Assessment and Management of Risk for Intimate Partner Violence by Police Officers Using the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide

• Published in: Law and human behavior Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 60 - 67
• Main Authors: Belfrage, Henrik, Strand, Susanne, Storey, Jennifer E., Gibas, Andrea L., Kropp, P. Randall, Hart, Stephen D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Educational Publishing Foundation 01.02.2012; Educational Publishing Foundation of the American Psychological Association
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Assault; Crime; Criminal Justice; Criminal offenses; Domestic Violence; Female; Human; Humans; Intimate Partner Violence; Male; Management; Middle Aged; Partner Abuse; Police; Police Personnel; Prediction; Predisposing factors; Psychology; Psykologi; Recidivism; Recidivism prediction; Recommendations; Risk; Risk analysis; Risk Assessment; Risk Assessment - methods; Risk Management; Spousal abuse; Sweden; Young Adult; Sweden; intimate partner violence; risk assessment; risk management; police; SARA
• ISSN: 0147-7307; 1573-661X; 1573-661X
• DOI: 10.1037/h0093948

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a crime that is present in all countries, seriously impacts victims, and demands a great deal of time and resources from the criminal justice system. The current study examined the use of the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide, 2nd ed. (SARA; Kropp, Hart, Webster, & Eaves, 1995), a structured professional judgment risk assessment and management tool for IPV, by police officers in Sweden over a follow-up of 18 months. SARA risk assessments had significant predictive validity with respect to risk management recommendations made by police, as well as with recidivism as indexed by subsequent contacts with police. Risk management mediated the association between risk assessment and recidivism: High levels of intervention were associated with decreased recidivism in high risk cases, but with increased recidivism in low risk cases. The findings support the potential utility of police-based risk assessment and management of IPV, and in particular the belief that appropriately structured risk assessment and management decisions can prevent violence.