Is Europe prepared for Risk Assessment Technologies in criminal justice? Lessons from the US experience

Abstract

Risk Assessment Technologies (‘RAT’) are currently used by criminal courts to evaluate defendants: their risk to reoffend. Despite critique on opacity, complexity, non-contestability or discriminative impact, some courts have favoured RAT-considerations, in light of alleged accuracy, effectiveness and efficiency. This contribution assesses whether and the degree to which RAT can comply with evidence-related rules and fundamental human rights. After detecting key legal challenges in the United States (US), it makes recommendations for the proper regulation and consideration of RAT. It then moves on to the European regime with a view to assessing whether and how it can better tackle RAT-implementations in the criminal justice system.