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Abstract: 

While the importance of empirical risk assessment is now accepted in many areas of the criminal justice system, concerns remain regarding the use of these assessments for so-called special offender population groups. For example, potential issues exist around the applicability of risk assessment instruments that are developed on male-based data and are subsequently used on women or girls. This concern is based on the assertion that the predictors of deviant behavior differ for men and women. If this assertion is correct, instruments based on existing research, which is dominated by male sample groups, may prove to be faulty in their application to women or girls. This piece analyzes the criminological differences between males and females and suggests that the same risk assessment tools can be used for both males and females, as long as these tools account for gender differences especially in regards to the causal factors behind criminologic needs.

Keywords: gender

Affiliations:  1: University of Cincinnati; 2: University of Cincinnati.