Citation

Tayebi N, Strand SJM. J. Threat Assess. Manag. 2022; 9(3): 171-187.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/tam0000186

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Stalking is a widespread problem causing harm to both victims and society. Partly due to the crime being repetitive in nature, recidivism rates are also high for reported stalking. To assist the police in the effort of reducing risk for further stalking, the police use the risk assessment tool Stalking Assessment and Management (SAM). However, to date, little is known about how the police use the SAM to guide their efforts in assessing and managing risk, ultimately reducing recidivism. The aim of the present study was thus to investigate the extent to which police officers' assessment of risk using the SAM was associated with their suggestions of risk management interventions as well as the subsequent recidivism in stalking. The material for the present study consisted of 72 risk assessments performed by police officers participating in a long-term longitudinal research project in rural Sweden, and their subsequent suggestions of risk management interventions in stalking cases. The results indicated that the risk assessments did not guide the suggested risk management. Moreover, the strongest discriminatory ability was found for perpetrator risk factors area under the curve (AUC =.68), with other SAM numerical scores and summary risk rating for future stalking lacking predictive validity. Overall, the results question the utility of the SAM as it was used by police and reveal novel findings in the field. The findings point to the importance of appropriate training in risk assessment and management of stalking cases, and the necessity of establishing structures and routines for managing cases of stalking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en