NCJ Number
191412
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management Volume: 24 Issue: 3 Dated: 2001 Pages: 371-398
Date Published
2001
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effectiveness of a pilot project involving a coordinated response team to address domestic assault among intimate partners.
Abstract
The project aimed to improve the police response to domestic violence and to reduce repeat incidents among intimate partners. It teamed uniformed police officers and victim advocates as first responders and follow-up investigators, and augmented them with personnel from probation, parole, and corrections services. The pilot project focused exclusively on violence between intimate partners. The research used a pre-test, post-test design with an experimental and control jurisdiction. The analysis focused on 18,044 calls for service related to domestic violence for 1 year preceding the inception of the domestic violence unit and in 1-month increments during the 18 months after the inception of the unit. Evaluators identified and extracted more than 4,000 bona fide intimate partner domestic violence cases. Results revealed that the specialized domestic violence unit performed significantly better than the control district. Higher arrest rates, prosecution rates, and conviction rates resulted from cases initiated by the specialized unit than from other cases. The analysis concluded that the domestic violence unit has proved that combined efforts are both manageable and effective within the current structure of the government and the charters of the contributing agencies, and that efforts should continue to maintain and improve on the already exceptional work of these teams. Tables and 69 references (Author abstract modified)