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RNR Videos/Podcasts

Risk Assessment Tool Helps Probation Officers

This video provides an overview of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Post Conviction Risk Assessment (PCRA) tool and how it is used to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of post-conviction supervision. PCRA helps probation officers identify which persons to target for correctional interventions, what characteristics or needs will mitigate future criminal behavior, and how best to deliver supervision and treatment. The PCRA tool is an Evidence Based Practice (EBP) that guides an officer's decision about what level of risk an offender poses and what interventions would be best to reduce recidivism rates.

Predicting Criminal Behavior through Risk Instruments

This podcast was produced by DC Public Safety Radio. In this podcast, DC Public Safety Radio interviewed Mason Burley, Senior Research Associate for the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP), and Zachary Hamilton, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, and Director of the Washington State Institute for Criminal Justice, Washington State University. They discussed a new report from WSIPP and the larger policy implications of risk instruments. The title of the report is “Assessing the Risk of Criminal Offense for Washington’s Involuntary Treatment and Forensic Commitment Populations.” It includes an assessment of a risk instrument for mental health and convicted populations.

Responding to Offenders’ Needs Motivates Behavior Change

This video from the Washington State Department of Corrections looks at how the responsivity principle—including gender responsiveness—is being applied in prisons and in the community.