2020 Review and Revalidation of the First Step Act Risk Assessment Tool

This report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of the US Department of Justice and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in carrying out the mandates required under 18 U.S.C. § 3631(b)(4). Pursuant to the FSA, 18 U.S.C. § 3632(a), the Attorney General was charged with developing and releasing a risk and needs assessment system for use in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The risk assessment tool, the Prisoner Assessment Tool Targeting Estimated Risk and Needs (PATTERN), was released in July 2019. Amendments to PATTERN were subsequently made and PATTERN was finalized in January 2020.