International Perspectives on Forensic Risk Assessment : Measuring Use, Perceived Utility, and Research Quality

Abstract

Forensic risk assessment refers to the attempt to predict the likelihood of future violence in order to identify individuals in need of intervention. Risk assessment protocols have been implemented in mental health and criminal justice settings around the globe to prioritize risk reduction strategies for those most at need. Helping to allocate scarce resources more effectively and efficiently while protecting our communities, risk assessment has come to be a cornerstone of forensic practice in many jurisdictions. The present thesis investigates the use, perceived utility, and research quality on forensic risk assessment tools. First, a systematic review of qualitative surveys on forensic risk assessment tools is conducted to explore the international use and perceived utility of such instruments (Article 1). The systematic review concludes that there is a lack of methodologically-rigorous qualitative research on forensic risk assessment tool use and perceived utility across continents and professional disciplines, necessitating a new, large-scale study (Article 2). Given the lack of methodologicallyrigorous qualitative research on forensic risk assessment tools, a second systematic review is conducted to explore the methodological rigor of the quantitative research literature concerning the predictive validity of these instruments (Article 3). The systematic review concludes that the field could benefit from the development of standardized guidelines promoting the transparent and consistent reporting of methodology and results in peerreviewed publications on violence risk assessment tools (Article 4). These standardized guidelines are then applied to the sexual offender risk assessment tool research literature to examine its transparency and consistency of reporting of methodology and results (Article 5).