ABSTRACT
The assessment of an individual’s risk of committing future acts of violence is a prominent issue in all areas of mental health practice (Mullen 2000). Regardless of whether they work in a forensic setting, the concern that a patient may harm others is a considerable source of anxiety for any treating team (Otto 2000). Furthermore, in many jurisdictions such assessments are required by law (see Ogloff and Davis 2005, for discussion of Australian legislation). Indeed, in the criminal context, the question of accuseds’ or offenders’ ‘dangerousness’ is naturally central to many decisions that are made throughout the criminal justice process. Decisions involving whether someone will be granted bail, whether someone will be incarcerated or granted probation, where one will be incarcerated, whether one will be granted parole, and conditions of release from custody may all be affected by the perceived level of risk for violence of the offender. Similar questions arise in the context of young offenders and for them the additional question of whether they should be proceeded against in adult court as compared to youth court (or some variant) can be affected again by their deemed level of risk for violence. Furthermore, questions of whether an adult prisoner poses an ‘unacceptable risk to the community’ to be released from prison may also occur as post-sentence detention of prisoners is now permissible in many jurisdictions throughout the world, particularly with regard to sexual offenders (Covington 1997; Ogloff and Davis, 2005; Wollert 2006).
