Dr Zhi Xiang On1,2, Dr Ben Spivak3,4,5, Professor Troy McEwan3,4,5
1Back On Track Psychology, Kew, Australia, 2The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia, 3Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia, 4Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science , Hawthorn, Australia, 5Forensicare, Australia
Biography:
Dr On is a Clinical Forensic Psychologist and Clinical Neuropsychologist currently working in private practice. He has a background in research on family violence and continues to work extensively in this area through his clinical roles. Dr On has a particular interest in family-oriented care and culturally responsive practice, with a focus on supporting individuals and families from diverse backgrounds.
Aims
This study examined the effectiveness of a tiered police risk-management response informed by the Risk Principle, a core component of the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model, in reducing subsequent family violence and severe family violence. The Risk Principle posits that intervention intensity should correspond to an individual’s assessed level of risk. The research aimed to evaluate whether applying this principle to better target police risk management could improve outcomes in family violence cases deleted sentence.
Methodology
A quasi-experimental, between-groups design was used to compare outcomes across two adjacent police divisions in metropolitan Victoria. The intervention group, consisting of 6127 family violence incidents (FVIs) from two police regions, received a three-tiered risk assessment and management response, with instruments administered at multiple stages of police engagement. In contrast, the control group, drawn from a third region and comprising 1552 randomly selected FVIs, received standard police responses that relied on unstructured professional judgment and a single risk-assessment tool previously shown to have limited predictive validity. Subsequent FVIs over approximately nine months were analysed to evaluate the effect of each approach on the probability, frequency, and timing of subsequent severe family violence.
Results
The use of the Risk Principle was associated with a reduction in the overall probability of future severe family violence, after accounting for pre-existing risk. However, it did not significantly influence the frequency of such incidents within a family or the time to their recurrence. These findings offer preliminary support for the integration of the Risk Principle in police responses to family violence and highlight its potential value in structured risk management. Importantly, the results have already informed updates to Victoria Police policy and practice, illustrating the practical impact of translating research into real-world policing strategies.