Routine risk assessment and care evaluation in outpatient forensic psychiatry; feasibility, predictive validity, and outline of a RCT

Background Violence risk assessment for forensic psychiatric patients has been dominated by the problem of violence prediction for release decisions. What has been neglected is the problem of ongoing risk monitoring and management for clients who receive (after)care in the community. This setting calls for a different approach; one that focuses on dynamic factors within the individual and situation, that determine the short term risk for violence and identify needs for risk management measures. We developed a risk assessment procedure for outpatient forensic psychiatry, that is integrated with routine care evaluation by the case manager and client. In a pilot study we tested its feasibility and predictive validity for violent behavior. Currently we conduct a RCT, to test if routine Risk Assessment and Care Evaluation(hence the RACE-study) actually prevents violence.