Performance Reporting — Continued

Goal 3: Communities safe from high-risk offenders

Objective	Strategy
Manage and supervise offenders based on their risk to re-offend	Undertake offender risk/needs assessments

This goal is of paramount importance to the corrections core business area, and the objective of providing appropriate levels of supervision and effective intervention to reduce re-offending is directly linked to both short and long-term protection of the public.

A cornerstone of effectively managing and supervising offenders based on their risk to re-offend is to undertake validated risk/needs assessments that provide accurate profiles of the offenders under Corrections Branch supervision. Risk/needs assessments are standardized, validated forms completed by Branch staff to determine offenders' risk to re-offend, and case management and programming needs.

There are two components to risk assessment:

• the first assesses static risk factors (e.g., criminal history, age of first arrest/conviction, and history of violence) that inform case managers of the level of supervision required to safely manage and supervise the offender in the community or in an institution; and,
• the second assessment identifies the dynamic risk factors that are related to re-offending behaviour. These factors (e.g., substance abuse, cognitive skills deficits, and anger management problems) can then be targeted for rehabilitative intervention through core programs, thus reducing the risk of recidivism.

Performance Measure	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual
Percentage of offender risk/needs assessments completed	86%	85%	88%  Target surpassed

The target established for the 2002/03 fiscal year was surpassed, with 88 per cent of offender risk/needs assessments completed.⁸ This is significant in that undertaking risk/needs assessments is the foundation for effective case management and used to determine offender supervision and application of core programs.

To ensure that the ministry meets the objective of managing and supervising offenders based on their risk to re-offend, it is fundamental that the risk/needs assessments be completed for all eligible offenders in a timely manner. Upon admission, policy requires that a risk/needs assessment be completed within two months. Thereafter, assessments are updated every 6 months or more frequently if deemed necessary. Achieving the target is thus dependent upon the number of admissions each month, the caseloads of staff undertaking risk/needs assessments and adherence to policy.

8	The data used to inform this performance measure are drawn from the CORNET offender database and downloaded to a management information system. An algorithm calculates how many risk assessments should be completed given the order type, policy directives and the time period under examination. The data are considered reliable.