Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #10 - Understanding, Assessing, Managing and Reducing RISK (ACJ10-A007)

Systematic approaches to risk assessment and risk management have made dramatic progress in the last three decades. Unsurprisingly, the focus has been on risk factors intrinsic to the individual—e.g., their history of violence, substance misuse disorder, personality pathology or violent ideation. This focus has relevance but also reflects the fundamental attribution bias, that is, the tendency, when it comes to explaining the behaviour of others, to highlight their personal characteristics and downplay contextual factors. This is the opposite of what we do when explaining our own behaviour! When it comes to violence in prisons, the context can have a substantial impact. Prisoners are not violent merely because of who they are but because of where they are—and how they are treated. My colleague Dr Lorraine Johnstone and I endeavoured to develop a procedure designed to manage situational risk factors. PRISM is a Structured Professional Judgement process designed to identify and manage the characteristics of a prison—or other secure facility—that increase the likelihood that individual prisoners will engage in violent behaviour. In this paper, I outline the origins and development of the PRISM approach, describe how it may be implemented and outline several case studies describing its application. By understanding both the individual and the institution we can prevent violence.

 

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