The Center for Justice Research graduate fellow publishes article on risk prediction
January 24, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Center for Justice Research
justice.research@tsu.edu
The Center for Justice Research graduate fellow publishes article on risk prediction
HOUSTON, TX (January 24, 2020) - Devonte White, a graduate student at Texas Southern University in the Barbara Jordan – Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs and a researcher in the Center for Justice Research, recently published an article in the Frontiers in Psychology journal in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Science and Law on assessing risk among community correctional populations.
The article addresses the current limitations of forensic risk assessments by introducing the first mobile, self-scoring, risk assessment software that relies on neurocognitive testing to predict reoffense. This assessment, run entirely on a tablet, measures decision-making via a suite of neurocognitive tests in less than 30 minutes. The software measures several cognitive and decision-making traits of the user, including impulsivity, empathy, aggression, and several other traits linked to reoffending. Their analysis measured whether this assessment successfully predicted recidivism by testing probationers in Houston, Texas from 2017 to 2019. With continued data collection, their research opens the possibility of identifying different levels of recidivism risk, by crime type, for any age, or gender, and seeks to steer individuals appropriately toward rehabilitative programs.
Devonte White, can be reached at devonte@center4justice.org
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ABOUT THE CENTER FOR JUSTICE RESEARCH
The Center, founded in January 2018, is located on Texas Southern’s campus in Houston’s historic Third Ward, the city’s oldest African-American community. Houston has the third-largest criminal justice system in America. CJR offers a pipeline for CJR researchers to investigate and find solutions in a complex criminal justice system.The Center for Justice Research is committed to creating justice reform-oriented solutions for the reduction of mass incarceration by connecting and applying academic thought to practical challenges. As a university-level research center, the Center for Justice Research provides a culturally responsive approach to mass incarceration and to criminal justice reform. Our targeted research advances data-driven solutions by supporting innovation, collecting committed reformers, compelling policy arguments and engendering broad consensus amongst community stakeholders.