To help front line practitioners identify high risk cases of domestic abuse, stalking and ‘honour’-based violence.
To decide which cases should be referred to MARAC and what other support might be required. A completed form becomes an active record that can be referred to in future for case management.
To offer a common tool to agencies that are part of the MARAC1 process and provide a shared understanding of risk in relation to domestic abuse, stalking and ‘honour’-based violence.
To enable agencies to make defensible decisions based on the evidence from extensive research of cases, including domestic homicides and ‘near misses’, which underpins most recognised models of risk assessment.
Before completing the form for the first time we recommend that you read the full practice guidance and Frequently Asked Questions and Answers2. These can be downloaded from http://www.caada.org.uk/marac/RIC_for_MARAC.html
Risk is dynamic and can change very quickly. It is good practice to review the checklist after a new incident.
Professional judgement: if a professional has serious concerns about a victim's situation, they should refer the case to MARAC. There will be occasions where the particular context of a case gives rise to serious concerns even if the victim has been unable to disclose the information that might highlight their risk more clearly. This could reflect extreme levels of fear, cultural barriers to disclosure, immigration issues or language barriers particularly in cases of 'honour'-based violence. This judgement would be based on the professional's experience and/or the victim's perception of their risk even if they do not meet criteria 2 and/or 3 below.
'Visible High Risk': the number of 'ticks' on this checklist. If you have ticked 14 or more 'yes' boxes the case would normally meet the MARAC referral criteria.
Potential Escalation: the number of police callouts to the victim as a result of domestic violence in the past
12 months. This criterion can be used to identify cases where there is not a positive identification of a majority of the risk factors on the list, but where abuse appears to be escalating and where it is appropriate to assess the situation more fully by sharing information at MARAC. It is common practice to start with 3 or more police callouts in a 12 month period but this will need to be reviewed depending on your local volume and your level of police reporting.
Please pay particular attention to a practitioner's professional judgement in all cases. The results from a checklist are not a definitive assessment of risk. They should provide you with a structure to inform your judgement and act as prompts to further questioning, analysis and risk management whether via a MARAC or in another way.