Risk Assessment for Domestically Violent Men: Tools for Criminal Justice, Offender Intervention, and Victim Services »

"From a domestic violence victim's first contact with authorities through the offender's bail, sentencing, parole, and treatment program, criminal justice officers and clinicians must make informed decisions about which cases need the most attention and must ensure targeted provisions are in place to prevent recurrences of violence. Hilton, Harris, and Rice make a case for using actuarial risk assessments to predict recidivism in male domestic violence offenders. These assessments, the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) and the Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (DVRAG), are the first in the field. The authors assert that making it public policy to use these tools systemically will reduce the number of violent assaults on women by their partners." The book draws on the authors' in-depth empirical studies of violent men and their extensive experience with recidivism risk assessment in policing, court cases, offender assessment, and victim services. It also functions as a user's manual - replete with all the scoring, reporting, and interpreting details needed to effectively use the ODARA/DVRAG system.

Introduction 3

Ch. 1 Risk Assessment for Criminal Justice, Offender Intervention, and Victim Services 9

Ch. 2 Assessing the Risk of Future Violent Behavior 25

Ch. 3 Creating a Frontline Risk Assessment 47

Ch. 4 In-Depth Risk Assessment and Theoretical Explanation 67

Ch. 5 Risk Communication 89

Ch. 6 Implementing Actuarial Risk Assessment 107

Ch. 7 Questions and Answers About the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment/Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (ODARA/DVRAG) System 127

Appendix A Scoring Criteria for the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) 151

Appendix B Sample Risk Assessment Report Summary and Norms for the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) 169

Appendix C Scoring Criteria for the Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (DVRAG) 171

Appendix D Sample Risk Assessment Report Summary and Norms for the Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (DVRAG) 179

Appendix E Practice Case Materials 181

Appendix F Graphical Aids for the Statistical Interpretation of the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) 205

References 209

Index 229

About the Authors 239