Handbook on Risk and Need Assessment

Faye S. Taxman, PhD, is a University Professor in the Criminology, Society, and Law program at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, and director of its Center for Advancing Corrections Excellence. A well-regarded scholar and researcher, she is Past Chair of the American Society of Criminology's Division on Corrections & Sentencing.

Risk and need assessment has been one of academic criminology’s biggest achievements and biggest disappointments. Although assessment tools are ubiquitous across correctional systems, they have fundamentally failed, to date, to alter the culture of correctional practice. In this urgent new volume, the most important and influential assessment researchers take stock of the successes, failures and futures of the practice, exploring both the evolving science of risk prediction and the art of implementation. A most promising start to the new DCS Handbook Series. – Shadd Maruna, Professor of Criminology, University of Manchester, UKAccurate assessment of offender risks and needs is the bedrock of efforts to improve public safety. This handbook provides a critical foundation for advancing science and policy by illuminating the tremendous progress in assessment that has occurred. It is a must-read for anyone seeking to create a safer and more just society. – Daniel P. Mears, Ph.D., Mark C. Stafford Professor of Criminology, Florida State University College of Criminology and Criminal JusticeAt virtually every stage of the justice system, new methods are being employed that enable decision-makers to use risk to the public as a criterion for justice system control. Yet even as these methods diversify, the empirical foundation for risk assessment remains a work-in-progress. Too little is known about the practical significance of risk as a core justice construct and the corresponding operational significance of risk assessment as a technique. This collection brings together superb studies of risk in the correctional system, both as an idea and as a practice. It is a welcome new contribution to our understanding of the most important development in the current generation of tools for the justice professions: risk assessment. – Todd R. Clear, University Professor of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University-Newark The major strength of the Handbook on Risk and Needs Assessment is that it provides researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive collection of chapters that helps chart the topic from its history to the implications for practice and policy. It is a must have for anyone working or studying in the field of corrections. – Edward Latessa, Professor and Director, University of Cincinnati One of the most intense activities by the many agencies responsible for managing accused or convicted offenders these days is assessment of their needs and of their treatment needs, especially for addiction or mental illness, or their risk in the community, whether that be on pre-trial release rather than bail, sentencing, and parole or probation release or recommitment decisions. This volume has pulled together a rich array of chapters from the wide variety of perspectives involved in assessing risk and needs from both methodological and implementation perspectives. – Alfred Blumstein, J. Erik Jonsson University Professor Emeritus, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University

• The Value and Importance of Risk and Need Assessment in Corrections & Sentencing: An Overview of the HandbookFaye S. Taxman, George Mason University Amy Dezember, George Mason UniversityHistory of RNA Risk and Needs Assessment in Probation and Parole: The Persistent Gap Between Promise and PracticeWilliam D. Burrell The Research Director Perspective on the Design, Implementation, and Impact of Risk Assessment and Offender Classification Systems in USA Prisons: A National SurveyJames Byrne, University of Massachusetts, LowellAmy Dezember, George Mason University Methodological Issues in Creating and Validating RNA Static Risk Factors and Criminal RecidivismRobert Brame, University of South Carolina Accuracy of Risk Assessment in Corrections Population Management: Where's the Value Added?James Hess, University of California, IrvineSusan Turner, University of California, Irvine Improving the Performance of Risk Assessments: A Case Study on the Prediction of Sexual Offending among Juvenile OffendersKiDeuk Kim, The Urban Institute Grant Duwe, Minnesota Department of Corrections Using Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning to Improve the Accuracy and Performance of Juvenile Justice Risk Assessment Instruments: The Florida Case StudyIra M. Schwartz, Consultant and Advisor to Algorhythm Peter York, Founder and CEO of AlgorhythmMark Greenwald, Director of Research, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and Doctoral Student at Florida State UniversityAna Ramos-Hernandez, Data Manager, Algorhythm Lisa Feeley, Research Analyst, ICF International An Alternative Scientific Paradigm for Criminological Risk Assessment: Closed or Open Systems, or Both?Tim Brennan, Northpointe, Inc. Dynamic Risk Factors and Responsivity Toward Different Populations Risk, Need, and Responsivity in a Criminal LifestyleGlenn D. Walters, Kutztown University Gender-Responsive Risk and Need Assessment: Implications for the Treatment of Justice-Involved WomenEmily J. Salisbury, University of Nevada, Las VegasBreanna Boppre, University of Nevada, Las VegasBridget Kelly, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Advancing Sexual Offender Risk Assessment: Standardized Risk Levels Based on Psychologically Meaningful Offender CharacteristicsR. Karl Hanson, Public Safety CanadaGuy Bourgon, Public Safety Canada Incorporating Procedural Justice and Legitimacy into the RNR Model to Improve Risk-Need AssessmentKatherine Ginsburg-Kempany, Arizona State UniversityKimberly A. Kaiser, Arizona State University Adoption of Risk Tools to Employment ContextGarima Siwach, University at Albany (SUNY)Shawn D. Bushway, University at Albany (SUNY) Exploring How to Measure Criminogenic Needs: Five Instruments and No Real AnswersBrittney Via, George Mason UniversityAmy Dezember, George Mason UniversityFaye Taxman, George Mason University RNA Implementation and Practice Customizing Criminal Justice AssessmentsZachary Hamilton, Washington State University Elizabeth Thompson Tollefsbol, Washington State University Michael Campagna, Washington State University Jacqueline van Wormer, Washington State University Risk/Need Assessment Tools and the Criminal Justice Bureaucrat: Reconceptualizing the Frontline PractitionerJoel Miller, Rutgers UniversitySarah Trocchio, Rutgers University Risky Needs: Risk Entangled Needs in Probation SupervisionDanielle S. Rudes, George Mason UniversityJill Viglione, University of Texas, San AntonioKimberly S. Meyer, George Mason University Special Issues Regarding the Conceptualization for RNA Purpose and Context Matters: Creating a Space for Meaningful Dialogues about Risk and NeedKelly Hannah-Moffat, Director Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies, University of Toronto, Canadiana Gallery Human Rights and High Risk Offenders: The Right to Rehabilitation and the Right to FairnessMary Rogan, Barrister-at-Law, Head of Law and Assistant Head of the School of Languages, Law and Social Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology