Offender risk and needs assessment: Some current issues and suggestions

Crime impacts upon the community at multiple levels, causing distress and l oss for the victims, and feelings of insecurity for the public, as well as adding to the drain on financial resources for governments. This makes the accurate identification of risk of reoffending and the determination of eff icacious rehabilitation strategies imperative. Key principles in cognitive and behavioural psychology can contribute to this task. This paper will rev iew the issue of risk assessment and describe the applicability of function al analysis to forensic psychology. Two studies by the authors will be used to illustrate concepts raised in this review. The paper will conclude with a model that may help guide the realistic implementation of detailed indiv idual functional analyses of offenders' behaviour.