NCJ Number
115861
Journal
Social Casework Volume: 69 Issue: 8 Dated: (October 1988) Pages: 498-504
Date Published
1988
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Interviews with victims of domestic violence in two police districts in Chicago provided data for a study of police referrals to a demonstration project that made available a range of social, legal, and advocacy services.
Abstract
The program called Family Options began on July 1, 1983. The project director attended police roll-call meetings to ensure that police referred clients to the program in all domestic violence cases. The research focused on how victims and police managed domestic-violence incidents. During the study period the police made 1,941 referrals to Family Options. Black victims and batterers were disproportionately represented in both districts. Seventy-four percent of the referrals were living together. Interviews with 100 victims and 34 followup interviews used the Conflict Tactics Scale and focused on the nature of the incident and the perceptions of the police response. Victims in District 13 were more satisfied with police actions and advice. In both districts, the signing of a complaint by the victim let to higher levels of satisfaction with police actions, except where the level of violence was extreme. The followup interviews revealed the inconsistencies in victim attitudes regarding whether the batterer should be jailed. Many clients appeared to want to stay with the batterer for various cognitive-affective reasons while hoping that the battering would cease. Clients could be categorized into three groups: those who wanted to end the relationship permanently, those who wanted the relationship to continue without the violence, and those that felt that they must use drastic measures like homicide to deal with the situation. Tables and footnotes.