Static-99 Sex Offender Risk Assessment Course

Static-99 Sex Offender Risk Assessment Course

Introduction:
Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists are frequently called upon to help assess the likelihood that a particular person will commit future acts of sexual violence (Campbell, 2004; Doren, 2002; Witt & Conroy, in press). Three plausible approaches to risk assessment have been described (Hanson, 1998) and to this point research has not shown any of the methods to be empirically superior to the others (see DeClue, 2005, commenting on Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2004). Two of the three approaches, the pure-actuarial and the adjusted-actuarial approaches, employ an actuarial instrument in the prediction process.1 In the pure-actuarial approach, the evaluator considers a predetermined set of risk factors and follows a pre-determined formula for weighing the combination of factors. In the adjusted-actuarial approach, the evaluator begins with an actuarial instrument but then may or may not adjust the estimated risk after considering additional variables not included in the actuarial instrument. ..more.. by Justice Institute of British Columbia