An Assessment of the Revised Version of the "Screening Instrument for the Prediction of Violent Recidivism" (SVG-5)

The SVG-5 (Screening Instrument for the Prediction of Violent Recidivism) is the improved and revised version of the formerly published SVG-10. It is an actuarial risk scale for the prediction of violent recidivism risk in convicted offenders. The SVG-5 could be shown not only to outperform the SVG-10 in terms of its predictive validity, but also to represent an economically applicable screening tool for future violence, since it consists of no more than five weighted items. The article describes the validation and construction process and offers results on relative and absolute risk measures.