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We evaluated the reliability and validity of judgments concerning risk for violence

The rationale for this article was to outline and describe an emerging model of prevention-based violence risk assessment and management and to discuss attendant clinical and research implications. This model draws on structured professional judgment rather than on actuarial prediction or unstructured clinical prediction. Its purpose is to prevent violence through the assessment of relevant violence risk factors and the application of risk management and intervention strategies that flow directly from these factors. The authors discuss the nature of the clinical tasks that stem from the model as well as a four-step validation procedure required to evaluate it.

The Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) was administered to 231 White male criminals prior to thenrelease from prison on parole or mandatory supervision. Official parole supervision files provided details of each criminal's behavior during his supervised release. The PCL made a significant contribution to the prediction of outcome beyond that made by several key criminal-history and demographic variables. The percentage of criminals with low, medium, and high PCL scores who violated the conditions of release was 23.5,48.9, and 65.2, respectively. The probability of remaining out of prison for at least 1 year was .80, .54, and .38 for low, medium, and high groups, respectively. The high group members received more suspensions and presented more supervisory problems than did those in the other groups. The results provide support for the validity of the PCL and for the view that it is possible to make useful predictions about some aspects of the criminal psychopath's behavior. Psychological tests have not been of much practical use inpredicting the behavior of criminals (see review by Carbonell, Megargee, & Moorhead, 1984), and psychiatric diagnoses have not fared much better. Thus, Guze (1976) concluded that once a person has been convicted of a felony, psychiatric diagnosis plays only a limited role in predicting criminal activities. This conclusion may be overly pessimistic, at least with respect to psychopathy. Most clinical descriptions of psychopaths make reference to their persistent disregard for social norms and conventions; their impulsivity, unreliability, and irresponsibility; their lack of empathy, remorse, and emotional depth; and their failure to maintain enduring attachments to people, principles, or goals (Cleckley, 1976;McCord&McCord, 1964). Moreover, there is already good evidence of strong associations between

The problem of domestic violence has been well documented with respect to its social, psychological, and economic costs. Proactive arrest and sentencing policies have resulted in an increasing, and in some cases, overwhelming number of spousal batterers being processed through the criminal justice system. Scarce correctional and treatment resources necessitate that difficult decisions be made about the management of domestic violence perpetrators. In an effort to make better decisions, many jurisdictions have adopted a risk assessment approach. Spousal assault risk assessment now serves to inform those making decisions about sentencing (e.g., community release vs. incarceration), treatment placement, and supervision intensity. With these developments, researchers and clinicians have begun to discuss the appropriate content and process of spousal assault risk assessment. There have been a number of efforts in recent years to develop theoretically and scientifically sound risk assessment instruments and procedures. This article attempts to review state-of-the-art instruments in this rapidly expanding field.