The ODARA is an actuarial tool for estimating the risk that a domestic violence offender will assault a partner again. It was created by the Ontario Provincial Police Behavioural Sciences and Analysis Section and researchers at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. ODARA items are also used to score the Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (DVRAG). The full scoring manual for the ODARA and the DVRAG appear in the book by N. Zoe Hilton (2021), Domestic Violence Risk Assessment, 2nd Edition: Tools for Effective Prediction and Program Management. American Psychological Association

The ODARA scores indicate how a domestic offender compares with other domestic offenders in terms of risk for re-offense. Higher scores are related to frequency and severity of future assaults and shorter time until re-offence. The ODARA is easy to score and interpret, it has shown excellent inter-rater agreement, and scoring accuracy improves with brief training. Thus, the ODARA is an important part of efforts to promote a coordinated, cross-sector response to domestic violence.

The CELIA-IPV Project conducts ongoing research into the ODARA led by Dr. N. Zoe Hilton with a team of researchers and policing organization partners across Canada. We are partnering to study and share evidence-based approaches for standardizing IPV risk levels and enhancing the application of IPV risk assessment to new populations, risk factors, and outcomes, including coercive control.

ODARA 101 is an online, restricted-access training program designed to allow assessors to obtain domestic violence risk assessment training anytime, anywhere, and at no charge. Over 1000 assessors per year complete the training, which takes 4-6 hours on average. This training supplements the book, Domestic Violence Risk Assessment, which includes FAQs, more practice cases, literature reviews, and guidance on implementation and risk communication.