NCJ Number
201585
Date Published
April 2001
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This report provides practitioners with an overview of the risk-assessment tools currently available to assist in managing sexual and violent offenders in the community in Great Britain.
Abstract
The report addresses four broad areas: legislative provisions that apply to sexual offenders, specifically those sexual and violent offenders deemed to be dangerous; various approaches to risk assessment; the current tools available for the assessment and management of sexual and violent offenders; and risk management. British legislation pertinent to the management of sexual offenders in the community assigns responsibilities to police. These responsibilities include the risk assessment and registration of sex offenders, the effective assessment and communication of risk to other relevant agencies, and the management of offenders in the community. Serious violent offenders and those deemed to pose a danger to the public have also been subject to legislative changes to increase public protection. Of particular significance is the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which provides for periods of extended supervision at the end of a custodial sentence when the court determines that an extended license is required to prevent further offending upon release. There are two basic approaches to risk assessment: clinical methods, which involve diagnostic assessment derived in part from the medical and mental health fields; and actuarial methods, which use statistical techniques to generate risk predictors. Two risk assessment tools for predicting sex offense recidivism have been combined into a single tool, STATIC 99, and this has produced a modest increase in predictive accuracy for recidivism. None of the available risk-assessment tools predict seriousness or likely harm, and they are not advocated as stand-alone tools. The various tools used to assess violent offenders are also reviewed in this report. A section of the report on the risk management of sexual and violent offenders focuses on intervention programs, monitoring, surveillance, and enforcement. The report concludes with the advice that in selecting any risk-assessment tool, it is essential that consideration be given to the transferability of the method to the field, the distinction between initial screening and individual assessment and case planning, the specificity of the tool to the offender group and behavior at issue, and the reliability and validity of the tool. 174 references