The looming risk of under- and over-protection: A critical review of victim vulnerability assessment tools in a policing context

Victim vulnerability assessment instruments applied by the police face significant challenges in accurately identifying vulnerable victims and offering adequate protection measures. This paper comprehensively analyses five key shortcomings and demonstrates how all of these may contribute to the risks of under- and over-protection. Drawing on theoretical perspectives on vulnerability and empirical studies of vulnerability assessments and police-victim interactions, this paper highlights how under-protection can result from narrow definitions of vulnerability, biases, and inadequate assessments of protection needs. Over-protection may result from overlooking resilience and excessive implementation of protection measures for victims with minimal or no protection needs. This paper aims to raise awareness among researchers and policymakers about these issues and proposes improvements of the instruments themselves and the way they are monitored. It also proposes several attainable solutions that may reduce the risks of under- and over-protection, ultimately improving the accuracy and effectiveness of vulnerability assessments in policing.