The Static-99R is 1 of the most widely used tools for assessing sexual-recidivism risk. We draw on recent research and the Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists to provide succinct answers to 6 basic questions regarding the use of the Static-99R in forensic cases. We suggest that evaluators focus on detected sexual recidivism at the group level, using concepts from the field of public health and safety, expressed in everyday terms. In the absence of local norms, we recommend that evaluators refer to the comparison group that is considered to represent the full population of convicted sex offenders. We encourage evaluators to affirmatively state that there is no evidence that clinical adjustments or overrides enhance the accuracy of actuarial-based risk predictions. We advise evaluators to affirmatively state that there is no objective procedure that can allow an evaluator to reliably and validly predict that someone is more likely than not to sexually recidivate if he is not confined. We present some cross-examination questions that forensic evaluators should be prepared to answer.

The present study evaluates data from 116 forensic inpatients who underwent violent risk assessments, which included the Historical, Clinical, Risk-20 (HCR-20), from 2006 to 2013 as part of an opportunity to be conditionally discharged from state forensic facilities. Of the 116 inpatients, 58 were never released, 39 were released and returned to a hospital, and 19 were released and never returned. Results from analyses of variance and multinomial logistic regression found the risk management (R) scale of the HCR-20 successfully predicted group membership in that higher scores were associated with a greater likelihood of not being released from a forensic facility or returning to a forensic facility after release. The results of this study indicate that clinicians should consider community-based risk variables when evaluating forensic patients for potential return to the community. This research demonstrates that clinicians failing to fully consider dynamic risk factors associated with community integration jeopardize the quality and thoroughness of their violence risk assessment with regards to readiness for release. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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