The use of risk assessment instruments is essential for the assessment, treatment, and management of violence risk; it is thus critical to examine their properties when implemented in novel settings with diverse forensic subpopulations. This study evaluated the convergent and predictive properties of three risk assessment instruments in a sample of 109 forensic patients found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCR). A retrospective longitudinal cohort design was employed to examine the Historical Clinical Risk Management-20 Version 3 (HCR-20V3), Revised Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG-R), and Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) rated from archived hospital records. LS/CMI risk scores and risk bands predicted general (area under the curve [AUC] = .70-.73) and violent (AUC = .76-.91) recidivism with moderate to large effects and performed similarly to the VRAG-R and HCR-20V3. Calibration analyses demonstrated that LS/CMI scores overpredicted the risk of general recidivism in Moderate to Very High risk bands. Results supported the convergent validity and discrimination properties of study measures; however, mixed evidence was found for the calibration properties of the LS/CMI. The potential utility of risk instruments in the appraisal and management of offending behavior among forensic mental health patients is discussed.

In Canada, individuals found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCR) fall under the supervision of a jurisdictional review board (RB) per the Criminal Code. Limited research has examined whether RB decisions balance the needs of public safety with social reintegration as intended by federal legislation. To fill this gap, the present study determined whether forensic decisional outcomes in one provincial RB system accounted for information relevant to violence risk. Study instruments included the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI), Historical Clinical Risk Management-20 Version 3, and the Revised Violence Risk Appraisal Guide. A retrospective longitudinal design was employed to examine an NCR cohort (N = 109) that entered the RB system between 2005 and 2010 and their respective RB hearings (N = 327) until 2015. Results indicated that risk-relevant information was supplied to the RB by forensic professionals; however, key criminogenic risk and need factors as defined by the LS/CMI were absent in clinical reports. RB decisions were still strongly predicted by empirically supported risk factors linked to violent recidivism. Higher release likelihoods corresponded to a proportionally greater reliance on dynamic risk factors to enact dispositions. Forensic risk instruments are central aspects of correctional rehabilitation, and the results demonstrated their relevance to forensic tribunals. It is recommended that information from a forensic risk instrument be routinely delivered to RBs to support evidence-based decision-making. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Canadians adjudicated Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCR) are detained in forensic psychiatric hospitals under a jurisdictional review board (RB) governed by the Canadian Criminal Code. The custody and management of NCR populations are administered independently across jurisdictions despite being federally legislated, and research is limited on how RBs may vary in their efforts to balance public safety and social reintegration across cases, settings, and provinces. To this end, the trajectories and outcomes were investigated in one understudied Canadian RB system on a sample of NCR individuals (n = 109) and compared to other provincial practices. A retrospective longitudinal design was employed to track an NCR cohort between 2005 and 2010 until 2015. Results demonstrated that the provincial RB aligned their operational and management practices with federal legislation, but unique deviations contributed to novel NCR trajectories and outcomes under RB supervision that were conservative relative to provincial partners. Dispositions varied as a function of risk level and were informed by clinician recommendations. Detention length differences were observed between ancestral lines, as the White ancestral group spent an average of three years less in custody than the Nonwhite ancestral group despite limited differences in demographic, clinical, and criminogenic profiles. Further research is required on NCR trajectories and outcomes across other understudied provinces and the role of forensic risk instruments in assisting with the consistent application of federal law.

BACKGROUND:Across much of the developed world, the number of older people in custody has been increasing, which presents challenges for correctional systems due to the complex social, medical and mental health needs of this subgroup, especially those living with dementia. The present study therefore aimed to increase insight into the extent to which older people in custody are (a) potentially living with dementia and (b) receiving appropriate supports/services (particularly, with respect to community reintegration).RESULTS:Cross-sectional data were drawn from a sample of 29 older people in custody and 20 correctional health care professionals at a regional forensic psychiatric hospital in a medium-sized Canadian city. In general, analyses revealed that: (a) scores from a modified version of the Community Screening Instrument for Dementia (CSI'D') suggest that 45% of older individuals screened positive for dementia; (b) 35% of Social Workers and 25% of Primary Nurses (i.e., RNs/RPNs) suspected that at least one older individual on their caseload has dementia, and there was adequate agreement between health staffs' perception of the presence or absence of dementia and the CSI'D' assessment; (c) varying supports/services may be required for older individuals' successful community reintegration and living; and (d) Social Workers and Primary Nurses generally lack training/education to adequately support older people in custody.CONCLUSIONS:A substantial number of older people in custody may experience age-related challenges, including dementia. This necessitates the development and implementation of programming to effectively address older individuals' needs during incarceration and community reintegration and living.

The Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) is one of the most frequently used tools to assess criminogenic risk–need in justice-involved individuals. Meta-analytic research demonstrates strong predictive accuracy for various recidivism outcomes. In this exploratory study, we applied machine learning (ML) algorithms (decision trees, random forests, and support vector machines) to a data set with nearly 100,000 LS/CMI administrations to provincial corrections clientele in Ontario, Canada, and approximately 3 years follow-up. The overall accuracies and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) were comparable, although ML outperformed LS/CMI in terms of predictive accuracy for the middle scores where it is hardest to predict the recidivism outcome. Moreover, ML improved the AUCs for individual scores to near 0.60, from 0.50 for the LS/CMI, indicating that ML also improves the ability to rank individuals according to their probability of recidivating. Potential considerations, applications, and future directions are discussed.

This study examined the psychometric, predictive, and dynamic properties of intimate partner violence (IPV) risk. The sample consisted of 88 men attending an outpatient IPV correctional program. The Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) was rated at pretreatment using participant files. The Spousal Assault Risk Assessment–Version 3 (SARA-V3) was rated at pre- and posttreatment using collateral information (e.g., facilitator ratings, files) and participant questionnaires. Recidivism data were obtained from a court database with an average follow-up of 15 months. The SARA-V3 and ODARA demonstrated strong convergent validity and predicted violent and general recidivism with moderate to high accuracy; SARA-V3 posttreatment ratings incremented the ODARA in the prediction of recidivism, yet not vice versa. Noncompleters were higher risk and had higher recidivism rates. Changes on the SARA-V3’s Perpetrator Risk Factors domain were significantly associated with decreased recidivism in bivariate analyses and some change associations remained significant with stringent controls for risk. Implications for risk assessment/management, service planning, and future research are discussed.

Over the past several decades, societal responses to juvenile crime has evolved from harsh sentences (including death) to more lenient punishments in congruence with our greater understanding of adolescent development. However, some groups of young offenders, such as those convicted of sexual offenses, appear to have fallen victim to a more punitive zeitgeist, where the mitigating effect of age may be diminished. In a 3 x (2) design, participants were randomly assigned to one of three vignette conditions and completed several measures regarding both juveniles and adults adjudicated for sexual offenses, including attitudes, moral outrage, and recommendations for sentence length and registration. Results indicated that adjudicated juveniles are viewed more favourably than their adult counterparts, although both received relatively long sentences. Further, over 90% of participants endorsed some form of registration for juvenile offenders. Implications for offender reintegration and public policy are discussed below.

This study examined the nature and impacts of the professional override on the Level of Service Inventory–Ontario Revision (LSI-OR), using a large archival database of 40,539 individuals’ information. Research questions focused on the predictive validity of various LSI-OR risk metrics, including total risk/need scores, initial risk categories, and adjusted risk categories, for various types of recidivism; how professional overrides were used; whether they were used more with some groups than others; and whether their impacts varied depending on recidivism type. Overrides were applied in 15.4% of cases, most often (94.1%) to increase risk levels. Override use varied based on gender, race, and the nature of index offenses. Based on receiver operating characteristic analyses, the results generally indicated that adjusted risk levels (incorporating professional overrides) demonstrated inferior predictive validity relative to unadjusted metrics. The results suggest a need for increased caution and consistency in the application of professional overrides.

The present study examined the working alliance, as measured by the full-length Working Alliance Inventory (WAI), and its association with psychopathy, treatment completion, and recidivism in a sample of 111 incarcerated adult male sexual offenders. The men completed the WAI 3 months into their treatment program, while psychopathy was measured via file-based ratings of the Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), and outcome data were collected via the Canadian Police Information Centre. The majority (85%) of high PCL-R scoring men (PCL-R 25+) successfully completed their treatment program, and by and large, the men demonstrated strong working alliances with their primary therapists. The WAI scale components showed differential associations with the structural features of psychopathy. Specifically, the Affective facet was significantly associated with weaker Bond scores, while the Lifestyle facet was associated with lower Task scores; these results were upheld after controlling for scores on the other PCL-R facets. Strength of alliance, however, was not significantly associated with any recidivism outcomes, irrespective of controls for psychopathy. Implications for the treatment of offenders with high levels of psychopathic traits are discussed in light of extant findings and unique features of the therapeutic alliance.

The LS instruments originated with the LSI-R in the mid-1990s and have grown to a suite of instruments suited to a variety of correctional agency requirements. Today it is used in community corrections, prisons, paroling authorities, forensic clinics, and halfway houses. There are two important uses of the LS assessment tools. First, they are used to assess the offender's risk to reoffend and consequently assign the appropriate level of supervision and control. Second, by identifying the criminogenic needs of the offender treatment, targets are formulated and, in the case of the LS/CMI, a case management and monitoring plan can be implemented. An important feature of the LS instruments is its close ties to a general personality and cognitive social learning theory and the Risk-Need-Responsivity model of offender assessment and treatment. This chapter summarizes the development of the LS instruments, the empirical research, and their applications.

Background Information: The LS/CMI is the “fourth generation” revision (see appendix A to learn about 3 and 4 generation instruments) of the LSI-R that provides a comprehensive measure of offender risk, needs, and responsivity (RNR) factors, as well as a fully functional case management tool. The LS/CMI system is designed to assist professionals in management and treatment planning with adult and late adolescent male and female offenders in justice, forensic, correctional, prevention, and related agencies. By combining risk assessment with case management in a single system, the LS/CMI gives the professional all the necessary tools in a single application.

Although empirical evidence supports a relationship between religiosity and criminal behavior, debate continues about the theoretical mechanisms by which they are related. Moreover, the topic has been largely ignored by practicing clinicians and correctional workers. The Muslim Religiosity-Personality Inventory: Abridged was administered to low-risk Pakistani probationers and factor analyzed, after which probationers’ recidivism was monitored. Five oblique factors were obtained, three of which were correlated with recidivism (Religious Practice, Religious–Moral Values, and Fundamental Religious Beliefs), as was the full scale, while two were not (Importance of Religion and Rejection of Nonbeliever). In a logistic regression, Religious–Moral Values and Religious Practices contributed to the prediction of probationer recidivism. However, when demographic characteristics were introduced, education and marital status replaced Religious Practices. This study supports the religiosity–crime link in a non-Western, Muslim culture. Implications for assessing religiosity and for practitioners in the justice system are discussed.

Recent research expanded theoretical frameworks of criminality to include biosocial perspectives. This article advances the biosocial integration into traditional criminological theories by focusing on the potential contribution of executive function (EF) to Andrews and Bonta's risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model. EF encompasses a collection of abilities critical to adaptive human functioning, many of which seem to underlie criminogenic risk and need factors. Although the assessment of EF can be elusive, research suggests that offenders with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) experience EF deficits. Theoretical analysis on neuropsychological and forensic concepts suggests that unitary and discrete EF domains underlie the "Central Eight" criminogenic factors that are related to criminal behavior and, by extension, the RNR model of forensic assessment and treatment. Research and conceptual limitations of the current neuropsychological and forensic literature are discussed along with the limits of our theoretical analysis. A call for more theoretical and applied forensic neuropsychological research is presented.

Criminal justice researchers and agencies often look to empirical reviews and meta-analyses when evaluating offender risk instruments. However, variations in meta-analytical methods can influence the interpretation of statistical findings, resulting in potentially misleading conclusions. Through our re-examination of a meta-analysis by Singh, Grann, and Fazel (2011), we outline common methodological problems that may occur and demonstrate how alternative interpretations might be derived. We conclude by providing recommendations for conducting meta-analyses. Suggestions are made for researchers to consider alternative strategies when examining the validity of risk instruments, and for correctional agencies to consider, but go beyond, predictive validity when selecting offender risk instruments.

Criminology & Public PolicyVolume 16, Issue 1 p. 281-303 POLICY ESSAY Automated Offender Risk Assessment The Next Generation or a Black Hole? J. Stephen Wormith, Corresponding Author J. Stephen Wormith s.wormith@usask.ca University of SaskatchewanDirect correspondence to J. Stephen Wormith, Department of Psychology, 9 Campus Drive, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon SK, Canada, S7N 5A5 (e-mail: s.wormith@usask.ca).Search for more papers by this author J. Stephen Wormith, Corresponding Author J. Stephen Wormith s.wormith@usask.ca University of SaskatchewanDirect correspondence to J. Stephen Wormith, Department of Psychology, 9 Campus Drive, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon SK, Canada, S7N 5A5 (e-mail: s.wormith@usask.ca).Search for more papers by this author First published: 08 February 2017 https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12277Citations: 8 Disclosure: J. Stephen Wormith receives royalty payments for the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory from its publisher, Multi-Health Systems, Toronto, Canada. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume16, Issue1February 2017Pages 281-303 RelatedInformation