses limitations of the PCRA, and assesses the PCRA's predictive validity.
The Development, Validity, and Reliability of the Minnesota Screening Tool Assessing Recidivism Risk (MnSTARR)
Presents findings on the development, validity, and reliability of the MnSTARR and suggests that the MnSTARR is a valid and reliable risk assessment instrument for people in Minnesota, although the tool’s external validity remains unconfirmed.
The Field Validity of Static-99/R Sex Offender Risk Assessment Tool in California
Examines the use of the Static-99/R in California to suggest that a risk assessment procedure with moderate predictive validity can be implemented in a large jurisdiction without significantly decreasing predictive accuracy.
The HCR-20 Violence Risk Assessment Scheme: Concurrent Validity in a Sample of Incarcerated Offenders
Demonstrates a relationship between HCR-20 and violence in a sample of people incarcerated for serious violent offenses and suggests that further research is needed to assess the tool’s predictive validity for other populations.
The Predictive Validity of Clinical Ratings of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START)
Examines the START’s predictive validity for multiple types of risk and lends partial support to the use of START in the assessment of risk for certain types of behaviors
The Violence Risk Scale: Predictive Validity and Linking Changes in Risk With Violent Recidivism in a Sample of High-Risk Offenders With Psychopathic Traits
Evaluates the validity of the VRS in predicting future violence and assessing changes in risk of violence for a group of high-risk males with significant psychopathic traits.
Using Logistic Regression Modeling to Predict Sexual Recidivism: The Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool-3 (MnSOST-3)
Describes an effort to revise and assess the MnSOST-R, which included adding six new individual items and internally validating the revised tool.
Validation of Risk Assessment Tools
Helps practitioners understand what validation is, why it is important, and how to interpret some of the commonly used validation metrics to ensure the validity of risk assessment tools.
Validation of and Revision to the VRAG and SORAG: The Violence Risk Appraisal Guide-- Revised (VRAG-R)
Summarizes the development and validation of the VRAG-R and then examines the accuracy of it and its predecessor—the VRAG—over fixed durations of opportunity ranging from 6 months to 49 years.
Why Inter-rater Reliability Matters for Recidivism Risk Assessment
Interprets the concept of inter-rater reliability and its implications for the performance and implementation of risk assessment tools.
Validation
Women's Risk Factors and Their Contributions to Existing Risk/Needs Assessment: The Current Status of a Gender-Responsive Supplement
Assesses a series of gender-responsive assessment models for their predictive validity and their contributions to gender-neutral risk needs assessments.
Author
Patricia Van Voorhis, Emily M. Wright, Emily Salisbury, and Ashley Bauman