Strategy 2: Ensure the effective use of risk and needs assessments.

Require or authorize use of validated pretrial risk assessments to inform pretrial release decision making and conditions of release.
Require supervision agencies to assess a person when placed on supervision for risk of reoffending and periodically thereafter as part of ongoing monitoring.
Require risk and needs assessments to be used to route people to appropriate programming focused on addressing their criminogenic needs, while incarcerated and in the community.
Require parole boards to use parole guidelines that account for factors that demonstrate a person’s readiness for parole, including risk and needs assessment results, to inform release decision making.
Identify how corrections agencies can use information from one tool to help inform another to increase efficiency at different stages of the justice system.

Require in statute the routine validation of risk and needs assessment tools, including checking for bias across race and gender.
Ensure that supervision staff are trained on the proper use of risk and needs assessments.
Ensure that corrections agencies regularly check for scoring guidance updates from the risk and needs assessment tool developer.
Ensure that agencies regularly review how risk and needs assessments are conducted.