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Dynamic Risk Assessment Systems

DyRiAS-Intimate Partners

DyRiAS-Intimate Partners assesses the current potential risk of a male individual committing a serious act of violence against his female partner or former partner.

DyRiAS has been designed for experts of all professions who deal with risk assessment and case management in their respective fields. These professions are expected to assess the risk of violence presented by an individual of concern – often with no additional forensic training.

 

What are the benefits of DyRiAS-Intimate Partners?

  • Risk assessment in cases of domestic violence on a state-of-the-art scientific level
  • Risk assessment in cases of intimate partner stalking
  • Assessment of the risk to third parties (e.g. new intimate partner or children)
  • Case-work assisting, structured risk analysis
  • Identification of dangerous developments of a case
  • Detailed case report
  • Case summary regarding specific risk factors
  • DyRiAS risk assessment as a basis for case management and networking

 

The data basis of DyRiAS is supplied by research studies carried out over several years at the Forensic Psychology Section of the University of Darmstadt and the Institute of Psychology and Threat Assessment. In these studies investigation files and court records in cases of serious violence were reviewed. In the course of the design of the system DyRiAS-Intimate Partners, a total of 70 cases of attempted or completed killings of an intimate partner or an (assumed) new partner by male partners or ex partners were analyzed.

The results were checked against a control group of domestic violence offenders or men who had become known to the police for threatening actions against their (former) partner. In addition, the findings of 130 scientific publications on homicide, partner violence, stalking, and risk assessment were taken into account. Finally, the development of the system was supported by an international advisory board of experts.

To our knowledge, across Europe, DyRiAS-Intimate Partners is the only scientifically based and empirically validated tool for the assessment of the risk of serious or fatal violence by a (former) male intimate partner (Hoffmann & Glaz-Ocik, 2012).





DyRiAS provides you with the confidence of working at a state-of-the-art level of risk prognosis and relevant scientific research. A total of 39 questions guide you through the program.

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For every question, you are supplied with detailed background information. This is provided by videos of experts who talk about the topic in question, examples of actual cases as well as scientific background information.

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You can analyze an unlimited number of cases. In addition, you can follow each case over time and in this way identify any changes in the risk of escalation. This procedure provides for the dynamic course of a case of threatening behavior.




At a first level, the risk report presents an overall assessment of the question of whether there is currently a mild, moderate or high risk of serious violence. At a deeper level, it presents a detailed presentation of the actual risk profile, i.e. of the factors that indicate an increased risk in a given case.

As the DyRiAS user is requested to enter a descriptive account of the given case-related situation for each risk factor, a case documentation is always available (e.g. "The individual of concern reports that her former partner has repeatedly mentioned suicide in conversations"). DyRiAS allows you to open a given case file at any time and to change the input to the risk factors. In this way, a progress report can be generated that outlines the way in which the risk of violence has developed over time and whether it has increased or decreased.

After information has been entered, a risk report is automatically generated and made available to the user in PDF format. This shows that DyRiAS is neither a check list nor a psychological test, but rather a behavior-based assessment tool. The individual risk factors are not simply added up, but are captured in complex interrelations and are analyzed with the help of statistical methods.

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Via the timeline analysis, risk assessment can be carried out over the course of a given case. The user can discern whether the risk potential of a male adult of concern is increasing or decreasing.

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  • Do you advise women who are being threatened, followed or abused by their (former) male partner?
  • Is risk assessment in cases of domestic violence part of your professional responsibilities?
  • Are you expected to identify cases with a high risk potential in partner violence and intimate partner stalking?
  • Do you sometimes experience a feeling of concern regarding the development of a given case and do you wish to substantiate this in a well-founded way?
  • Are you responsible for intervention measures in cases of partner violence and stalking?
  • Do you have a need to justify your decisions regarding intervention in cases of partner violence?

 

If you have answered one or more of these questions with a ‘yes’, DyRiAS-Intimate Partners can support you in your work. Through a scientifically sound risk assessment of a case at hand you can reach a sound assessment and can plan measures of targeted intervention.

 

New: Dyrias-Intimate Partners Screening List