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Gender and Ethnicity in Juvenile Risk Assessment

NCJ Number
242998
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 40 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2013 Pages: 388-408
Author(s)
Stephane M. Shepherd; Stefan Luebbers; Mairead Dolan
Date Published
April 2013
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study examined risk assessment of ethnic juveniles in Australia.
Abstract
Systematized risk assessment and management in juveniles is still in its infancy, and the bulk of the validation literature focuses on males as they account for a significant proportion of crime. In recent years there has been growing recognition that female arrest rates and convictions are steadily increasing and that there is a need to ensure that risk assessment tools that have been validated with males are appropriate for females, who may have different criminal trajectories. The applicability of violence risk assessment tools for ethnically diverse populations has not been extensively examined, but the limited literature suggests that there may be differences in scores for risk and protective factors across ethnic groups. To address this subject, a review of the literature on the predictive validity of current juvenile risk assessment tools was performed. This summary produced equivocal findings and a requirement for further investigation comprising cohorts with greater diversity. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.