Offender Risk Assessments

In Saskatchewan, Corrections staff use the Offender Risk Assessment Management System (ORAMS). The Primary Risk Assessment tool forms the basis upon which case plans are structured.

Saskatchewan Corrections staff use the Static-99* as the sex offender secondary assessment tool, and are implementing the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA)** for partner abuse as a secondary assessment tool, as well.

Primary Risk Assessment:

Primary risk assessments are completed on all offenders sentenced to probation, conditional sentence or incarceration and for those whom a court report has been ordered. These assessments help predict the offender's risk to re-offend in any type of offence (as opposed to specific types of offences such as partner abuse or sexual assault).

This assessment will:

• find out the offender's risk to re-offend in any type of offence;
• help identify problem areas that contribute to offending behavior;
• help match the degree and type of supervision and/or interventions to the offender's risk;
• help find out the offender's appropriateness for community work placements, temporary releases or early release from a correctional institution; and
• priorize correctional services for those offenders who pose a higher risk to the community.

Validity?

Research has shown that the Primary Risk Assessment for adult offenders is acceptably accurate in predicting an offender's potential for:

• failure on a community supervision order (e.g. probation, temporary absences);
• conviction for a new offence; or
• re-incarceration.

Secondary Risk Assessments:

The Secondary Risk Assessments are completed as required by the offender's needs and offense pattern.

These more specific assessments focus on the offender's risk to re-offend in a partner abuse or sexual offence situation.

* The Static-99 is a brief actuarial instrument designed to estimate the probability of sexual and violent recidivism among adult males who have already been convicted of at least one sexual offence against a child or non-consenting adult. It is not recommended for adolescents (under 18 years at time of release), female offenders or offenders who have been convicted of prostitution, pimping, having sex in public locations with consenting adults, or possession of indecent materials.

** The Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) is a validated assessment "that evaluates the likelihood that a man will assault his partner again, and how this risk compares with that of other wife assaults."

Secondary assessments help:

• find out the offender's risk to re-offend in a sexual offence or partner assault offence;
• identify the problem areas that contribute to this offending;
• decide the level and type of supervision and program service for these offenders; and
• determine the offender's suitability for work placements, community temporary releases or early release from a correctional institution.

Validity

The secondary assessments have been validated.  They include risk factors that indicate an increased risk to re-offend, specifically in terms of sex offences (Static 99) or partner abuse (ODARA).  

Summary

Doing both assessments gives a better picture of the offender's overall risk to re-offend. It helps pinpoint what correctional services an offender needs (e.g., should services deal with the offender's assault risk, general risk or both). For example, an offender could be low risk to re-offend in any offence, but high risk to re-offend in a sexual or partner assault. In this case, the main focus should be towards addressing the issues that lead to the offender's assaultive behaviour.

The primary and secondary assessments are treated as separate instruments. However, there are factors on the primary assessment that may have a bearing on an offender's risk to re-offend in an assaultive offence. Corrections staff review factors on the primary assessment concerning drug or alcohol abuse, attitude, family/marital relationships, financial situation, emotional stability, mental ability and employment when working with and assessing assaultive offenders.