NCJ Number
214972
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 34 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2006 Pages: 331-337
Date Published
May 2006
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study tested the predictive validity of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) as a risk/need assessment tool, using a sample of Native-American and White offenders in a northern Midwestern State.
Abstract
The testing provided support for the LSI-R as a composite tool for the entire sample of offenders; however, the support was mixed for subgroups of the sample. Regarding predictive validity, the LSI-R showed the most promise for White offenders overall, male offenders overall and White males and White females in particular. Using "any new arrest" (perhaps the least rigorous of recidivism measures) as the only measure of recidivism may provide one explanation for the LSI-R's poor performance with Native-Americans, particularly Native-American women. Future studies of the LSI-R or any risk/need assessment tool should include additional measures of recidivism. The total sample (n=403) was 35 percent female. The sample was 65 percent White and 35 percent Native-American. Of the 140 Native-Americans in the sample, 40 were female. All of the 403 offenders in the sample were under community supervision when they were assessed. The LSI-R scores obtained were the result of interviews and collateral reviews of documentation conducted by staff members trained in the use of the LSI-R. The LSI-R is a 54-item assessment tool that produces a composite score on an offender's overall risk level and needs related to criminal behavior. The 10 domains addressed by the LSI-R are criminal history, education/employment, financial, family/marital circumstances, accommodations, leisure/recreation activities, companions, alcohol/drug use, emotional/personal, and attitudes/orientations. 2 tables, 1 figure, and 25 references