Critically evaluate both the efficacy and impact of risk assessment in young ‘offenders’.
Introduction
A risk assessment is a structured tool used to analyse young offenders who are aged between 10 to 17 years old. The individuals would have to come into contact with the young offending teams because they would be receiving a final warning, community or custodial sentence in order to get the assessment done. They are used to plan sentences and intervention and used as pre sentence reports. This assessment would determine what level and type of supervision given to the young offender if given a custodial sentence and also the judge would put inconsideration the result the forensic psychologist gives as a result from the score the offender gets. Furthermore it’s used to evaluate their treatment and programmes they will get in order to reduce re offending (Wilson E and Hinks S, 2011). If an individual get a low score on their likely hood of them reoffending the judge might feel inclined to give them a lighter sentence such as community service because giving them a custodial sentence would increase their chance of reoffending because of the acquaintances they would have with offenders who were given a higher score and level of criminal activity significantly increases. In order to find out if a young offender is going reoffend there are two categories of risk factors that need to be put into consideration and they are static and dynamic. The section of risk factors that fall into the category of static risk is their historical which looks at whether there was an onset of violence from a young age and individual factors that increase risk and these are the gender of offender or dispositional in nature situational and other protectiv...
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...from the risk assessments. There have been positive results obtained from those who identified the youth’s criminogenic need and reduction in reoffending. The young offender team would need to be cautious when doing the SAVRY assessment on young offenders that are different ethnic background such as the Caucasians and African Americans could have cultural issues which could result to the predictive validity of the assessment being compromised (Shepherd S et al, 2013). This then shown that improved training and supervision to increase efficiency when it comes to using resources would reduce reoffending and results of recidivism shouldn’t sorely rely on risk assessments (Luong and Wormith, 2011). According to Shepherd S et al, 2013 risk assessments yield results which suggests that they have a greater predictive accuracy in comparison to unstructured clinical methods.
These women have been increasingly going to jail for longer periods of time for minor crimes, the most frequent crimes that are being convicted are mostly related to drug and alcohol related crimes as well as theft (Mental Health Coordinating Council, 2010). A survey conducted in New South Wales of female inmates had concluded that; 80% are current smokers, 78% have used an illicit drug(s), 67% were unemployed in the six months prior to incarceration, and 66% of these women had also been in a violent/abusive relationship (Mental Health Coordinating Council, 2010). It has been argued that the risk factors for offenders are derived from that of genetic theories of crime and that they are an adequate guide for correctional supervision and treatment-planning decisions for females, however others argue that this approach is highly flawed and does not take into account gender differences (Rettinger & Andrews 2010). This is an issue in the CJS and its importance cannot be undervalued, the assessment for the risk and need has implications for the assignment of female offenders to a correction option that is the least restrictive, the assignment to an appropriate intervention dosage, appropriate targeting of criminogenic needs, and an understanding of female offending (Rettinger & Andrews 2010). Due to the increasingly large number
This R-N-R model will be used to assess the case of Jamie Wilson, focusing on the assessment of his criminogenic needs in relation to his offence, as changing these dynamic factors can reduce the probability of recidivism (Andrew & Bonta, 2010). Furthermore, this essay will consider the risk and responsivity in regards to Jamie Wilson’s case. Jamie aged 27, has been convicted of a rape of a child and sentenced to eight years custody. The victim aged 12, was approached by Jamie on the way home from school and sexually assaulted. Jamie has no previous convictions of this type; however he has convictions for shop-theft, drinking and driving with no insurance.
Progar, J. (2012). Review of juveniles at risk: A plea for preventive justice. Journal Of Youth And Adolescence, 41(12), 1702-1704. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9841-0
The sample size and exclusion of individuals, such as under 16’s or those in group residence, creates bias and an untrue reflection on population as crimes they experience are not taken into consideration (HO, 2013).
344. The. Australian Institute of Criminology, [Online]. Available at: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/0/C/5/%7B0C5DFDDF-7A72-43F9-80A1-CA6D51B635B6%7Dtandi344.pdf, [Accessed 14 April 2011].
The purpose of the criminal law is to balance of rights for individuals in society to achieve justice. The criminal law is continually reforming in an attempt to achieve justice for young offenders, as it is an issue of the criminal law. This essay will examine the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in relation to young offenders therefore looking at various aspects of the juvenile justice system. The criminal justice system does provide some effective and relevant concessions for young offenders. However, due to its focus on incarceration and punishment rather than on preventative measures, the criminal justice system is effective to an extent
In February 2002, the House of Commons passed the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). The Act came into effect in April 2003, replacing the Young Offenders Act (Mapleleaf). The new legislation attempts to balance the legalistic framework of the Young Offenders Act and the social needs approach underlying the Juvenile Delinquents Act. This goal is apparent in the Declaration of Principle stating th...
The overwhelming majority of juveniles are involved in impulsive or risky, even delinquent behaviors during their teenage years. However, the majority go on to become very productive citizens who do not commit crimes. In order for this to continue the government established the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) which gives young offenders a chance to better themselves, and. By doing so, the YCJA helps teach youth that their actions are unacceptable and the punishments imposed are lesser then an adult. Through the analysis of their unacceptable actions, lesser punishments and a better future, it is clear that YCJA is highly effective at giving youth a better chance in society.
Yet still only 34 states have accepted this method into practice. In 2011 1.5 million arrests were made of people under 18 in the United States alone. Juvenile recidivism rates are ___. Clearly this should be of concern to everybody as juvenile delinquents often transition into adult offenders if some kind of intervention does not take place.By avoiding going to a juvenile detention facility or to prison, these youths avoid the label of being a criminal. Multisystemic Therapy has helped numerous families which will not only affect the young offender but also their entire family. The life lessons learned in this experience will help the parents be better parents to the child 's siblings as well and the child will be able to carry on these new values to their own children when they start their own families. Breaking the cycle of deviance in families is an important step in reducing all
Another study seeking to establish effective deterrence to delinquency found out that most states transfer youths aged fourteen years and above, who have committed serious violent offenses to adult court systems. Many of the states apply the th...
Description of offender’s psychological history and functioning at the time of the offence is based on statistical approach which involves the analysis of behavioural and other relevant information found at the scene of crime in order to infer ...
Mental health treatment among juvenile is a subject that has been ignored by society for far too long. It has always been one of those intricate issues that lead to the argument of whether juveniles should receive proper treatment or imprisoned like any other criminals, and often trialed as adults. Many times, young people are often deprived of proper help (Rosenberg) However, we often overlook the fact that while they are criminals, they are still young, and fact or not, it is a matter of compassion that must be played from our side to help these youth overcome their harsh reality. As such, we do however see signs of sympathy shown towards juvenile. Juvenile health courts give help to youth to youth who have serious mental illness (Rosenberg). It is often asked in general, would mental health treatment cure juvenile criminals? In my opinion, when you look at the background of these young criminals, it is frequently initiated from negligence and feelings of betrayal (Browne and Lynch), of course leading to mental disorder. However, further zooming into their background, it is always proper treatment that saves them from their unfortunate circumstances. Research shows that giving juvenile criminals mental health treatment did not only reduce re-arrests but also further improve their ways of living among the society.
Mulder, E., Brand, E., Bullens, R., & Van Marle, H. (2010). A classification of risk factors in serious juvenile offenders and the relation between patterns of risk factors and recidivism. Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health, 20(1), 23-38. doi:10.1002/cbm.754
The writer further contends Young’s noting the mathematical models was intentional, and designed to effectively illustrate his point of their ineffectiveness because they are difficult to absorb. Despite such difficulty, the writer contends Young did immediately create some useful insights. Foremost was the ideal of what Young metaphorically termed, the “datasauer also known as Empiricus Abstractus” (Young, 2011). What the writer noted was Young’s critique of modern criminology’s ineffective and improper overuse of empiricism to predict criminal behavior is a flawed concept due to variation fluctuations and data manipulation. The writer noted that Young (2011) used as evidence to demonstrate deficiencies the very thing he argues against in noting the level of explanatory power in multivariate models over-estimates prediction levels (p.
Loeber R., and D.P. Farrington. “Serious and violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions.” Thousand Oaks. 1998. First Search. Feb 2007