Evaluation for Risk of Violence in Adults

In this second edition of Evaluation for Risk of Violence in Adults, Kirk Heilbrun and Christopher M. King review, analyze, and offer recommendations for best practice in violence risk assessment in adults conducted during forensic mental health assessment (FMHA), particularly over the last four decades, with attention to updates since the first edition was published in 2009.

Because violence risk is such a wide-ranging field, this volume focuses specifically on violence risk assessment as a process--including the legal contexts of risk assessment, the relevant forensic mental health concepts, the role of specialized risk assessment tools, the scientific and applied debates surrounding this area, and the integration of risk assessment into a full evaluation. Various aspects of the evaluation process (preparation, data collection, interpretation, report writing, and testimony) are discussed in detail, making this book a valuable resource for those who conduct formal evaluations for risk of violence in the legal system.