NCJ Number
223819
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior: An International Journal Volume: 35 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2008 Pages: 1095-1108
Date Published
September 2008
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the accuracy of two tools used in analysis of risk factors for criminal offending.
Abstract
The results indicate that both the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) composite score and the Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) recidivism score had inconsistent validity when tested on different ethnic/racial populations. Furthermore, the results suggest that different ethnic/racial groups have varying risk and needs factors that predict recidivism. It was noted that over the past two decades, the role of risk-needs assessment in the criminal justice system has increased substantially. This study sought to provide validation data on the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) and the Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) using a large male cohort with a substantial proportion of ethnic minority offenders. Using standard criminogenic variables compared with these tools was posited to provide some indication of how well the particular tools add to measuring accuracy, as opposed to the consideration of separate variables that are well-recognized factors for criminal offending. In comparing the predictive validity of these tools, the authors employed a retrospective, archival, known-groups design to study outcomes of 975 male offenders released into the community from New Jersey prisons between 1999 and 2002, with a post-release outcome period of 12 months. Participants’ institutional files and New Jersey Department of Corrections records were used for data collection purposes. Tables, references