NCJ Number
137686
Date Published
1991
Length
58 pages
Annotation
This annual report on domestic abuse incidents, the first published by the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Office of Crime Victim Services, documents 12,452 domestic abuse incidents reported from October 1989 to October 1990.
Abstract
The report also indicates that, of 176 people murdered in Wisconsin in 1989, 80 were domestic-related; the victim and the offender had a familial or past romantic relationship. Of the 80 incidents, 28 men, 35 women, and 17 children were involved. In domestic homicides in 1989, 14 of the 28 men murdered were killed by other men; 32 of the 35 women murdered were killed by men. Milwaukee County had 117 homicides in 1989, and 39 or 33 percent were domestic-related. The rest of Wisconsin had 59 homicides in 1989, and 41 or 69 percent were domestic-related. Of the 12,452 domestic abuse incidents, 11,582 resulted in arrest. The percentage of male offenders dropped from 85.4 percent in 1989 to 81.6 percent in 1990. About 70 percent of all incidents involved victims and offenders between 20 and 39 years of age. Close to 40 percent of domestic abuse victims and offenders were married at the time of the incident. About one-third of victims and offenders were cohabitants at the time of the incident. Hands, fists, and feet were used as personal weapons in 83 percent of the incidents in 1989 and 80.9 percent of the incidents in 1990. Knives were used in approximately 5 percent of the incidents. Victims were injured in almost half the cases in both 1989 and 1990. Recommendations and long-term concerns pertinent to improving Wisconsin's domestic abuse incident reporting system are offered. Appendixes contain supplemental domestic abuse data, a domestic abuse incident reporting form, and 1987 Wisconsin legislation dealing with domestic abuse. 26 tables and 9 charts