NCJ Number
220024
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: 2007 Pages: 463-473
Date Published
2007
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article describes whether selected factors differed between intimate partner violence (IPV) victims for whom services were activated were representative of the overall eligible population.
Abstract
Results found that crisis intervention services were more likely to be activated based on factors related to need (physical abuse, abuse involving injuries, abuse to pregnant women, translation services) and feasibility of service delivery (suspect arrested, nonpublic location of incident). Using the Seattle Police Department’s Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) database between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2002, 2,092 adult female victims of male-perpetrated IPV were reported. Subjects were classified by whether the Seattle Police Department’s volunteer Victims Support Team (VST), a crisis intervention program, was activated by police officers responding to the index incident of abuse (the earliest eligible incident during the study period) and whether the victim subsequently received any VST services. The VST serves to meet the immediate needs of victims following an incident of police-reported IPV. It provides emotional support, assists in the development of a safety plan, identifies needed services, and provides referrals and explains the next steps in the criminal justice response to the police-involved incident and how the victim might participate in that process. Of the 2,092 female victims, 415 (10 percent) were involved in incidents where the VST was activated. The remaining 1,677 victims (80 percent) were involved in incidents where the VST was not activated. Study limitations and additional criterion for selection are discussed. Tables, references