%0 Journal Article %T The development of the VP-SAFvR: an actuarial instrument for police triage of Australian family violence reports %J Criminal justice and behavior %D 2019 %A McEwan, Troy E. %A Shea, Daniel E. %A Ogloff, James R. P. %V 46 %N 4 %P 590-607 %X 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.

Language: en

%G en %I SAGE Publishing %@ 0093-8548 %U http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854818806031