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High-quality forensic risk assessment sits at the heart of decision-making in courts and parole settings. Associates working for Walters-Wright Psychology are required to balance clinical judgement, structured professional tools, ethical responsibilities, and legal thresholds of risk. An up-to-date understanding of the research evidence is therefore essential not only to support defensible opinions, but also to ensure assessments are transparent, proportionate, and aligned with current best practice.

The literature below represents some of the most influential and relevant research. These articles explore how risk is conceptualised, assessed, communicated, and interpreted by legal decision-makers, as well as the strengths and limitations of commonly used tools and formulations. Together, they support associates to develop robust, reflective, and ethically sound risk assessments that withstand scrutiny and genuinely assist judicial and parole processes.Key Articles and Research

Key Articles and Research

  1. McMurran, M., Payne, L., Harrop, A., & Bowes, N. (2025). Does risk formulation help independent review board decisions on release of prisoners? A qualitative study with Parole Board members in England and Wales. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 35(5), 263–269.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/cbm.70001
  2. Gunenc, C., Fitton, L., & Beazley, P. (2025). Use of the HCR-20 Version 3 with women: A narrative synthesis. Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice, 25(5), 930–959.
  3. Douglas, T., Pugh, J., Singh, I., & Savulescu, J. (2020). Risk assessment tools in criminal justice and forensic psychiatry: The need for better data. European Psychiatry, 63, e23.
    https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.23
  4. Shingler, J., Sonnenberg, S. J., & Needs, A. (2018). Risk assessment interviews: Exploring the perspectives of psychologists and indeterminate sentenced prisoners in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(10), 3201–3224.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17739211
  5. Shingler, J., & Needs, A. (2018). The role of psychological risk assessment in Parole Board decision making: An exploration of the perspectives of psychologists, indeterminate sentenced prisoners and Parole Board members. Prison Service Journal, (237), 36–40.
  6. Serin, R. C., & Wardrop, K. (2021). Parole decision-making. In J. M. Brown & M. A. H. Horvath (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology (pp. 456–473). Cambridge University Press.
  7. Fazel, S., Singh, J. P., Doll, H., & Grann, M. (2013). Use of risk assessment instruments to predict violence and antisocial behaviour: Systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 345, e4692.
    https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e4692
  8. Monahan, J. (2016). Risk assessment in criminal sentencing. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 12, 489–516.
    https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-092945
  9. Forde, R. A. (2015). Risk assessment in parole decisions: A study of life sentence prisoners in England and Wales(Doctoral thesis). University of Birmingham.
  10. Forensic Mental Health Practitioners’ use of structured risk assessment tools. (2021). International Journal of Law and Psychiatry.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2021.1895377
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