Addressing Systemic Bias in Violence Risk Assessment

Criminal history plays a prominent role in violence risk assessments. For people in nondominant groups, disproportionate criminal justice involvement may unfairly and inaccurately elevate violence risk in evaluations. Criminal justice reports continue to document higher rates of arrest and convictions for those in minoritized racial groups. Bureau of Justice surveys have found that ethnic minorities are more likely to serve time when crime is violent than are Whites. Black males ages 18 and 19 were 12.7 times more likely to be imprisoned than White males of the same ages. In fact, across all age bands, from 18 to 65 and older, Blacks had higher rates of imprisonments than Whites. Racial inequities in incarceration rates can translate into a Black offender receiving higher risk scores on actuarial instruments than a White offender and thus a biased misclassification as high risk. Awareness of the impact of structural biases that may be embedded in violence risk assessments is critical to fair assessments. We highlight sources of potential systemic racial bias embedded within existing violence risk assessment methods and conclude with potential methods to enhance structural competency and reduce the risk of biased assessments.