Examining dynamic risk and strength profiles for Indigenous and non-Indigenous young adults

ABSTRACT Young adults are particularly at risk for involvement in the justice system relative to older adults. Little research specifically examines age-related differences in salience of dynamic risk and strength factor scores on recidivism (e.g. Spruit, A., van der Put, C., Gubbels, J., & Bindels, A. (2017). Age differences in the severity, impact and relative importance of dynamic risk factors for recidivism. Journal of Criminal Justice, 50, 69–77) and no research specifically examines this question in Indigenous Canadian adults. To address this gap, the current study examines the predictive accuracy and calibration of a risk-needs assessment tool, the Service Planning Instrument (SPIn), by age group and examines age-related differences in prevalence and salience of dynamic risk and strength scores on recidivism for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous male adults. The authors obtained SPIn assessment data completed over a 6-year period and recidivism data with a fixed 3-year follow-up for justice-involved male adults on community supervision in a single province in Canada (N = 16,596). Risk and strength profiles for Indigenous and non-Indigenous young adults were relatively similar. Age moderated the relationship between several dynamic risk and strength factor scores and recidivism for non-Indigenous individuals; no factors were moderated by age for Indigenous individuals.