Risk Assessment for Domestically Violent Men (PDF)

From a domestic violence victim's first call to police or visit to a women's shelter, 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 as well as ensure targeted provisions are in place to prevent recurrences of violence. Authors Hilton, Harris, and Rice make a powerful 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 ODARA/DVRAG system helps criminal justice officials and clinicians decide which offenders pose the greatest risk to therefore preclude the most dangerous cases from falling through the cracks. Notably, the authors assert that systematically implementing these tools into public policy 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 is also a user's manual—replete with all the scoring, reporting, and interpreting details needed to effectively use the ODARA/DVRAG system. The inclusion of case examples, FAQs, scoring tools and forms, and sample assessment reports makes this an excellent resource for any professional working directly with domestic violence offenders or training criminal justice officers to conduct these risk assessments.