Assessing victim risk in cases of violent crime

Abstract

Purpose – There is a body of evidence that suggests a range of psychosocial characteristics demarcate certain adults to be at an elevated risk for victimisation. The purpose of this paper is to examine consistency between one police force, and a corresponding Victim Support service based in England, in their assessment of level of risk faced by victims of violent crime. Design/methodology/approach – This study explored matched data on 869 adult victims of violent crime gathered from these two key services in Preston, namely, Lancashire Constabulary and Victim Support, from which a sub-group of comparable “domestic violence” cases (n=211) were selected for further examination. Findings – Data analyses revealed methodological inconsistencies in the assessment of victimisation resulting in discrepancies for recorded levels of risk in domestic violence cases across these two agencies. Practical implications – These findings provide a compelling argument for developing a more uniformed approach to victim assessment and indicate a significant training need. Originality/value – This paper highlights areas of good practice and forwards several recommendations for improved practice that emphasises the integration of empirical research conducted by psychologists to boost the validity and reliability of risk assessment approaches and tools used.

“Honour”-based violence in a British South Asian community

“…For example, the PATRIARCH (Belfrage et al, 2012), developed in Sweden, may be a useful exemplar for efforts to develop reliable guidelines in the UK. Support for more robust professional guidance is found in a comparative analysis of 211 domestic violence cases, recorded by Lancashire Constabulary; the police recorded South Asian victims at lower risk than all other ethnicities compared to an independent local victim support group, who found no difference in level of risk across ethnic groups (Khan et al, 2015). This discrepancy, in part, was thought to reflect the police's use of a potentially invalid yet widely used risk assessment tool (i.e.…”