NCJ Number
108712
Date Published
1986
Length
20 pages
Annotation
As a preliminary step in the development of a recidivism risk assessment instrument, a validation study was conducted of the Salient Factor Score (SFC) and the Wisconsin Risk Assessment Scale (WRAS) using 1981-1985 data for 245 Hawaiian defendants sentenced to probation.
Abstract
Six measures of recidivism were used: total arrests, convictions, and incarcerations; and rearrests, reconvictions, and reincarcerations. Using these instruments, 133 subjects would have been classified as needing minimum supervision, 75 percent of whom had no reconvictions, and only 8 percent of whom were reincarcerated. In contrast, 67 percent of those classified as needing moderate supervision were rearrested, and 24 percent were reincarcerated; while 72 percent of those classified as needing maximum supervision were rearrested, and 30 percent were reincarcerated. On the basis of these results, a revised measure of recidivism was developed consisting of eight demographic, criminal history, and other factors. The revised instrument was found to correctly classify nonrecidivists 86 percent of the time and recidivists 71 percent of the time. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 3 references.