NCJ Number
221306
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 52 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2008 Pages: 81-89
Date Published
February 2008
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The study is a first-time evaluation of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide's (VRAG) predictive quality for institutional violence in a German-speaking country.
Abstract
Results showed only a moderate effect between VRAG scorers and institutional misconduct; however, these findings were only significant for participants with a sex crime as the index offense. Additionally, the VRAG wasn't able to predict verbal and physical violence for violent offenders. Hardly any support can be found for extending the use of the VRAG for prediction of institutional misconduct. Because violent and aggressive behavior in prison is considered to be a constant problem in most penal institutions, there is an ongoing debate concerning the usefulness of actuarial instruments in predicting intramural violence. Acts of violence or aggression not only threatens prison staff and fellow inmates, but also burdens the system with additional costs. An early identification of inmates who tend toward violent or aggressive behavior should be central goals to both protect the staff and other inmates from becoming victims of violent actions, and to lower the overall associated costs of violence within the penal system. Although all the information for rating the VRAG score was solely obtained from file data, the data provided in the records met the criteria for reliable ratings of the instrument in question. The study raised questions about the utility of the VRAG in predicting intramural infractions in the particular population investigated. However, the VRAG might be of some use in predicting verbally aggressive behavior of incarcerated sex offenders in the population investigated, and thus contribute to some degree to the safety of both prison staff and inmates. The sample included 106 all-male violent and sexual offenders in the largest penitentiary in Switzerland, the Zurich State Penitentiary, who were sentenced to at least 10 months incarceration. The implications of these findings for institutional risk management and the future development of intramural detection of participants at risk in the German-speaking part of Europe are discussed. Tables, references