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The Risk Principle Simplified
Risk: The possibility of an adverse event.
“Risk” is a central theme in community corrections. In fact, I’ll bet that the first four concepts you learned when you entered the community corrections field were something like this:
- Assessment of criminogenic risk is vital
- An objective risk assessment should be utilized
- Intervention intensity should match risk level
- Over-treating low risk clients can make them worse
If you entered this field due to your desire to provide treatment to offenders, you may have grown tired of the emphasis on risk with this population. As a clinical psychologist who has dedicated his life to developing and implementing offender treatment programs, I understand your frustration. It can be difficult to focus on treatment in a corrections setting that emphasizes actuarial risk more than individual potential. However, risk is not just an academic concept, and the focus on risk is not ancillary to the treatment goals of community corrections. In fact, the purpose of community corrections revolves entirely around risk.
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