Do correctional authorities treat all offenders equally? Evaluating the use of a risk assessment instrument

Discriminatory practices on the part of correctional authorities have long been subjected to public and scientific scrutiny. This paper explores whether the correctional authorities in Washington State targeted certain demographic or other groups of offenders more than others in the process of making risk assessment decisions. Using a statewide sample of adult offenders and a set of controlled and uncontrolled regressions, I do not find evidence that the authorities targeted particular groups of offenders. Moreover, the authorities did not focus their attention on groups with higher recidivism rates, which is evidence against the presence of statistical discrimination. (c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.