The Role of Tablet-Based Psychological Tasks in Risk Assessment

Abstract

Risk assessment has become a prominent part of the criminal justice system in many jurisdictions, typically relying on structured questions and an interview. This approach, however, may not accurately assess certain psychological concepts correlated with reoffense, such as executive functioning, ability to plan, impulse control, risk-taking, aggression, and empathy. We hypothesized that using rapid-tablet-based neurocognitive tests would pay off in terms of objectivity, precision, and scalability when added to the existing risk assessment structure. We analyzed 240 observations from adult felony offenders from a large urban county in the South assessed by the Texas version of the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS) risk tool. We identified significant differences in impulse control, planning, and reactive aggression between offenders and reoffenders. By combining these variables with the Texas Risk Assessment System (TRAS), we yielded significant improvements in risk prediction. We hope this will provide new inroads for actuarial assessments of reoffense risk that incorporate direct measurements of individual decision making.

Assessing Risk Among Correctional Community Probation Populations: Predicting Reoffense With Mobile Neurocognitive Assessment Software

“…Previous psychometric evaluation of the NCRA suggested that predictors may exist that would correlate to specific crime subtypes, thereby increasing the predictive performance for a particular type of criminal offender (Ormachea et al, 2017). With increased sample size, we will apply the predictive model to criminal subtypes (e.g., arson, mass shooting) and hope to be able to draw connections between neurocognitive domains and more specific crimes.…”

“…Nonscored practice rounds were offered after the instructions, which included feedback to ensure the test-taker fully understood the instructions. The NCRA is comprised of seven tests (Figure 1), each of which was selected based on their relationship to reoffense, as detailed in the neurocognitive literature (Ormachea et al, 2017). The tests were then "gamified" (to benefit engagement and attention) and optimized to balance data collection against rapid testing time.…”

“…To address these limitations, we have developed an innovative assessment tool for predicting reoffense using rapid, interactive tests based on standard neuropsychological tests (Ormachea et al, 2017; Figure 1). The NeuroCognitive Risk Assessment (NCRA) measures key criminogenic factors (attentiveness, aggression, risk seeking, empathy, future planning, emotional processing, and impulsivity), all of which have been identified in the literature as cognitive traits linked to reoffending.…”

“…Screenshots of the NeuroCognitive Risk Assessment (NCRA): (A) the Eriksen Flanker, (B) Balloon Analog Risk Task, (C) Go/No-Go, (D) Point-Subtraction Aggression Paradigm, (E) Reading the Mind Through the Eyes, (F) Emotional Stroop, and (G) Tower of London(Ormachea et al, 2017).…”

Remote probation by phone in France and Scotland during the 2020 lockdown

“…Nonetheless, of particular interest is the random assignment of offenders into different programme (Lerch et al, 2017) which found that computerised motivational intervention outperformed traditional probation regarding the treatment initiation rates at 2 months, although with diminished outcome at 6 months. Next, Ormachea et al (2017) wanted to know whether a computer game played by adult offenders could improve risk assessments using the Texas version of ORAS (Ohio Risk Assessment System). The research found that acute risk factors such as cognition, aggression and impulsivity, which are ordinarily more difficult to probe in face-to-face interviews, were more accurately assessed using the game.…”