Predicting Women’s Recidivism: Validating a Dynamic Community-Based ‘Gender-Neutral’ Tool

Despite the growing number of women involved in the criminal justice system, most risk assessment tools used with this population were developed on male offenders, fuelling debate about whether these tools should be used with women. This study investigated the predictive validity of one such dynamic tool the Dynamic Risk Assessment for Offender Re-entry (DRAOR) with a sample of female and male parolees. Unexpectedly, the DRAOR subscales predicted recidivism for women, but not for men, and the acute risk subscale independently contributed to recidivism prediction. Furthermore, the DRAOR incrementally predicted women’s recidivism above static risk. These results support the use of the DRAOR with women offenders, and more generally, a ‘gender-neutral’ approach to risk assessment tools for women. 

Via (PDF):  http://goo.gl/KdRe0s 

By: Julia A. Yesberg
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand