Gender, Diversity And Risk Assessment In Canadian Corrections
| Author | Kelly Hannah-Moffat,Margaret Shaw |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050004700301 |
| Published date | 01 September 2000 |
| Date | 01 September 2000 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
163
Gender,
Diversity
And
Risk
Assessment
In
Canadian
Corrections
Margaret
Shaw
and
Kelly
Hannah-Moffat
consider
the
discriminatory
implications
of
risk-based
classification
systems
and
of
actuarial
risk
assessment
tools
in
the
Canadian
correctional
system.
ver
the
past
ten
years
in
Canada,
=0*
actuarial
risk
and
need
assessment
has
become
a
major
aspect
of
the
federal
correctional
system,
which
is
responsible
for
all
those
sentenced
to
two
years
or
more.
In
1994
an
elaborate
risk
and need
classification
and
assessment
process
(the
’Offender
Intake
Assessment’
or
OIA)
was
instituted
across
the
correctional
system.
This
affects
all
prisoners
as
well
as
those
on
parole.
Actuarial
techniques
are
also
being
used
in
some
provincial
correctional
systems,
notably
Ontario.
These
developments
stem
primarily
from
the
work
of
a
group
of
Canadian
psychologists
working
inside
and
outside
the
correctional
system,
who
have
been
actively
promoting
the
revival
of
the
concept
of
rehabilitation.
On
the
basis
of
a
series
of
meta-analyses
they
argue
that
appropriately
targeted
treatment
programmes,
using
techniques
based
on
cognitive
psychology,
reduce
recidivism.
This
work,
vigorously
promoted
inside
and
outside
Canada,
has
achieved
a
high
profile
in
a
number
of
countries
including
England
and
Wales,
and
prison
and
probation
services
are
actively
adopting
the
treatment
approaches
and
adapting
risk
assessment
tools
and
instruments
to
their
clientele
(e.g.
Aubrey
&
Hough,
1997;
Daley
&
Lane,
1999;
Mair,
1999).
There
are,
however,
a
number
of
concerns
about
the
rush
to
implement
such
risk
assessment
instruments
and
treatment
programmes.
In
spite
of
the
claims
made
for
their
veracity,
most
of
the
work
on
which
they
have been
based
is
partial.
It
has
been
developed
on
the
basis
of
male,
usually
white,
correctional
populations.
It
is
’un-gendered’,
and
has
maintained
that
issues
such
as
race
and
ethnicity
as
well
as
gender
are
inconsequential
(e.g.
Bonta,
1989;
Andrews,
Bonta
&
Hoge,
1990;
Bonta,
Pang
&
Wallace-Capretta,
1995).
This
article,
draws
on
a
recent
study
of
the
implications
of
universal
actuarial
systems
for
women
and
minority
groups
(Hannah-
Moffat
&
Shaw,
2000b).
It
traces
the
development
of
classification
systems
and
their
specific
application
to
federally
sentenced
women
in
Canada -
those
who
receive
sentences
of
two
years
or
more.
They
represent
only
2%
of
the
federal
prison
population,
around
360
women
compared
with
13,000
men.
They
are
also
more
diverse
ethno-culturally
than
the
male
population.
Aboriginal,
or
’First
Nations’,
women
in
particular
are
heavily
over-
represented.
Up
to
25%
are
Aboriginal,
compared
with
2%
in
the
Canadian
population
as
a
whole,
and
there
is
an
increasing
proportion
of
black
women
and
other
minorities.
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