ABSTRACT
The risk of violent, sexual, or criminal recidivism is an important consideration in legal decision-making. Risk assessment instruments are commonly employed to evaluate risk and provide an objective risk estimate to inform decision-makers about how the risk should be managed. This chapter is an overview of two primary types of risk assessment instruments: actuarial and structured professional judgement, and it includes a discussion of the rationale behind their development and use, the way the instruments are employed, and the research related to how biases among criminal justice professionals and legal decision-makers interact with risk estimates derived from a risk assessment instrument. The chapter concludes with a discussion of potential areas for future research regarding how risk assessment instruments and biases affect legal professionals’ interpretations and risk-related decisions in courtroom and correctional settings.
