# Discriminative and predictive validity of risk assessment measures for women incarcerated for serious violent offences in Australia

## TL;DR

This study examines if risk assessment tools developed for men are valid for predicting recidivism among women in Australian prisons.

## Contribution

The study provides evidence on the validity of specific risk assessment tools for women incarcerated for serious violence in Australia.

## Key findings

- The LS/RNR tool was related to various types of recidivism among women.
- The HCR-20v3 H-Scale showed strong predictive validity for violent recidivism.
- Four LS/RNR domains were valid for predicting recidivism.

## Abstract

Despite the growing population of women in Australian prisons, limited research has explored whether commonly used risk assessments – predominantly developed and tested on men – are valid for women. We investigated the discriminative and predictive validity of the Level of Service Inventory–Revised: Screening Version (LSI-R:SV), Level of Service/Risk, Need, Responsivity (LS/RNR), and the Historical, Clinical, Risk Management 20–Version 3 (HCR-20v3) for Victorian women imprisoned for serious violence (N = 79). The LS/RNR was related to any, violent, and non-violent recidivism, and both the LSI-R:SV and the H-Scale of the HCR-20v3 were related to violent recidivism, with the H-Scale demonstrating strong predictive validity for violence. Four LS/RNR needs domains demonstrated discriminative and predictive validity for any and/or violent recidivism (criminal history, family/marital, alcohol/drug problem, antisocial pattern). Findings are locally significant, showing that the LS/RNR and HCR-20v3 H-Scale are useful for the prediction and discrimination of recidivism for Australian women incarcerated for serious violence.