Out With the Old and in With the New? An Empirical Comparison of Supervised Learning Algorithms to Predict Recidivism

Recent research has produced mixed results as to whether newer machine learning algorithms outperform older, more traditional methods such as logistic regression in predicting recidivism. In this study, we compared the performance of 12 supervised learning algorithms to predict recidivism among offenders released from Minnesota prisons. Using multiple predictive validity metrics, we assessed the performance of these algorithms across varying sample sizes, recidivism base rates, and number of predictors in the data set. The newer machine learning algorithms generally yielded better predictive validity results. LogitBoost had the best overall performance, followed by Random forests, MultiBoosting, bagged trees, and logistic model trees. Still, the gap between the best and worst algorithms was relatively modest, and none of the methods performed the best in each of the 10 scenarios we examined. The results suggest that multiple methods, including machine learning algorithms, should be considered in the development of recidivism risk assessment instruments.