This authoritative second edition helps those charged with curbing domestic violence assess and manage offenders and the risk of recidivism.Effectively measuring and communicating the risk of domestic assault recidivism is an essential part of curbing domestic violence. This authoritative book for psychologists, child protection workers, lawyers, and other professionals involved in assessing and managing offenders presents a comprehensive risk assessment system comprised of the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) and the Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (DVRAG). It demonstrates how to score, interpret, and communicate the results of these assessments, and how to incorporate their results into broader discussions of public policy. The appraisals have been thoroughly updated to accurately assess individuals from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, along with new coverage of female offenders alongside male offenders, making this new edition a crucial resource for ensuring victim safety, offender treatment, and criminal justice in the modern world.

An increase in the legal response to wife assault is evident in North America, largely in reaction to earlier calls for greater responsiveness by the legal system. However--not one change has occurred without controversy. Legal Responses to Wife Assault offers in-depth coverage of four major themes: historical framework of legal response to wife assault; police attitudes and action (or inaction); prosecution, mediation, and treatment within the court system; and victims as defendants and participants in the legal system. Chapters examine past and present policies of specific branches of the legal system, discuss the merits and demerits of those approaches, and explore implications for the future. The authors not only pull together recent evaluation research in an accessible form, but they highlight their own work as well. Human services and legal professionals, as well as students and researchers in these areas, will find the book invaluable.