Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Stephen D. Hart, PhD

Risk Assessment

Goals Prevent IPV Guide risk management and safety planning Maximize professional accountability Improve transparency and consistency of decisions Legal protection Constitutional rights and professional liability

Perpetrator-Focused Assessment

Theoretical Framework  IPV is the result of a decision  Most decisions are not to commit IPV Decisions are: Goal-directed Planful Decisions are not: Conscious Rational

Thinking About IPV Viable response optionPotential reward or benefitAcceptable costFeasible

Influences on Decisions Social Psychological Biological Child rearing experiences Social norms Personality Mental disorder Neurological impairment Hormonal abnormality

Nature of Risk Factors  Risk factors influence decisions about IPV Motivate DisinhibitDestabilize

SPJ  Structured professional judgment approach relies on guidelines to structure discretion Reflect best practice Specify basic risk factors Don’t restrict scope No scoring rules Prevention- oriented Good for monitoring change

Function of SPJ Guidelines Reference texts Aides mémoire Best practice guidelines Practice standards SPJ

SPJ Guidelines DVSISARA B- SAFER

The B-SAFER

Uses and Users For use with (alleged) perpetrators Adults, > 18 yrs At any stage of legal proceedings Pre-arrest, -trial, -sentence; pre- and post- release For use by criminal justice professionals With basic expertise in assessment and IPV

Administration Step 1 Case information Step 2 Presence of risk factors Step 3 Management strategies Step 4 Conclusory opinions

Step 1 Identify and gather information reasonably necessary for assessment Document information reviewed and any important missing information