Ten Things Risk/Needs Assessment Is Not.

NEEDS assessment; MOTIVATIONAL interviewing; MENTAL health services; CRIMINAL psychology; MANAGEMENT information systems; PEOPLE with mental illness

This 6-month period would typically allow sufficient time to fully assess the JIC with one or more risk/needs assessment instruments, develop a stronger PO-JIC relationship, and assess the JIC's initial response to supervision. Making the shift away from a focus on symptoms of psychological distress to JICs' functioning in major criminogenic life areas can be difficult for some POs.6 After all, messages from the media, the public, and some policymakers often attribute criminal conduct to mental illness, and the symptoms of emotional and psychological disturbance can sometimes be obvious during PO-client interactions. In terms of managing JICs on supervision, there is an intuitive appeal in the idea that criminal behavior is a byproduct of psychological distress and that alleviating symptoms will reduce reoffending. A risk/needs assessment result that classifies a JIC as low risk is not a guarantee that the client will desist from offending, just as a result that classifies a JIC as high risk is not a guarantee that the client will reoffend. If JICs are all fated to receive the same level of supervision, then officers will attach little value to the process (e.g., "Sex offenders go to S.O. supervision, DV guys go to D.V. treatment -- what's the difference how they score?"). [Extracted from the article]

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