Culturally responsive disability assistance should be available at all phases of the justice system for Indigenous people with cognitive impairment to ensure that equitable care is accessible and needs are addressed.
This study describes the rationale, development, and validation of the Victoria Police Screening Assessment for Family Violence Risk (VP-SAFvR). The actuarial instrument was developed on a sample of 24,446 Australian police reports from 2013-2014. Information from each report and criminal histories of those involved were collected with 12-month follow-up, and binary logistic regression used to develop an improper predictive model. The selected VP-SAFvR cut-off score correctly identified almost three quarters of cases with further reports, while half of those without were accurately excluded. It was effective for frontline police triage decision-making, with few screened-out cases reporting further family violence, while those screened-in required additional risk assessment. Predictive validity was adequate and consistent across family relationships and demographic groups, although it was less effective in predicting future family violence reports involving same-sex couples or child perpetrators. Further evaluation in a field trial is necessary to determine the validity of the VP-SAFvR in practice.
The relationship between intimate partner abuse (IPA) and postrelationship stalking is poorly understood and estimates of how often these behaviors co-occur vary widely. This article examines and consolidates findings from extant research and provides a rigorously ascertained baseline estimate of the prevalence of IPA among ex-intimate stalkers. One hundred fifteen male participants who stalked 118 separate victims were recruited from a specialist forensic clinic in Melbourne, Australia, between 2004 and 2007 and between 2010 and 2013. Prior IPA was ascertained using information from participants and police records of family violence incidents obtained in July 2014. Prior IPA against the stalking victim was identified in 39 cases (33.1%). Criminal history, prior physical violence to other victims, SCID-II diagnosed personality disorder, and sharing children were significantly associated with IPA during the prior relationship. Multivariate modeling showed that the combination of a history of violence toward other people and sharing children with the victim effectively discriminated between stalkers who did and did not engage in prior IPA (area under the curve = .74, 95% confidence interval of [.64, .83], p = .000). Findings are interpreted in light of existing causal theories of IPA and ex-intimate stalking. Areas for future research to facilitate better understanding of the relationship between these common and damaging forms of violence are highlighted.
This study assessed the reliability and validity of the Stalking Risk Profile (SRP), a structured measure for assessing stalking risks. The SRP was administered at the point of assessment or retrospectively from file review for 241 adult stalkers (91% male) referred to a community-based forensic mental health service. Interrater reliability was high for stalker type, and moderate-to-substantial for risk judgments and domain scores. Evidence for predictive validity and discrimination between stalking recidivists and nonrecidivists for risk judgments depended on follow-up duration. Discrimination was moderate (area under the curve = 0.66-0.68) and positive and negative predictive values good over the full follow-up period ( Mdn = 170.43 weeks). At 6 months, discrimination was better than chance only for judgments related to stalking of new victims (area under the curve = 0.75); however, high-risk stalkers still reoffended against their original victim(s) 2 to 4 times as often as low-risk stalkers. Implications for the clinical utility and refinement of the SRP are discussed.
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