Reevaluating inter-rater reliability in offender risk assessment van der Knaap, Leontien; Leenarts, L.E.W.; Born, M.Ph.; Oosterveld, P.
Published in:Crime and Delinquency
Publication date: 2012 Link to publication
Citation for published version (APA):van der Knaap, L. M., Leenarts, L. E. W., Born, M. P., & Oosterveld, P. (2012). Reevaluating inter-rater reliability in offender risk assessment. Crime and Delinquency, 58(1), 147-163.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the help of probation officers and offenders who participated in this study. The study was conducted at the Research and Documentation Centre (WODC) of the Dutch Ministry of Justice where the first and second author were working at the time of the study.
KEY WORDSOffender assessment -Risk -Inter-rater reliability -Recidivism Assessment Scales (RISc) 2 REEVALUATING INTER-RATER RELIABILITY IN OFFENDER RISK ASSESSMENT.
AbstractOffender risk and needs assessment, one of the pillars of the Risk-Need-Responsivity model of offender rehabilitation, usually depends on raters assessing offender risk and needs.The few available studies of inter-rater reliability in offender risk assessment are, however, limited in the generalizability of their results. The present study examined inter-rater reliability in Dutch offender risk assessment of 38 raters who independently assessed 75 offenders.Results show substantial reliability (Tinsley & Weiss' T value ≥ .61) for risk of reconviction and moderate (T value ≥ .41) to substantial reliability for offender needs, such as accommodation, finances, or education. These results are discussed in light of a recent British study on the inter-rater reliability of a comparable risk assessment instrument. Results from the present study show similar to better reliability, leading to the conclusion that greater external validity does not negatively influence inter-rater reliability results.