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"Assessment tools used to predict how likely a psychopathic prisoner is to re-offend if freed from jail are "utterly useless" and parole boards might just as well flip a coin when deciding such risks, psychiatrists said on Tuesday. A Queen Mary University of London study found risk score tools are only around 46 percent accurate on how likely psychopathic convicts are to kill, rape or assault again. Seena Fazel, a consultant forensic psychiatrist at Britain's University of Oxford, said the reliability of the tests' predictive ability was so low that it might be best not to use them at all - and warned that at the very least, their results should only be noted by parole boards, rather than acted upon. "If you're going to use these instruments, be aware of their strengths and limitations," he said." (Reuters, 01/10/2013, Kate Kelland)

Reuters, 01/10/2013, Kate Kelland

Also:Psychopath tests futile for safety, say scientists. The Times online, Hannah Devlin, 02/10/2013

Predicting violence in psychopaths is 'no more than chance'. Chicago Tribune (USA), 01/10/2013, via Reuters, Kate Kelland

Predicting If Violent Psychopaths Will Reoffend Is Basically A Coin Toss: Study. Huffington Post (USA), 01/10/2013, via Reuters

Predicting violence in psychopaths 'no more than chance'. MSN Canada , 01/10/2013, via Reuters, Kate Kelland

Tests to predict violent crime by psychopaths are 'useless', according to new report. The Telegraph, 02/10/2013

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