Risk of Violence Assessment: Aboriginal offenders and the assumption of homogeneity. Paper presented at the Best Practice

As actuarial prediction of risk has advanced to assume a central role in correctional work, concern relating to ethical application has also developed. The paper will concentrate on the implications of assessing Aboriginal offenders risk of future violence using tools primarily designed for North American and Canadian non-Aboriginal psychiatric or general offending populations. The consequences of inappropriate application are far-reaching. From a civil liberties perspective low-risk offenders may be detained on the basis of high-risk status and community safety compromised by the release of high-risk offenders deemed low-risk. From a management perspective it becomes questionable if resources have been allocated effectively to reduce both offender and community risk. Thus, in this paper it is argued that the construction of population specific tools is intrinsically linked to ethical assessment, community safety and ultimately reductions in recidivism