This study evaluated the Alexandria Domestic Violence Intervention Program (Virginia), a coordinated community response to domestic violence.
Alexandria's Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP) consists of several components located in various city agencies. To determine program effectiveness, the study conducted multiple interviews with female victims of domestic violence perpetrated by male intimate partners. Program satisfaction, recidivism, and other elements were compared with the responses of a sample of domestic violence victims in Virginia Beach, Va. A total of 106 women in Alexandria and 64 women in Virginia Beach participated in a series of interviews designed to determine the services they had received, their satisfaction with those services, and their experiences with subsequent abuse. In addition, 3.5 years of data on domestic violence offenses were used to examine factors related to the recidivism of domestic violence offenders in Alexandria. The study also reports the findings of attitudinal surveys of Alexandria police officers regarding the Department's mandatory arrest policy. Findings show that the DVIP is doing a good job in providing services to domestic violence victims. Further, the Police Department's mandatory arrest policy received positive ratings from the officers and apparently results in arrests in a greater proportion of domestic violence calls than would otherwise be the case. Victims in Alexandria experienced less non-physical revictimization than those in the comparison site. Recidivism among domestic violence offenders was related to both prior offense history and sentencing for the domestic violence offense. Recommendations are offered for improving program outcomes. 26 tables, 99 references, and appended evaluation instruments