Speakers
Emma Ziersch
Parallel Workshops
Violence risk assessment tools are extensively employed across many international jurisdictions to inform crucial decisions regarding intervention, parole, and supervision; however, there is limited research on their validity across different cultural contexts. This presentation reports on two studies that evaluated the effectiveness of the Violence Risk Scale (VRS) within the Australian setting. The first study involved Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal prisoners in a single jurisdiction; the second included multiple Australian jurisdictions. Both studies found the VRS effectively predicts violent recidivism across groups. Factor analysis revealed meaningful domains within the VRS to aid clinicians. However, the VRS tends to overestimate risk for Aboriginal prisoners, raising concerns about its construct validity and cultural sensitivity. Strategies to address these biases and improve assessment accuracy will be discussed.
