PD&A Expert Spotlight: Dr. Kirk Heilbrun

Violence Risk Assessment

The appraisal of whether an individual is likely to be violent, or to commit a crime of any kind—and how this risk might be minimized—has developed into a meaningful specialized question that can be addressed as part of forensic mental health assessment. Violence risk assessments play an increasingly prominent role in adult sentencing, juvenile commitment, the evaluation of adolescents whose behavior alarms school administrators, the evaluation of adults whose behavior leads their employers to refer them for fitness for duty evaluations, discharge decision-making for hospitalized patients, and a host of other applications.

Contemporary risk assessment measures can take three forms: actuarial assessment, structured professional judgment, and anamnestic assessment. While there is more empirical research support for actuarial and structured professional judgment approaches, there are cases in which a highly individualized appraisal is preferable. Selecting the appropriate tool to inform the larger risk assessment is crucial.

Dr. Kirk Heilbrun
Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University

As a Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Drexel University, Dr. Heilbrun has provided such violence risk assessments in legal contexts and offered testimony over many years. He also has the necessary scientific and scholarly expertise to underscore his credibility in this area, having contributed to the scientific and professional literatures by authoring articles, chapters, and one book (Evaluation for Risk of Violence in Adults, 2009, Oxford) on risk assessment.

Dr. Heilbrun has been involved in personally conducting or supervising approximately 3,100 forensic evaluations at the request of courts, defense, and prosecution, and has testified as an expert approximately 310 times at the request of both the defense and the prosecution. He has been qualified as an expert in federal court, and in state-level courts in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Park Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., commented:

“Dr. Heilbrun has been a valued PD&A colleague for some 20 years.  He is familiar with the selection, administration, and interpretation of a wide range of specialized measures, and is experienced at integrating their results into the larger forensic assessment.”

To schedule a consultation with Dr. Heilbrun or other PD&A experts, call 949-723-2211 or click here expert@parkdietzassociates.com