Friday, July 27, 2007

The Group Is Not the Individual

This may be as important an article for corrections sentencing as anything that’s been put out in a long time, and will likely come as small comfort to the family of the triple murder in CT the other day. A very readable and disturbing analysis of the inapplicability of assessment and profiling based on group characteristics to any particular individual being assessed. This should be laminated and hung in every corr sent practitioner’s office as a reminder of how tentative our methodologies really still are, as well as any policies or decisions on individuals based on them. (h/t Mind Hacks)

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