The Crown is investigating psychological evaluations on former Mixed Martial Arts fighter Justin Primmer to determine his risk of violent recidivism.
While addressing Superior Court Justice Alissa Mitchell, Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Phil Klassen says relationships and substance use need to be taken into consideration as aspects that could stabilize or destabilize Primmer.
Dr. Klassen says Primmer’s relationships and substance use are important elements for assessing risk of reoffending violently. #ldnont
— XFM News (@XFMNews) October 14, 2016
In response to the evaluations from other psychiatrists claiming that Primmer is a moderate to high risk for violence recidivism, he adds that the probability that an offender will re-offend can fluctuate.
“Various things that can affect the level of risk: the nature of their peer associations can go up and down,” Klassen said. “Their probability of violent recidivism is not 50 per cent every day.”
According to Klassen, instruments used in psychological evaluations such as the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide and the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Appraisal can have a “shelf life” of approximately 10 years, which needs to be considered when applied in these situations.
“Whatever the conditions were for the use of the instrument in the developmental study, those are the limits to what we can say when we apply those instruments to a particular person,” Klassen said.
Regarding the possibility of Primmer being released, Klassen says that the age he is released at will have a significant impact on the surveillance required by law enforcement.
Dr. Phil Klassen says age affects the assessment of violent recidivism in dangerous offender application for Justin Primmer. #ldnont — XFM News (@XFMNews) October 14, 2016
“Violent offending declines with age,” Klassen said. “Rates after the age of 50 into the 60s are on average marketable lower than earlier in a person’s life.”
The Defense begins their case at 10 a.m. on Monday.
