The Netherlands Institute of Psychiatry and Psychology (NIFP) is leading a European Union funded two-year project called VERA-PRO2EU.
This project will examine the use of the VERA-2R by examining VERA-2R application and quality of risk reporting.
More than 800 judicial professionals from Belgium, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the UK, the Netherlands and France have been trained in using the VERA-2R by the Netherlands Institute of Psychiatry and Psychology (NIFP).
Although more training will be necessary this is only relevant if it is clear how EU professionals use the VERA-2R and if risk reports are in accordance with the SPJ-method and other quality measures. Practice and research show professional differences in the use of the VERA-2R and in risk reporting within and between judicial contexts.
STAR
These differences must be objectively and empirically assessed in order to improve them. This will be studied by asking professionals in a survey how they use the VERA-2R, and how executives see this, and by measuring the quality of risk reports by the development and use of a Standardized Assessment instrument of Reports (STAR; (Duits et al., 2012b).
Only after this, quality management measures such as tailormade training, peer review and supervision of forensic experts can be supported by means of a professional standard to fulfill the need for better use of the VERA-2R and improved risk reports (Duits et al., 2012).