This report offers an international review of the literature (including refereed journal articles, policy documents, books and commissioned reports) within predominantly English-speaking countries about risk assessment in social work. The literature review includes an analysis of key research, policy, previously undertaken literature reviews and other relevant documentation primarily in the UK, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Effective approaches to risk assessment in social work : an international literature review

Little is known about the risk profile of the offenders managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), yet this information is central to ensuring appropriate resources to manage the risks posed The aim of this paper is to explore typologies of risk among this offender group in order to identify the resources needed to strengthen the risk management strategies employed by MAPPA Cases registered under the MAPPA as requiring the highest level of risk management (n = 230) were reviewed and the risks posed were identified Using latent class analysis, this information was analysed to explore typologies within this high-risk cohort Three distinct groups emerged, with a relatively small number of risk factors distinguishing one cluster of offenders from another These relate to mental health disorders, psychological disorders, self harm and/or substance abuse, and the risk of sexual offending and/or the type of violence committed The findings highlight the importance of consiste

Risk typologies of serious harm offenders managed under MAPPA: Mental health, personality disorders, and self-harm as distinguishing risk factors

Effective approaches to risk assessment in social work: an international literature review final report

Risk and human rights discourses have become dominant features of the UK criminal justice arena. However, there has been little critical scrutiny of the ways in which these discourses relate to each other. In this article, I focus on different accounts of the case of Anthony Rice, a 48-year old ex-offender who committed a murder in August 2005 whilst under the joint supervision of English probation and police services. Drawing upon official reviews by the Inspectorate of Probation and the UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights, as well as media coverage, I use the Rice case to problematise some common assumptions about the relationship between risk and human rights.

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Risk, Human Rights and the Management of a Serious Sex Offender

This research investigated the practical utility of Corrections Victoria’s assessment process, commencing with examining the risk scores provided using the LSI-R and the VISAT. The tendency of the VISAT to provide a lower risk classification tha

An evaluation of the efficacy of Corrections Victoria's assessment process

The Criminal Justice Act (2003) introduced a new sentencing framework for so-called dangerous offenders. In doing so the licence periods spent in the community by this offender group are set to increase. Multi-agency public protection panels exist to manage those offenders currently deemed to pose the greatest levels of risk to communities. To date, little is known about the range of risks this offender group presents. This article outlines a profile of 136 of these offenders and illustrates the types of risk that lead to assessments of imminently high risk. It also provides details of which members of the public appear to be most at risk from this offender group.

Joanne Wood

Papers

Profiling High-Risk Offenders: A Review of 136 Cases