Application of the Risk Principle to Female Offenders

Previous research has supported the significance of the principles of effective intervention in correctional treatment. The risk principle suggests that intensive correctional interventions be reserved for higher risk offenders. Increasingly, there is discussion about the application of the risk principle to specialized populations, such as female offenders. The purpose of this article is to test the risk principle on a sizeable sample of female offenders involved in community corrections in a midwestern state. Findings suggest that the risk principle is applicable to women as higher risk female offenders who participated in residential treatment showed lower probability of recidivism than a risk-controlled comparison group, while lower-risk women increased in likelihood of re-arrest after exposure to the same treatment. Results contribute to the growing literature on effective treatment interventions for female offenders.