The VERA-2R has 34 primary indicators and eleven additional indicators. Each primary indicator has criteria for three levels of rating (low, moderate, high). The final professional judgment is based on the weighting of all available information and data related to the risk indicators. The final decision is not made on the basis of a numerical overall score. Counting the indicators to arrive at a sum is not consistent with the structured professional judgment methodology of the VERA-2R. The VERA-2R has five domains with indicators and a domain with additional indicators:
• Belief, attitudes and ideology
• Social context and intention
• History, action and capacity
• Commitment and motivation
• Protective and risk-mitigating indicators
• Additional VERA-2R indicators
The first domain includes indicators that are of essential importance in identifying the nature of the extremism and the support for the use of violence to further ideological goals.
The second domain analyses indicators that are relevant to the social context and intention of the individual to act. It is the intention to act that distinguishes supporters and sympathizers from those who want to use violence to achieve ideological goals.
The third domain is relevant to an individual’s ability to plan and carry out violent extremist actions.
The fourth domain requires the assessor to evaluate eight possible individual motivations. These are evaluated in terms of their relevance as possible drivers of violent extremism. Several different motivations may play a role at the same time. They assist in understanding the individual’s risk and threat level and to considerate alternatives for risk management strategies.
The fifth domain relates to several risk-mitigating indicators that related to a potential reinterpretation of ideology and disengagement from terrorism and identify positive change in individuals.
Moreover, since the updated version VERA-2R in 2018 was developed, there is a domain that contains 11 additional indicators, divided in three subdomains that may impact the risk of individuals engaging in violent extremism and terrorism. Evidence suggests that past non-violent juvenile criminal activity, problematic personal histories, and mental disorders may contribute to a vulnerability to future engagement in violent extremism activities when in combination with ideological, contextual, and motivational indicators present in the VERA-2R (Huesmann, 2010; Gill, 2015; Borum, 2015; Meloy & Gill, 2016; Gill & Corner, 2017).
Supplementary indicators
Although the VERA-2R contains a comprehensive number of risk-increasing and risk-mitigating indicators, the instrument may be supplemented by other indicators that are considered to be important. Since the estimated risk is based on professional judgment instead of on an actuarial or other fixed mathematical model, such case specific factors can be added and considered in the determination of the final risk judgment. A clear foundation of this indicator should be included in the qualitative section of the indicator. Here as well, certified training is essential in understanding this process of the risk assessment protocol.