Offender Risk Assessment: Risk Communication

In the context of offender risk assessment, risk communication is the process whereby the results of an assessment are conveyed in words, numbers, and/or pictures to decisions makers. The study of risk communication concerns the effect that the communication method, the characteristics of the individual receiving the communication, or the decision-making context has on people’s decisions. Forensic risk communication is a relatively new area of forensic psychology arising from the growth in offender risk assessment instruments since the 1990s. Its importance lies in its being the fulcrum of risk assessment’s influence over forensic decision-making and hence over the expression of the risk principle within the Risk-Need-Responsivity model of correctional intervention.

This entry describes research into the communication formats and individual characteristics that influence risk perception ...

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