The ‘officer effect’ in risk assessment for domestic abuse: Findings from a mixed methods study in England and Wales
| Published date | 01 May 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14773708231156331 |
| Author | Andy Myhill,Katrin Hohl,Kelly Johnson |
| Date | 01 May 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
The ‘officer effect’in risk
assessment for domestic abuse:
Findings from a mixed methods
study in England and Wales
Andy Myhill
College of Policing, London, UK
Katrin Hohl
Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of London,
London, UK
Kelly Johnson
Department of Sociology, Durham University, Durham, UK
Abstract
Research on risk assessment for domestic abuse has focused primarily on the predictive validity of
specific tools; less attention has been paid to implementation of risk tools by practitioners. This
paper presents findings from a mixed methods study in England and Wales. Multi-level modelling
reveals an ‘officer effect’whereby victims’responses to the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and
Harassment and Honour-Based Violence (DASH) risk assessment are influenced by the specific
officer that completes the assessment. Specifically, this officer effect is strongest in relation to
questions intended to capture elements of controlling and coercive behaviour, and least apparent
in relation to identifying physical injuries. We further present findings from field observations and
interviews with first response officers that corroborate and help explain the officer effect. We
discuss implications for the design of primary risk assessments, victim safeguarding, and the use
of police data for predictive modelling.
Keywords
Domestic abuse, coercive control, risk assessment, police
Corresponding author:
Andy Myhill, College of Policing, 1-6 Citadel Place, Tinworth St, London, SE11 5EF.
Email: andy.myhill@college.police.uk
Article
European Journal of Criminology
2023, Vol. 20(3) 856–877
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/14773708231156331
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Introduction
Risk assessment in policing emerged during the 1990s as a field of research and practice
in response to the risk paradigm recognised as helping to structure elements of police-
work (Ericson and Haggerty, 1997). The literature on risk assessment for domestic
abuse (DA) has developed rapidly in recent years. Numerous risk assessment instruments
have been developed and, to varying degrees, tested. While some tools, such as the
Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA, see Hilton et al., 2004), are
based on actuarial principles and numerical scores and thresholds, others, such as the
Spousal Assault Risk Assessment (SARA, see Kropp and Hart, 2000), seek to structure
practitioners’professional judgement. Further instruments, such as the Brief Spousal
Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER, Kropp and Hart, 2004) and the
Lethality Screen (Messing et al., 2017) have been developed to be used specifically by
frontline practitioners as primary risk assessments or risk identification tools (the
ODARA also can be used by first responders). Despite this reliance on practitioner
administration and professional judgement, the literature to date has focused primarily
on specific instruments’predictive validity in terms of forecasting repeat victimisation.
There has been relatively little focus on the usability of instruments, or how they are
implemented by practitioners in the field (though see Barlow and Walklate, 2021).
Numerous research studies highlighted inconsistency historically in police response to
domestic-related calls for service (see e.g. Kelly, 1999). Police forces in England and
Wales began to develop risk models for DA in the early 2000s, in part with a view to
structuring officers’interactions with victims in order to generate ‘a consistent level of
information’to aid and improve investigation and safeguarding (Robinson, 2010:126).
In 2009, chief officers endorsed a standard model for identifying, assessing and managing
risk: the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment and Honour-Based Violence risk
identification, assessment and management model (DASH). The DASH model is based
on a 27 question risk identification interview undertaken by first response officers with
victims, and is used currently by the vast majority of forces in England and Wales, as
well as by Police Scotland. The importance of the initial DASH interview cannot be over-
stated: responses to the questions and the level of risk assigned by first response officers
in their primary assessment can dictate the subsequent police response, including whether
or not the case is reviewed and/or assigned to a specialist unit, the type and level of safe-
guarding allocated to the victim, and whether the case is referred to partner agencies and
support services.
The authors are aware of conscientious officers completing risk assessments with
victims of domestic abuse in a thorough and sympathetic way, as well as examples of
poor practice. Inconsistent practice has also been documented by Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Constabulary (2014). This situation warrants consideration of the tools
and processes intended to support officers in ensuring consistency in the standard of
risk assessment and victim engagement. The present study thus speaks to the gap in
the literature around implementation of risk assessment tools by frontline police practi-
tioners. The study seeks first to quantify the extent to which police officer characteristics
shape victims’responses to the DASH, and to assess whether this kind of systematic
measurement error afflicts some DASH questions more than others. Second,
Myhill et al. 857
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