High Risk Management Initiative (HRMI)

Program snapshot

Age group: Adult (25-64)

Gender: Mixed (male and female)

Population served: Adult offenders; Families; Victims of crime

Topic: Alcohol and/or drug use; Crime issues involving a mental health disorder or other health disorder; Family (domestic) violence/child maltreatment; Recidivism

Setting: Urban area; Social services setting

Location: Alberta

Number of completed Canadian outcome evaluation studies: 0

Continuum of intervention: Tertiary crime prevention

Brief Description

The High Risk Management Initiative (HRMI) is a collaborative pilot project that works with extremely high-risk domestic violence cases that have a long, repetitive, and serious criminal history. HRMI provides in-depth assessment, enhanced monitoring, access to treatment and intensive case management for the offender, as well as in-depth safety planning, safety monitoring, and case management for the victim.

HRMI collaborative partners include Calgary Police Service, Homefront, Calgary and Area Child and Family Services, Alberta Health Services, Alberta Solicitor General (Crown Prosecutors Office, Community Corrections–Probation), Federal Parole, ITRAC, Alberta Works, YWCA, and Calgary Counselling Centre. The targeted strategies developed through HRMI collaboration increase safety for victims and children, and decrease or contain the offender’s level of serious and chronic reoffending.

Goals

The main goals of the High Risk Management Initiative are to:

  • Increase the safety and support for victims involved with high-risk cases;
  • Enhance the safety and protection of the community;
  • Improve the coordinated strategic justice responses to high-risk offenders. Specifically, to work in a coordinated fashion with prosecutions and jurisdictional police to effectively plan for and manage offender risk;
  • Improve intervention response in high-risk cases;
  • Provide an expedited response to non-compliance (breach team/process implemented within hours, on-site arrests);
  • Improve containment procedures related to high-risk offenders;
  • Enhance cross discipline communication and information sharing related to high-risk offenders;
  • Improve responsiveness to escalating risk situations; and
  • Provide intensive supervision and rehabilitative support and interventions for clients on community supervision.

Clientele

The appropriate clientele for the High Risk Management Initiative are chronic high-risk domestic violence offenders in cases where it is determined (using multiple assessment tools, professional expertise and discretion) that there is imminent risk of injury or serious harm to the victim. Participation is voluntary. The Case Management Team works with both the victim and the offender. Many of these offenders have a history of childhood abuse/neglect, mental health problems, and substance abuse issues. This underlines the importance of early intervention/prevention strategies with children who witness or experience violence.

Core Components

‘Circle of Safety’ is a new safety planning model and is particularly popular with victims who have felt further victimized by systems. The Case Management Team works with both the victim and the offender. The average case length is 20 months. A maximum of 25 active cases are accepted at any given time.

Components of the High Risk Management Initiative include:

  • A formal domestic violence risk assessment;
  • Substance abuse management;
  • Physical health assessment;
  • Regular case management meetings; and
  • Integrated intervention planning and regular outreach with victims and their offenders to address social well-being and safety.

Implementation Information

Some of the critical elements for the implementation of this program or initiative include the following:

  • Organizational requirements: Project should have the capacity for coordination, information and communication, resource intensiveness, high-risk offender profile, ingrained violent behaviours, serial offenders, and engaging difficult clientele.
  • Partnerships: Collaboration between the High Risk Management Initiative and the following community partners: AHS – Addictions and Mental Health; AHS – Forensic Assessment and Outpatient Services; ASG – Community Corrections – Central Probation; ASG – Crown Prosecutors Office; Calgary and Area Child and Family Services; Alberta Works – Employment and Income Support; Calgary Counselling Centre; Calgary Police Services – Habitual Offender Management and Enforcement Team; Calgary Police Service – Domestic Conflict Unit; Corrections Canada – Federal Parole; HomeFront; Albert a Law Enforcement Response Team - Integrated Threat and Risk Assessment Centre; YWCA of Calgary – Sheriff King Centre; and Calgary Correctional Centre.
  • Training and technical assistance: Limited information on this topic.
  • Risk assessment tools: SARA DVDRT Risk Assessment – captures demographics and levels of risk and past activities.
  • Materials & resources: Limited information on this topic.

International Endorsements

The most recognized classification systems of evidence-based crime prevention programs have classified this program or initiative as follows:

  • Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development: Not applicable.
  • Crime Solutions/OJJDP Model Program Guide: Not applicable.
  • SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices: Not applicable.
  • Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy: Not applicable.

Gathering Canadian Knowledge

Canadian Implementation Sites

The High Risk Management Initiative was implemented in Calgary (Alberta) from 2010 to 2014. Funding was provided through the Safe Communities Innovation Fund (SCIF), Government of Alberta.

Main Findings from Canadian Outcome Evaluation Studies

No information available.

Cost Information

A social return on investment (SROI) has been conducted on High Risk Management Initiative. The findings from this study have shown the following:

  • The SROI ratio calculated for the HRMI program is 2.34:1 which indicates that over the course of three years, the overall social value of investment in the HRMI program is $2.34 for every dollar invested; and
  • Proxies are related both to service system savings through reduced demand on services or “cost reallocation” (e.g. justice system costs, health care costs, CFSA costs), and the reduced personal costs to participants (e.g. cost of pain and suffering from assault). Due to the inability to monetize many intangible outcomes (e.g. increased sense of safety, new efficiencies created due to system collaboration), and due to the application of different discounts (e.g. attribution to account for the amount of change potentially attributable to others), the social value calculated in the ratio is only part of the total social value created through investment in the HRMI program.

References

Alberta Community Crime Prevention Organizations. (2015). Social Return on Investment (SROI) Case Study: High Risk Management Initiative (HRMI). Recipient of Safe Communities Innovation Fund, Government of Alberta. Available from: https://open.alberta.ca/publications/safe-communities-innovation-fund-pilot-project-executive-summaries

For more information on this program, contact:

HomeFront
Kevin McNichol
Telephone: (403) 206-2100
E-mail: kevin@homefrontcalgary.com


Record Entry Date - 2018-02-23
Record Updated On - 2021-04-29
Date modified: