Gov. Butch Otter asked Lisa Bostaph to serve a second term as one of two public members of the Governor’s Idaho Criminal Justice Commission (ICJC). The ICJC addresses important criminal justice issues and challenges and develops cost-effective, balanced, best-practice solutions to achieve a safer Idaho. Bostaph is the first academian to serve on the commission, which was created in 2005 by then-Governor Kempthorne and is comprised of 26 members from three branches of government and the community.
Bostaph also gave an invited presentation to for the Idaho Criminal Justice Commission on a proposed comprehensive report on crime victimization, crime victims and victim services. “Proposal for a biannual report on crime victims and victims services in Idaho” was presented with Laura King and Lane Gillespie, also of Boise State’s criminal justice department and discussed a proposed report which would compile existing data across multiple sources in the state. It would also introduce data on victim satisfaction with current services. This requested proposal grew out of the first assessment of crime victims needs in Idaho that was conducted by this research team.
In addition, Bostaph recently published a report, “The distribution of risk in intimate partner violence cases: The Idaho Risk Assessment of Dangerousness.” Supported by a Byrne/Justice Assistance Act grant from the Idaho Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, the technical report is the initial step in validating the Idaho Risk Assessment for Dangerousness (IRAD). The IRAD is currently used by roughly half of police and sheriffs’ agencies in Idaho and multiple policing agencies across the country as part of their response to domestic violence calls. Results indicate that higher IRAD scores significantly predict re-arrest for domestic violence offenses three years after the initial incident and, therefore, could be valid indicators of increased dangerousness of further domestic violence in the relationship.
Bostaph presented on the IRAD to an international audience at the American Society of Criminology conference in Philadelphia in November. She also presented her report in a webinar hosted by the Idaho Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.