Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal sex-offenders in Australia: Assessing risk for practice and policy

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The research developed a national sex-offender database as a platform to examine the relative effectiveness of the Static-99R tool for assessing the risk of sexual re-offending for offenders.
It found that:
• The Static-99R had lower validity for assessing Aboriginal offenders, compared with non-Aboriginal offenders.
• Forensic experts acknowledge the limitations of instruments such as the Static-99R and are cautious in their use, while believing the same factors to predict recidivism for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders.
• Three potential predictor variables (coping skills, release plans, long-term goals) had sufficient quantitative support to justify their inclusion in any future instrument to assess Aboriginal sex-offenders.