PSYC39H3 Chapter 12: Chapter 12 -- Risk Assessment
Document Summary
predicting future violence has been described as one of the most complex and controversial issues in behavioural science and law . bonta 2002; concludes that risk assessment is a double edged sword- it can be used to justify the application of severe sanctions or to moderate extreme penalties. we are not at a point of a prediction free of error but systematic risk assessment provides judicial decision makers with much needed information to help them make their decisions. goal of chapter= understanding the task of assessing risk and predicting violence. prior to 1990s risk was seen as a dichotomy- were dangerous or not. now risk is seen as a range- person can vary in degree to which s/he is considered dangerous. This shift has added dimension of probability (of whether a person will commit violence)
