Revalidating Dynamic Risk Assessments Built in Pre-COVID Periods

SESSION INFO

Wednesday, August 30, 2023
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Session Type: Workshop

Risk assessments are useful for identifying the potential risk for rearrest that an individual on probation or parole can pose. Early versions of these tools used static measures (e.g., criminal history) while recent innovations incorporate dynamic measures of both risk and success while on supervision. However, many tools in practice were built using data from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from the Georgia Department of Community Supervision from 2016 to 2022, this workshop re-examines a dynamic risk assessment constructed and validated using pre-COVID data and seeks to answer the following questions: (1) How does a risk assessment built using pre-COVID-19 data perform in a post-COVID world? (2) Do changes in practice impact the predictive validity of models that were built using historical data before the COVID-19 pandemic? (3) How have the effects of dynamic and static factors changed? Plans to periodically revalidate and revise the risk assessment are discussed.

SESSION PRESENTERS

Dr. Christopher Inkpen
Research Sociologist & Demographer, RTI International


Dr. Christopher Inkpen is a quantitative social scientist in RTI’s Division for Applied Justice Research. His research focuses on risk assessment and the quantitative evaluation of pretrial diversion and reentry programs using inferential and machine learning methods.


Dr. Pamela K Lattimore
Senior Director for Research Development, RTI International


Dr. Pamela K. Lattimore is Senior Director for Research Development for RTI’s Division for Applied Justice Research. She has conducted research and evaluation focused on community supervision, prisoner reentry, specialty courts, and pretrial initiatives for more than 30 years. She is a recipient of researcher awards from the ACA, the ASC Division on Corrections and Sentencing, and the Academy of Experimental Criminology. Dr. Lattimore has published extensively, has served on multiple editorial boards, and was the inaugural co-editor of the annual Handbook on Corrections and Sentencing published by Routledge Press.


Dr. Nicholas Powell
Director of Strategic Planning & Analysis, GA Department of Community Supervision


Dr. Nick Powell is the Strategic Planning & Analysis Director for the Georgia Department of Community Supervision. Dr. Powell studies the social context within which crime occurs, and researches and formulates strategies to improve criminal justice outcomes while reducing negative consequences. Dr. Powell is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgia State University and publishes on the intersection of officer well-being and supervisees with mental illness.