Assessing Risk Among White

While many risk assessment tools have been subjected to validation studies, less research has examined their utility with white-collar offenders. Given that white-collar offenders tend to have different social and economic backgrounds than other types of offenders, it is important to understand how risk assessment applies to this population and how risk assessment might help judges and other court and correctional decision makers understand risk of future harm among this understudied group. We examine the ability of the Post Conviction Risk Assessment to predict revocation on a sample of 31,306 white-collar offenders by reviewing the predictive validity of the risk levels and risk score. The analyses support the use of risk assessment with white-collar offenders and provide further support for applying the risk and needs principles to what is considered a unique population. Other implications for risk assessment and judicial decision making are discussed