The LSI-R and the COMPAS: Validation Data on Two Risk-Needs Tools

Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 35, Issue 9 (September 2008), pp. 1095-1108

15 Pages Posted: 5 May 2021

See all articles by Tracy L. Fass

Tracy L. Fass

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Kirk Heilbrun

Drexel University

David DeMatteo

Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law

Ralph Fretz

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: September 1, 2008

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the role of risk-needs assessment in the criminal justice system has increased substantially. This study provides validation data on the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) and the Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) using a large male cohort (N = 975) with a substantial proportion of ethnic minority offenders. In comparing the predictive validity of these tools, the authors employed a retrospective, archival, known-groups design to study outcomes of offenders released into the community from New Jersey prisons between 1999 and 2002, with a post-release outcome period of 12 months. The results indicate that both the LSI-R composite score and the COMPAS recidivism score have inconsistent validity when tested on different ethnic/racial populations. Furthermore, the results suggest that different ethnic/racial groups have varying risk and needs factors that predict recidivism.

Keywords: Risk, Recidivism, Risk-needs tools, LSI-R, COMPAS

Suggested Citation

Fass, Tracy L. and Heilbrun, Kirk and DeMatteo, David and Fretz, Ralph, The LSI-R and the COMPAS: Validation Data on Two Risk-Needs Tools (September 1, 2008). Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 35, Issue 9 (September 2008), pp. 1095-1108, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3599206

Tracy L. Fass

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Kirk Heilbrun

Drexel University ( email )

3141 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

David DeMatteo (Contact Author)

Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law ( email )

3320 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

Ralph Fretz

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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