The Predictive Validity of the Risk Screener Violence (RS-V) for Adults in Prison Regarding Postrelease Violent Recidivism: A File-Based Study

Abstract

Within the prison system, it is often not feasible to administer comprehensive risk assessment for all incarcerated persons because of limited time and resources. To enhance prison safety and facilitate the structured evaluation of concerns about violence risk for all individuals, the Risk Screener Violence (RS-V) was developed. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether the RS-V ( N = 571) is able to retrospectively predict postrelease violent (re)offending for males (81%) and females (19%). The RS-V was scored with excellent interrater reliability and demonstrated medium to large predictive validity for all follow-up periods. Surprisingly, the predictive validity for females was even stronger than for males. This study demonstrates that the RS-V offers a promising new method for the efficient screening of concerns regarding violent behavior among incarcerated males and females. Further prospective studies in prison practice will have to consolidate these findings.